Say it Ain’t So, Joe Lyrics

Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know

Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe please tell us it ain't so

They told us that our hero has played his trump card
He doesn't know how to go on
We're clinging to his charm and determined smile
But the good old days are gone

The image and the empire may be falling apart
The money has gotten scarce
One man's word held the country together
But the truth is getting fierce

Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
We pinned our hopes on you Joe and they're ruining our show

(Ooo Babies)
Don't you think we're gonna get burned
(Ooo Babies)
Don't you think we're gonna get burned
We're gonna get turned
We're gonna get learned
Cause we're gonna get turned
We're gonna get burned
We're gonna get learned
Yes, we're gonna get burned
We're gonna get turned
We're gonna get learned
Yes, we're gonna get turned
We're gonna get learned
Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know
Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe please tell us it ain't so

They told us that our are hero has played his trump card
He doesn't know how to go on
We're clinging to his charm and determined smile
But the good old days are gone

Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
We pinned our hopes on you Joe and they're ruining our show
The image and the empire may be falling apart
The money had gotten scarce
One man's word held the country together
But the truth is getting fierce

Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know

Say it ain't so, Joe please
Say it ain't so
I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe please tell us it ain't so
Oooooo
That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know

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About

Genius Annotation

According to Head, he wrote the song about fallen heroes. He re-released the song in 1995 on the album When You’re in Love, and he wrote the following comment in the liner notes:

“Say It Ain’t So, Joe” was provoked by a seventies documentary on Richard Nixon prior to his resignation. The presenter was asking the editor of a small town newspaper outside Washington, how, in the face of conclusive evidence and proof, his readers could still show such undying support for the president they elected. The editor likens the situation to a scandal in the twenties, when Joe Jackson, the famous baseball player, was rumoured to have taken a bribe to sink his team in the final of the World series. His fans hung around the stadium chanting “Say it ain’t so Joe”.

The song is about heroes and their “Clay feet'. It is also a plea from myself to the kind of ‘Joe Public’ who, in fear of losing face or in grief at the betrayal, refuses to relinquish their faith in a fallen idol. It is human nature to cling to hope; to the love that one has invested.

The song is on an album, which has sold over a million copies and was produced by Paul Samwell-Smith, who recently decided to re-record the song. Shortly afterwards I was watching another documentary on the O.J. Simpson case and they showed a note pinned to his gate on which was written “Say it ain’t so Joe”. Two days later a friend, just returned from L.A., rang me to tell me they’d seen placards with that same old phrase. The occasion seemed apt for a re-release.
- Murray Head, 1994

Source

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Is there a live performance of the song?
Genius Answer

Yes! On February 25, 2015, interpreted the song live at C à vous.

Credits
Recorded At
Morgan Studios (London, England)
Release Date
January 1, 1975
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