Whenever George Michael is discussed here,fans seem to only rave about his solo material.But let's not forget the Wham! stuff too."Careless Whisper" is a sparkling pop masterpiece,a strong contender for Best song of the 80s,imo.Who remembers the first time they heard this song in the fall of 1984? "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" was the first single from the 'Make It Big' album.It's a fun,playful song,but who knew that these guys would follow it up with a serious,dramtatic,sublime ballad like "Careless Whisper"? Unlike many 80s hits,this song has aged remarkably well.Beautifully arranged with a timeless elegance.And those lyrics! Wow!


"Careless Whisper"

( written by George Michael)


I feel so unsure
As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
As the music dies
something in your eyes
Calls to mind a silver screen
and all it's sad goodbyes

(chorus)
I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
and waste a chance that I've been given
So,I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you

Time can never mend
the careless whisper of a good friend
To the heart and mind
if your answer's kind
There's no comfort in the truth
Pain is all you'll find

(chorus)
I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
and waste a chance that I've been given
So,I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you


What am I without your love?

Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it's better this way
we'd hurt each other with the things we want to say
We could have been so good together
We could have lived this dance forever
But now,who's gonna dance with me?
Please stay

(chorus)
I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
and waste a chance that I've been given
So I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you

Now that you're gone (now that you're gone)
Now that you're gone
Was what I did so wrong,so wrong
that you had to leave me alone?

one of my favourite pop songs ever

and you are completely right, it has aged wonderfully

DavidEye said:

One of the greatest bridges of all time.

VinaBlue said:

Even though I am not a huge Wham fan (I am a huge GM fan though), I love this song. Very beautiful!

kisscamille said:

how come you didn't like Wham!? In addition to "Careless Whisper", the rest of the 'Make It Big' album is great.Didn't you like "Everything She Wants" or "Freedom"?

DavidEye said:

'

I don't dislike Wham and I do like those songs that you mentioned above, but I never really got into Wham. I knew the songs because they were played on the radio a lot, but once I heard "Faith" I was hooked on George for life.

I once heard that George wrote this tune when he was sixteen riding on a bus.

i am a huge fan of George michaels, i have the very best of wham, and ladies and gentlmen, which i love to bits, i have been listening to my favourite george song which is "teacher" really love tht song

but this song is amazing, really powerful i feel, great song

Wasn't this song basically George's, anyway? I thought Andrew was only there for his looks or something.

okaypimpn said:

I think he was there so George could dress him up in a matching costume and send him on promotional tours while he concentrated on making the music.

Fabulous song. This is one of my favorite pop songs to play on piano, because it's fairly easy to play, but also beautiful. Ben Folds covers this song in concert a lot.

DavidEye said:

Ah,come on Supa,I know you got this 45 stashed somewhere in your collection...lol...

Actually, this song was the first George Michael solo song. It was released as a single under the George Michael name in the UK, where Wham! had already enjoyed some sucess with their first album.

When Make It Big was released, it was included due to its sucess. When Wham! blew up in the US, Careless Whisper got a single release. Of course, releasing it under the GM name would have confused new fans, especially since the song was on the Wham! album. Instead, the single was released credited to "Wham featuring George Michael".

A similar occurence happened with "A Different Corner", which was included on the US release of Music From The Edge Of Heaven, even though the single was a George Michael solo number. That is why both ADC and CW are included on the George Michael hits collection, but no other Wham! era songs are.

JediMaster said:

Thanks for the info.I never really understood why they were billed as a duo in the first place.George pretty much did everything...wrote the songs,sang lead vocals,etc.

DavidEye said:

Actually, I had the album almost 20 years ago.
It's just something I've outgrown. When George released his first solo album, Faith I bought that one too, but I don't have either of them anymore. Faith was more adult (compared to Wham!'s albums), but it seems I've outgrown that one too. It just doesn't stick to my ribs like it did back then. It's not that I dislike everything I've heard by them, I dig some of their stuff well enough to listen to if I hear it come on the radio, but not enough to buy it. I'm that way about a lot of music.

What's that video where George is wearing that black shirt...something like "Music From The Edge of Heaven" or something? I dig that one. I also get a kick out of the rapping George and Andrew did on their music prior to the Make It Big album.

º
[This message was edited Tue Jan 20 13:45:48 PST 2004 by Supernova]

Supernova said:

That would be "Wham Rap", of which, there are about 3 or 4 different versions.

DavidEye said:

True. I found it kinda odd as well. Andrew was just kinda there. He must have had some sort of input, because George sure makes a clear distinction these days between the two (personally, I think he's just trying to distance himself from those lame-ass "Choose Life" t-shirts!)

VinaBlue said:

...love that part!!!

I love it (I have the album), but it really freaks me out, cause my mom told me that I was conceived off that song. Eewww!

Great song. When it first came out, I didn't like it too much, but my sister LOVED it. I used to sing the parody, "Hairless Sister" to her, and it drove her CRAYZAY!!!

I only remember, "And I'm never going to school again..."

I couldn't find those lyrics, but here's Careless Pisser

I feel so impure
As I take your hand
And lead you to the dance floor
As the music dies
I’m no longer dry
On the floor’s a yellow stream
I feel so mortified

Chorus

I'm going in my pants again
It’s on your feet, hope I’m forgiven
Though it's easy to pretend
That it’s not made a pool
I should have known better than to wait so long
My body’s wastes cannot be held in
So I'm going in my pants again
When I dance with you

Time can never mend
A careless pisser who needs Depends
To the heart and mind
A sphincter in decline
There's no comfort in the truth
Stains are all you'll find

Chorus

Tonight the music doesn’t stop
I wish that we could find a mop
Maybe it's better this way
We'd hurt each other with the way I tend to spray
We could have cleaned this floor together
We could have braved this stormy weather
But now who's gonna dance with me
Please stay

Chorus

Now that you've gone
Now that you've gone
Now that you've gone
Was what I did so wrong
So wrong that you had to leave me yellow
[This message was edited Tue Jan 20 14:20:26 PST 2004 by madartista]

I remember their silly videos w/ those two girls.I naively believed back then that they were their girlfriends
[This message was edited Tue Jan 20 15:17:39 PST 2004 by PhilG]

booo. cant stands this song. people played it out.

Surely this is George Michael's signature vocal performance.

I love love love this song. Alot of pop music from when I was 3 or 4 seems forever encoded into my DNA and I'll probably never get sick of it.

This was the song that killed Wham! but it made George a solo pop star. It's still great though.

NWF said:

OK I've heard people say that before, but I thought "The Edge of Heaven" was a 1986 Wham! joint, clearly released after "Careless Whisper". So what does everyone mean when they say this?

CinisterCee said:

Yeah, what I meant was that after "Careless Whisper", the attention kinda shifted from the whole group to just George. Sure they still made "The Edge of Heaven", but that was either a bittersweet last hurrah or just a contractual obligation from CBS.

I loved "Careless Whisper" and I still am a DEVOUT George Michael fan. God, I loved Wham! sooo much. I even have Andrew's solo record "Son of Albert" which really IS as bad as you'd expect. Still, I'm a compleatist, so I gotta have it.

And George's new album is coming out in March, apparently...