Here Comes My Girl - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Artist: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Song: Here Comes My Girl
Year: 1979
Album: Damn The Torpedoes

This song always reminds me of my fiancée. Everything in the world could be going wrong, but one thought of her and the problems start to melt away. I can imagine that can be applied to anyone of the feminine persuasion that you love. It could be a fiancée, a girlfriend, a wife, a daughter. Pretty much anyone that you would consider to be "yours" at the time.

I've always thought that this was a very underrated song from Tom Petty. It only hit as high as number 59 on the charts, but it's a damn good song. It captures a nonchalant attitude, but gives a purpose behind the attitude. My interpretation is that a female that you care about can make all your problems seem to disappear, but I'm sure that's not the only school of thought.

It almost seems as if Tom Petty is taking a page from the Isaac Hayes playbook. He seems to be slightly rapping during the song. He alternates that with periods of singing. This was his style of music though. The spoken word and sung parts of a song can be found in other songs from his catalogue.

Tom has a lazy way of speaking the verses in this song. It fits with the mood perfectly. It enhances the chorus parts, when he actually sings. This is a prime example of why Tom Petty became popular in the late seventies. This was something familiar and yet something new and exciting. A marriage of blues and rock with a twist of country thrown in for flavor. The perfect recipe.

Lyrics:
You know sometimes, I don't know why,
But this old town seems so hopeless.
Yeah, I ain't really sure, but it seems I remember the good times
Were just a little bit more in focus.

But when she puts her arms around me
I can somehow rise above it.
Yeah, man when I got that little girl standin' right by my side,
You know, I can tell the whole wide world to shove it, hey!

Here comes my girl. Here comes my girl.
Yeah, and she looks so right, she is all I need tonight.

Every now and then I down to the end of the day
And I have to stop and ask myself why I've done it.
It just seems so useless to have to work so hard
And nothin' ever really seems to come from it.

But then she looks me in the eye and says,
"We're gonna last forever."
And man, you know I can't begin to doubt it.
No, 'cause it just feels so good and so free and so right.
I know we ain't never goin' to change our minds about it - hey!

Here comes my girl. Here comes my girl.
Yeah, and she looks so right, she is all I need tonight. (Watch her walk.)

Every time it seems like there ain't nothin' left no more,
I find myself having to reach out and grab hold of something.
Yeah, I just catch myself waiting, wondering, worrying
About some silly little things that don't add up to nothin'.

But then she looks me in the eye and says,
"We're gonna last forever."
And man, you know I can't begin to doubt it.
No, 'cause it just feels so good and so free and so right.
I know we ain't never gonna' to change our minds about it - hey!

Here comes my girl. Here comes my girl.
Yeah, and she looks so right, she is all I need tonight.