Don't Mean Nothing

Album: Richard Marx (1987)
Charted: 78 3
Play Video
  • Welcome to the big time, you're bound to be a star
    And even if you don't go all the way, I know that you'll go far
    This race is for rats, it can turn you upside down
    Ain't no one you can count on in this sleazy little town

    Oh, no, lots of promises in the dark
    Don't you open your heart

    'Cause it don't mean nothin', the words that they say
    No, don't mean nothin', these games that people play
    No, it don't mean nothin', no victim, no crime
    No, don't mean nothin' till you sign it on that dotted line

    The director smiles as you walk in the door
    He says, "I love your work, babe
    But you're just not what we're looking for"
    It's never what but who it is you know
    So easy to get stuck in all that California snow

    Oh no, take a good look around and you'll find
    People tryin' to mess with your mind

    But it don't mean nothin', the words that they say
    No, don't mean nothin', these games that people play
    No, it don't mean nothin', no victim, no crime
    No, don't mean nothin' till you sign it on that dotted line

    Hollywood can be so lonely, make you the winner of a losing fight
    But the party is never over 'cause stars are always shining
    Doesn't matter if it's day or night

    The producer says, "Let me change a line or two"
    And a little bit of something can look awfully good to you
    And you want to scream, but you gotta keep it all inside
    When you're trying to make a living there ain't no such thing as pride

    Oh no, lots of promises in the dark
    Don't you open your heart

    'Cause it don't mean nothin', the words that they say
    No, I don't mean nothin', these games that people play
    No, it don't mean nothin', no victim, no crime
    No, I don't mean nothin' till you sign it on that dotted line

    Don't mean nothing
    Don't mean nothing
    Don't mean nothing

    Don't mean nothing
    Don't mean nothing
    Don't mean nothing Writer/s: BRUCE GAITSCH, RICHARD MARX, RICHARD N. MARX
    Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC , Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • Allen Rose from RomeThe line in that Richard Marx song is, it’s never what but who it is you know it’s so easy to get stuck in all that California snow.
  • Maury The Jew from Michigangee thanks christine...such a complicated topic...

    not what but who....what...??
  • Christine from Central New YorkKeith from Connersville: the lyric is "it's never what, but WHO it you know". In other words, it's not what you know but WHO you know that will get you somewhere.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 11th, 1987, Richard Marx performed "Don't Mean Nothing" on the Dick Clark ABC-TV network Saturday-afternoon program 'American Bandstand'...
    At the time the song was at #33 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; seven weeks later it would peak at #3 {for 1 week} and it spent 21 weeks on the Top 100...
    And on June 28th, 1987 it reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart...
    Between 1987 and 1998 he had eighteen records on the Hot Top 100 chart; nine made the Top 10 with three* reaching #1, "Hold On to the Nights" for 1 week in 1988, "Satisfied" for 1 week in 1989, and "Right Here Waiting" for 3 weeks in 1989...
    Richard Noel Marx will celebrate his 54th birthday in two months on September 16th, 2017...
    * He just missed having a fourth #1 record when "Endless Summer Nights" peaked at #2 {for 2 weeks} in 1988, the two weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for both those weeks was "Man In The Mirror" by Michael Jackson...
  • Keith from Connersville Indiana I'm pretty sure that the lyric is and you never worked not it's a never what... What does that even mean.
  • Jim from Long Beach, CaI love the Joe Walsh guitar solo on this..
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Which Songs are About Drugs?

Which Songs are About Drugs?Fact or Fiction

"25 or 6 to 4" to "Semi-Charmed Life" - see if you can spot the songs that are really about drugs.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Sam Hollander

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.