Is She Really Going Out With Him?

Album: Look Sharp! (1979)
Charted: 13 21
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A minimalist New Wave song recorded with his band, "Is She Really Going Out With Him" was Joe Jackson's amusing commentary on hot girls hooking up with butt-ugly dudes. Jackson makes this clear in the marvelous opening line, "Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street." In a Songfacts interview with Joe Jackson, he explained that the song was written with a humor that was lost on some listeners. Said Jackson: "That is just one of those songs that started with the title. I heard that phrase somewhere and I thought that could be a kind of funny song about gorgeous girls going out with monsters. It just started from there. It was just a funny song, or supposed to be funny. It was a great surprise to me when some people interpreted it as being angry."
  • Jackson was not the first to ask this musical question. The 1964 Shangri-Las hit "Leader of the Pack" opens with some dialog:

    Is she really going out with him?
    Well, there she is, let's ask her.
    Betty, is that Jimmy's ring you're wearing?


    In 1976, the UK punk band The Damned lifted this line to open their first single, "New Rose."
  • Other artists to record this song include Sugar Ray, Goldfinger and Kid Courageous.

Comments: 5

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 22nd 1979 Joe Jackson performed "Is She Really Going Out With Him" on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    Six months earlier on June 3rd it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and on August 12th it peaked at 21 (for 2 weeks) and spent 15 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #9 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart...
    Was track three of his debut album, 'Look Sharp!', the album peaked at #20 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
    The song was featured in the 1998 movie 'There's Something About Mary'...
    Mr. Jackson, born David Ian Jackson, celebrated his 59th birthday four months ago on August 11th.
  • Dave from Easton, PaOh! That bass line!! I was 15 when this song came out, and it spoke to me.
  • Landon from Winchester, OhThis is brilliant! This is proof that the 70's will never get old!
  • Johnnys Cousin Steve from Villas, NjClever, fun, great riff and a part for all the drunk people to yell! Awesome tune!
  • Sabo Romo from D.f.,There's an a capella version in his first A&M live album: Live 1980/86. And is, probably, the most auto-covered song.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.