Breaking Us In Two by Joe Jackson

Album: Night And Day (1982)

Charted: 59 18

License This Song

lyrics

Songfacts®:

This song is about the battle between the boredom of monogamy and the loneliness of independence. The singer wants his girlfriend/wife to seek interests outside of him; so, that his love for her will grow stronger. Jackson is clearly in denial over this relationship. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Tanya - La Verne, CA
There are no guitars on this or any other song on the Night And Day album. Joe Jackson had a beef with rock music, which he felt was becoming commercialized and shallow, so he went out of his way to stay away from the format.
With the video for this song and "Steppin' Out," Jackson had a strong presence on MTV, which was just a year old and populated mostly by British artists like Jackson who had made videos to show in Europe. Jackson's videos were well-liked, but he often spoke out against the medium, as he felt it forced artists who were not visual performers to conform to a different role. "On the whole, most videos are pretty much an insult to people's intelligence," said Jackson.

He came to regret the remarks, saying in the book I Want My MTV: "I'm not such a miserable bastard that I won't admit that some videos are great fun. But I believed MTV was beginning to have a negative effect on music. I'm well aware that refusing to make videos accomplished nothing whatsoever except - how should I put this? - to make my next record less successful. It damaged my career and it never fully recovered."

Comments: 8

Seventh Mist from 7th HeavenIf practiced the right way, monogamy is in no way boring. I’ve had 35 years of it and have yet to be bored.
Kile from UsaIn the video opening scene, what is the town that is in the background as she walks down the cobblestone street? I know the train station is Oakworth outside of Keighley. My assumption is that the background town is either Bradford or Leeds, but cannot find an answer! Thanks.
Jason from Us@Amy, I have the same question. The older couple probably passed away by now. The main couple if anyone knows?
Amy from UsDoes anyone know anything about the cast of the video? The main woman looks so familiar to me!
Jeng from NycI think this song is about insecurity - possibly on the part of the girl - which is evident in Different for Girls and One More Time as well.
This song always cheered me up when I heard it on the radio regardless of the lyrics and at the time, I didn't have MTV so I had no exposure to music videos. It's true however that he doesn't have enough videos on Vevo and on youtube, it's mainly concert videos but his professional concert videos for Big World, the Japanese and the Australian shows are excellent and in my opinion, create new fans for him. I don't remember Elvis Costello having many videos but Everyday I Write The Book was a charming video and probably his biggest crowd pleaser but Joe Jackson has a far more charming stage presence.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 9th 1983, "Breaking Us in Two" by Joe Jackson entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #73; and nine weeks later on March 13th, 1983 it peaked at #18 for 1 week...
It reached #4 on Billboard's Adult contemporary Tracks chart...
Was track two of side two from his fifth studio album, 'Night and Day', and the album reached #4 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
One other track from the album made the Top 100 chart; "Steppin' Out"*; it reached #6 {for 3 weeks} on December 5th, 1982...
Joe Jackson, born David Ian Jackson, will celebrate his 61st birthday come next August 11th {2015}...
* Was his highest charted record in the U.S.A.; it also peaked at #6 in his native England.
Tanya from La Verne, CaThis song says eerily similar to parts of Badfinger's "Day After Day". I wonder if that was intentional. If so, I hope some credits were given properly.
Lee from Huntsville, Ali think the song is saying that they are a couple but they need their space from time to time...to pursue interest not shared by the other. in other words,we love each other but we still need to enjoy our lives outside each other.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)Will Glahe

In 1939, a polka craze swept America thanks to "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)."

BloodstreamEd Sheeran

Ed Sheeran's "Bloodstream" was written after an experience taking MDMA during a wedding celebration in Ibiza; it's basically about all the feelings that he got from that time.

"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who is about a revolution, but it doesn't have a happy ending, since in the end the new regime becomes just like the old one. Pete Townshend thought that whoever was in power was destined to become corrupt.

Good TimesChic

The disco song "Good Tmes" by Chic was a huge influence on early rap, providing the bassline for "Rapper's Delight."

Dancing QueenABBA

ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."

Uptown FunkMark Ronson

The actress Michelle Pfeiffer gets namechecked in the 2014 megahit "Uptown Funk" ("Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold"). When it was released, "Riptide" by Vance Joy was on the charts; that song also mentions her ("Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").