She Just Looks That Way
We have all met that person at some point in our life. They appear like a god or goddess and we end up completely enamoured with them, but then something unexpected happens. They open their mouths and your realized they are shallow, materialistic, cruel, and not at all what they appeared to be at first impression. Unfortunately, it’s too late, we are trapped. Stuck in a toxic and often one-sided relationship with no way to get ourselves out.
I’ve missed Song Lyric Sunday the last couple of weeks, but I am back. This week Jim at A Unique Title for Me asks us to feature a song that deals with the concepts of appearance, image, likeness, object, picture, or photograph. While the song I have chosen does not specifically mention any of these terms the song is all about the appearance and image a person projects.
The Northern Pikes are a Canadian rock outfit hailing from the prairie town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The band includes Jay Semko, Bryan Potvin, Merl Bryck, and Don Schmid. Although they still perform and record the period from 1987 through 1993 was the band’s heyday with songs like ‘Teenland‘, ‘Things I Do for Money‘, ‘Girl With a Problem‘, ‘Believe‘, and this week’s song choice ‘She Ain’t Pretty‘.
Potvin who penned the song remembers being at a friend’s house, flipping through the channels when he stopped on an episode of Rhoda, the Mary Tyler Moore spinoff sitcom. The scene was a conversation between an attractive woman and a not-so-attractive woman. One of the women said, “Look at you. What could possibly be wrong with your life?” The other woman replied, “I’m not really beautiful, I just look that way.” Potvin found the line funny so he jotted it down in his notebook and went to bed. The line would jump out at him again sometime later. When he rediscovered it, he says ‘She Ain’t Pretty‘ jammed out pretty quick.
He was reluctant to demo the track to the band believing the song too goofy. As we have heard too many times before, songs like that end up being huge hits for the artists who record them. That pattern would hold true with ‘She Ain’t Pretty‘ as it ended up being the lead single from the band’s third major-label release, ‘Snow in June‘, and easily the band’s most successful release. Hope you enjoy…
She Ain’t Pretty Lyrics
I had two jobs, I had dishwater hands And on the weekend in a rock and roll band One Friday night, in my hometown bar In walked a girl who looked like a movie star She stared at me and it was turning me on She said she worked in a beauty salon I heard a voice inside me say She ain't pretty, she just looks that way We made a date to go for a drink I wore my jeans and she wore a mink There was this misconception all over town That she ate lonely guy heart by the pound She said, "Take me home, there won't be no fuss" I said, "Sure, you got some change for the bus?" Watching her leave, I heard the bartender say She ain't pretty she just looks that way So, uh, I called her up, her father was home Said, "She's busy, she can't come to the phone" I held my breath and decided to wait A guy like me doesn't get many dates I fell in love with a model from hell It took some time for my hormones to tell That chasing her has been a grave mistake She ain't pretty she just looks that way Her ego wrote cheques incredibly fast But her personality didn't have the cash I laughed out loud to my total dismay She ain't pretty she just looks that way She ain't pretty she just looks that way She ain't pretty She ain't pretty She ain't pretty She ain't pretty she just looks that way Songwriters: Bryan Potvin
Other great songs by The Northern Pikes:
Jim Adam’s Song Lyric Sunday.
Theme: Appearance / Image / Likeness / Object / Photograph
Date: 2022-05-28 | Tags: #sls, #songlyricsunday
Sources: amplify.ca
Photo Credit: Timothy Dykes via Unsplash | Album Art: discogs.com
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook, All Rights Reserved.
Greg's Blog 
Nice music Greg, great lyrics and I love the sound in this gem.
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Thanks Jim.
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