Forever J was the opening track of the late, great Terry Hall's 1994 album Home. Co-written, as much of the album was, with "fifth Smith" Craig Gannon, this is pretty far from Terry's more famous work with The Specials, Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield. Indeed, on first listen this atypical fare is almost too smooth, too MOR, too FM-friendly, too conventional. But dig into the lyrics and it really isn't. Imagine being in love with J. "Uncertain, coy and hard to please, she kisses me through gritted teeth." Blimey.
Like Isabelle Adjani
She glides by upon a bank of violets
With those eyes that see it all
And then she smiles
Like a bee with honeyed thighs
A living hell, a slice of heaven
She is Jekyll and Hyde
Every truth and every lie
She holds a candle to my shame
I take everything but blame
When it comes to naming names
I'll name J, forever J
Uncertain, coy and hard to please
She kisses me through gritted teeth
But when I'm weak, she whispers dreams
She says "Oh well, you're no Mel Gibson
But that's okay"
Today could be your lucky day
And I collapse into a heap
She's a bee with honeyed thighs
A living hell, a slice of heaven
She's good, she's bad
It makes me mad
She's all I'll never have
She holds a candle to my shame
I take everything but blame
When it comes to naming names
I'll name J, forever J
She's a bee with honeyed thighs
A living hell, a slice of heaven
She is Jekyll and Hyde
Every truth and every lie
She holds a candle to my shame
I take everything but blame
When it comes to naming names
I'll name J
She laughs and sunshine hits her face
Cries and tears pour down like rain
When it comes to naming names
I'll name J, forever J
And she says
(Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me)
Forever J
(Kiss me, miss me, kiss me)
And she says
(Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me)
