Music Review: Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah"

Plain White T’s

Hey There Delilah

Album: Every Second Counts

Year: 2006

           Tom Higgenson keeps in contact with his girlfriend in the suffocating  “Hey There Delilah.”

             A sugary guitar opens the single, setting an dippy tone. She sends him a recent picture of herself over the phone. He tells her she’s beautiful. He asks her how she likes New York University and she’s doing in her classes. She asks him if anything has changed at home. He says Indiana is still the same. She tells him she hopes their relationship will survive as she goes to school. She fears they will lose touch eventually. He assures he can call her at anytime. He asks her if she received his tape in the mail. She responds yes. He tells her to put it on whenever she feels alone and he’ll right there with her. (“Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York City?/I'm a thousand miles away/But girl tonight you look so pretty/Yes you do/Times Square can't shine as bright as you/I swear it's true/Hey there Delilah, don't you worry about the distance/I'm right there if you get lonely/Give this song another listen/Close your eyes/Listen to my voice it's my disguise/I'm by your side.”)

           In the  chorus, he’s willing to do anything for her. (“Oh it's what you do to me,/Oh it's what you do to me/Oh it's what you do to me/Oh it's what you do to me/What you do to me.”)

            She says she is so tired of eating pizza. But it’s all she can afford. Then once she’s out of school, she’ll have to find a job right away to pay off loans. He tells her it’ll be ok. His band is started to play in some clubs around town and they are building a following. She won’t ever have to worry about money. He says he’s been inspired by her lately and has a dozen written songs in process. (“Hey there Delilah, I know times are getting hard/But just believe me girl, someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar/We'll have it good, we'll have the life we knew we would/My word is good/Hey there Delilah,

I've got so much left to say/If every simple song I wrote to you/Would take your breath away I'd write it all/Even more in love with me you'd fall/We'd have it all.”)

             The  chorus is sung again.

              In the bridge, he says he’s coming to see her soon. Nothing would ever stop him from getting there. They have a relationship that would make their friends jealous. He has grown up a lot because of her. (“A thousand miles seems pretty far, but they've got planes and trains and cars/I'd walk to you if I had no other way, our friends would all make fun of us/And we'll just laugh along because we know/That none of them have felt this way,

Delilah I can promise you/That by the time we get through/The world will never ever be the same/And you're to blame.”)

            In the final section, he tells her to concentrate on her classes and settling in at school. They won’t be apart that much longer. He’ll be become famous and it will be because of her support. (“Hey there Delilah, you be good and don't you miss me/Two more years and you'll be done with school/And I'll be making history like I do/You know it's all because of you/We can do whatever we want to/Hey there Delilah here's to you/This one's for you.”)

         An extended chorus ends the single. (“Oh It's what you do to me!/Oh it's what you do to me!/Oh it's what you do to me!/Oh it's what you do to me!/Oh it's what you do to me!/What you do to me.”)

              Higgenson’s schmaltzy vocals lick Delilah’s boots.Delilah is his entire life and can do wrong. Other than music, she is the only other thing he cares about. He has on a pedestal and one day, poor Delilah is going to tip right off it and he will be bitter towards her. He’s a good guy. However, he needs a new hobby other than his girlfriend.

            The soggy “Hey There Delilah” means well but has to take the adoration down a couple notches.