Coverocktober Song #15: "Don't Believe a Word" by Def Leppard

As seems to be the pattern, I failed to post a Coverocktober hair band song on Friday, so you get two songs/posts today.

As you may know, Def Leppard is one of my favorite bands.  Not only is their original music great, but they can play a damn fine cover song.  Back in 2006, they released their ninth studio album, Yeah!, which was a cover album paying tribute to the British rock-and-rollers of the '70s who influenced them. As I learned on a bonus CD I bought (containing several extra songs and a couple band interviews), the band chose nearly entirely songs by British bands and chose only songs that were released before Def Leppard signed their first record deal. It's quite different than any other cover album out there.

Most of the songs are not songs that you would normally hear on the radio, except maybe on a "deep cuts weekend." The band wanted to choose songs that were hits in the UK, but not necessarily huge hits. Hence, no Rolling Stones or Beatles songs. But what we do get is a great gathering of songs from the likes of T. Rex, David Bowie, The Kinks, ELO, Thin Lizzy, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Free, Mott the Hoople, and Faces, among others.  Musically, they played the songs as closely to the originals as possible (which was their intent).

I love this album, not only because the songs are great, but also because it got me into (or more into) many of the bands they covered.  There is no better example of that than their cover of Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word," which was originally released on Thin Lizzy's seventh studio album, 1976's Johnny the Fox.  Of course, I knew of Thin Lizzy before Yeah!, but I hadn't delved into their catalog outside of the hits.  I loved Def Leppard's version of the song, so I checked out the original, and then that snowballed into me getting every one of Thin Lizzy's albums.  Now, Thin Lizzy is on my short list of favorite bands -- which, granted, is still like 25 bands.  So, thanks Def Leppard!

At barely over two minutes long, "Don't Believe a Word" is short but sweet.  The original is one of my favorite Thin Lizzy songs, thanks to Def Leppard's cover.  I've always been taken by Phil Lynott's lyrics, and in this song, he's essentially telling a woman "don't believe anything I tell you, especially if I tell you that I love you."  He's pouring his heart out to her, but hedging his bets, giving both of them an out.  If he wants to ditch her, he can say, "I told you not to believe me when I told you I love you," or if she says she doesn't love him or isn't interested, he can say, "no big deal because, as I said, I was just kidding."  And if she wants to ditch him, he can't protest because then she'll say "you told me not to believe a word you said."  Classic!