Tell Her No

Album: The Zombies (1964)
Charted: 42 6
Play Video
  • And if she should tell you "Come closer"
    And if she tempts you with her charms

    Tell her no no no no no-no-no-no
    No no no no no-no-no-no
    No no no no no
    Don't hurt me now for her love belongs to me

    And if she should tell you "I love you" Uh, oh-oh-oh
    And if she tempts you with her charms

    Tell her no no no no no-no-no-no (oh, oh-oh)
    No no no no no-no-no-no (don't take her love for your arms)
    No no no no no, (uh, oh-oh)
    Don't hurt me now for her love belongs to me

    I know she's the kind of girl
    Who'd throw my love away
    But I still love her so
    Don't hurt me now, don't hurt me now

    If she tells you "I love you"
    Just remember she said that to me

    Tell her no no no no no-no-no-no (oh, oh-oh)
    No no no no no-no-no-no (don't take her love for your arms)
    No no no no no, (uh, oh-oh)
    Don't hurt me now for her love belongs to me Writer/s: Rod Argent
    Publisher: MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 9

  • Jj from IllinoisThe last line is wrong here on Songfacts and several other sites. Many have it right:
    Tell her no no no no no-no-no-no
    No no no no no-no-no-no
    (Don't take her love from my arms)
    Oh, oh, oh, oh,
    Don't leave me now for her love belongs to me.

    Yes, that last line seems a little strange. But that is what he sings. I always wondered if the last line was to her, and should have been:
    "Don't leave me now for your love belongs to me." and maybe the lead singer just sang it "her love" instead of "your love" because of repetition of "her."
    Despite my question, this line does make some sense as it is....He tells her not to leave him, and to himself (or another) "her love belongs to me!"
    Regardless, the last line is clearly "don't leave me now" Not "don't hurt me now"
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 27th 1965, the Zombies performed "Tell He No" on the ABC-TV weekly program 'Shindig!'...
    At the time the song was at #24 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; just under four weeks later on February 21st it would peak at #6 for two weeks...
    {See second post below}
    R.I.P. Jimmy O'Neill {Shindig's host; 1940 - 2013}.
  • Don from Sevierville, TnJuice Newton covered this song in 1983. She's a country singer, but I think the synthesizer riff in her version makes it sound like new wave.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 3rd, 1965 "Tell Her No" by the Zombies entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and on February 21st it peaked at #6 (for 2 weeks) and spent 11 weeks on the Top 100...
    It also reached #6 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart but in their native U.K. it only peaked at #42...
    Between 1964 and 1969 the group had only five records to make Top 100; but three of them reached the Top 10, beside this one there was "She's Not There" (#2 for one week) and "Time Of The Season" (#3)...
    Rod Argent, the group's keyboard player, wrote their three Top 10 hits and in 1972 wrote "Hold Your Head Up", which reached #5 by his self-named band, Argent.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyIn 1959 a duo named Travis and Bob released a record title 'Tell Him No'; it peaked at No. 8 and stayed in the Top 100 for 13 weeks!!! {It basically had the same message}
  • Martin from Rostock, GermanyI counted 26 ;)
  • Jim from Monore, LaBill Withers says "i know" 27 straight times in the recording. count em!
  • Scott from Chelan, WaNot a commentary on the song ... just trivia:

    The old 60's classic "nobody but me", by the Human Beinz, has even more "no's'.

    I think Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" also beats it with "I knows" - not the same word, but just sayin' :)
  • Neil from Skokie, IlRod Argent was the Zombies keyboard player.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.