Defend the Indefensible: "Wonderful Tonight"

Been required to learn this recently (on acoustic, no less!). I can sort of get all the way through "it's late in the evening" but then my soul starts to convulse.

i've actually covered this song live, i think more than once. not saying that as a defense, just trivia... it's a lame ass song.

I lived in a co-ed dorm during my freshman year of college (1985), and this FUCKING canker-sore of a song would ring out like fuckin' CLOCKWORK every friday night from the girls' side. Never mind the fact that Clapton purportedly penned it as weary lament Patti whatshername's chronic vanity and inability to prepare herself for a night out in a timely fashion. Regardless, it makes me want to eat my own vomit. Bad music for stupid people.

had a crush on a chick in h.s. who loved this song

ever mind the fact that Clapton purportedly penned it as weary lament Patti whatshername's chronic vanity and inability to prepare herself for a night out in a timely fashion.

Yeah, but never mind that the song sounds like he loves her late ass anyway.

And never mind the fact that he stole her out from George Harrison's ass.

Fuck Eric Clapton.

Never mind that it's an addict's smarmy day-after thank you to the uncomplaining enabler who looked good next to you while you were high as fuck at that party and then drove you home and held your hair while you puked.

Hahahahahaha

I like this song better when it was called "Bell Bottom Blues".

touche

Yeah I like to imagine this song being sung by someone at the end of his rope: "Yes, for the LAST FUCKING TIME, you look wonderful tonight." Lotsa ladies love this though -- I think my sister in law loved it, even though she would never listen to a Clapton record.

24 Nights was released about a month after Tower Records opened in Chicago. Of all the conversations I had with customers there, the one I enjoyed the least was with the drunken yuppie who showed up late one night, brought over a copy of 24 Nights to the register, pointed to "Wonderful Tonight" on the tracklist and asked, "Have you ever made love to a woman while this song was playing?" I can only be thankful that I do not remember the precise moment of the song that he said was perfect for climax, though he described it in excruciating detail. He wanted to know if I'd heard it because he was wondering if the live version would serve his purposes as well as the studio recording had.

So I guess, to Defend the Indefensible: some say it provides a good soundtrack.

This is a perfectly disgusting song, which has quickly elicited a treasure trove of nausea-inducing comments and anecdotes, and now I feel sickened but curiously aroused. This is why I love ILX. Thank you so, so much.

dad a with a stone cold classic there.

but not exactly a defense

this song gives you proof, if any were needed, that eric clapton is an unbelievable dick.

"Wonderful Tonight" (Clapton) – 3:44

And never mind the fact that he stole her out from George Harrison's ass.

Fuck Eric Clapton.

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 6 May 2009 01:43 (12 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

And then cheated on Boyd with another woman, whom he also had a child with. Fuck Eric Clapton.

Yah I refuse to listen to rock stars who've committed infidelity.

had a crush on a chick in h.s. who loved this song

^^^^^ I'm sure it's a common tale.

Which brings us inevitably to:

Q: What did Eric Clapton do after he wrote "Tears in Heaven"?
.
.
.
A: Thew his kid out the window.

Also the song could be improved by changing the end of the first verse to:

"And then she asks me/ do I look fat? / And I say / Do I look stupid?"

Thank you! I'll be hear until the end of this cup of coffee.

is it the first hit song to reference a designated driver? might be defensible on some sort of "the more you know" grounds.

oh i don't mind this song

so far the main criticisms of this song on this thread seem to be "girls like it" and "its about a girl" and "eric clapton is an adulterer"

I'll be hear until the end of this cup of coffee.

Drink faster...

I strongly dislike this song.

criticism: clapton should never ever be allowed to sing, particularly not in his tender loverman voice that sounds like he just ate a spoonful of peanut butter.

as an occasional wedding dj and generally open minded guy, i am often quick to leap to the defense of your more mainstream, oft-played songs. i have a certain appreciation for the black eyed peas, for instance, and i almost said something nice about sublime here the other day. but as far as "wonderful tonight"?

fuck that song. it's lame and i hate it.

It's really the dictionary definition of somnambulant. Might work if it was Clapton singing to the pile of coke on his mirror, though. Sort of.

(I've really heard nothing of merit from this dude, but I did hear his autobiography was pretty good. Well written, insightful, honest, etc.)

"so far the main criticisms of this song on this thread seem to be 'girls like it' and 'its about a girl' and 'eric clapton is an adulterer'"

I'll make it simple for you: it sucks.

"Yes, for the LAST FUCKING TIME, you look wonderful tonight." Lotsa ladies love this though -- I think my sister in law loved it, even though she would never listen to a Clapton record.
OTM — this song divides the sexes like no other. My wife and I always argue about it when it comes on the radio.

Even though that one dude's intense relationship with the song creeped me out, I'd take it over Tears In Heaven or the unplugged Layla any day.

tears in heaven is better because of the jokes.

"WT" was performed at my step-sister's wedding reception, by a friend of hers who had brought a guitar along for that specific purpose. The other bridesmaids sang along. Everybody forgot the words.

The marriage ended, extremely unpleasantly, a couple of years later.

that sounds horrible

The central riff of this song is shameless. SHAMELESS. I do wonder though, if this song was written/performed by someone else -- Neil Young, say -- would it come in for such a bruising?

Neil would have made it weirder. His voice alone would have lent it a creepier edge, and I doubt the results would have been so damn sleepy.

I am resisting the urge to post one of the 10000000000 versions of this on youtube; the ukelele one is perhaps worth a peek.

The riff is something. With some tweaking this song could be pretty great, maybe a more smarmy lyric/vocal, kicked up so that there's some irony. Think of an Avalon version, if you dare.

I might like the song more without the robotic background voices on the chorus singing "do you feel alright?". Actually, that makes it sound kinda awesome.

I might like the song more without the robotic background voices on the chorus singing "do you feel alright?". Actually, that makes it sound kinda awesome.

ILM in a nutshell

Not too many other rock ballads out there about having a limp whisky dick.

haha, xpost, i was actually thinking that someone like Bryan Ferry could give this song a creepy, romantic vibe, instead of Clapton's warbly version.

smarm aside, the real problem is shallowness. it's purporting to be an expression of deeply-felt emotion but all he can think of to say is, "yr pretty hot" and "other people think yr hot" and "thanks for driving me home babe." and the wonder of it all is that she just don't realize how much he loves her -- can't imagine why that might be.

yeah, I mean we must have threads on inarticulacy as a songwriting device (e.g. the Who, Oasis) but this one isn't self-aware enough to work on that count.

smarm aside, the real problem is shallowness. it's purporting to be an expression of deeply-felt emotion but all he can think of to say is, "yr pretty hot" and "other people think yr hot" and "thanks for driving me home babe." and the wonder of it all is that she just don't realize how much he loves her -- can't imagine why that might be.

― would you ask tom petty that? (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, May 6, 2009

OTM which is what makes the apparently unironic lady-love for this song not just hard to fathom but creepy. it's like a primer in abuse.

granted i'm not sure what more i'd have to say to pattie boyd either.

I used to have to play this in a cover band that I was in about ten years ago. I hated it so much that I literally just played whole-note roots on the bass the whole time, just to get through the fucking song. No pickup notes, no little ascending or descending parts, nothing.

The bridge in this song is even worse than the riff.

my only defense is that monsters like this have a certain ruthlessness that's kind of awesome/awful

Don't know if this:

"Wonderful Tonight" (Clapton) – 3:44

was a response to this:

"Have you ever made love to a woman while this song was playing?"

But if so, LOLOL!

smarm aside, the real problem is shallowness. it's purporting to be an expression of deeply-felt emotion but all he can think of to say is, "yr pretty hot" and "other people think yr hot" and "thanks for driving me home babe." and the wonder of it all is that she just don't realize how much he loves her -- can't imagine why that might be.

― would you ask tom petty that? (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, May 6, 2009

OTM which is what makes the apparently unironic lady-love for this song not just hard to fathom but creepy. it's like a primer in abuse.

granted i'm not sure what more i'd have to say to pattie boyd either.

― butt-rock miyagi (rogermexico.), Wednesday, May 6, 2009 10:55 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

dont actually like this song enuff to mount a serious defense but i think its vagueness is more abt letting other ppl fill in the blanks for themselves ... sorta generic universality ...

did odb ever cover this?

This song has been my benchmark for sheer awfulness for as long as I can remember. As has been (brilliantly) observed above, the lyric is a case study in shallowness, but what bugs me more is the facile guitar riff. It's a limp simulacrum of soulfulness, like something B.B. King might play if you dosed him with Mogadon. I also loathe the dull, soporific arrangement, all snoozy Hammond, plodding drums and cooing backing vocals.

This song is flawless. Play on, playas.

I don't think the lyrics are actually vague though, deej. They're just that empty.

fuckin song stuck in my head all day, thanks a lot ILM

(Like, emptiness/shallowness != vagueness. I think it is clear what he's actually saying.)

He's saying she looks wonderful tonight! No metaphor, all clarity!

and why because he sees the love light in 'er eyes aka she affirms his narcissism

Neeyew neh neeeeeee, neeyew neh neeeeee, nee-yew neee, neee neee neee neee-yeee!

clapton is dog

Heard this on the oldies station the other day and against instinct I didn't turn it off immediately. I decided to listen to it and it revealed itself in a way that I don't think was an ironic re-evaluation but something totally different and completely new to me.

It seemed like maybe this song is Clapton taking the piss out of the monotony of married life. The shallowness thing that people upthread were discussing, I can see that too, but it almost feels like there is some self-awareness in here. Kind of the husband wearing a shit-eating grin after being asked for the trillionth time "do i look alright?". I mean, it is shallow, but it seems like he's kind of indulging in her narcissism rather than the other way around. In the second verse when they're out in public he very dryly describes "this beautiful lady that's walking around with me" like its 'here we go again'. He's secondary, everyone is staring at this lady (not "my lady"). It's kind of a funny song when you look at it this way.

did odb ever cover this?

Yes.

I actually hear a singing voice similar to ODB's (singing not rapping) when I think of this song, so I usually crack up when it gets stuck in my head.

^^ omg this really helps!

"wonderful tonight" + sober = "lady in red"

i think i prefer it drunk

but generally clapton's got one of those part-time vocal styles that you'd get when someone in woody herman's trombone section stood up and sung "your father's moustache" or similar. i prefer him when he's a tad annoyed, viz. layla, behind the mask &c.

Is it wrong to prefer "It's In The Way That You Use It" to this slop? No, I say.

can't stand that either. blimey, the color of money!

i'll take "i can't stand it" over either.

actually that one might be even worse now that you mention it.

"I Can't Stand It" is great just for that intro. And, he pulls off the old "getting a little softer now, getting a little bit louder now" bit off pretty well in that song.

Kinda like this song. I have much more of a problem with Eric Clapton when he play those boring 12 bar blues songs that sound exactly the same.

I'll give you all the hollow triteness of the lyrics and the overall sleepy feel, but I'm surprised at all the hate for the lead guitar part. It's pretty understated and catchy IMO

yeah i do not hate the riff.

(the kinship to "bell bottom blues" noted above is true enough. and "bell bottom blues" is pretty fine.)

yea i don't give a fuck if it's shameless i can't hate on that riff

for some reason it reminds me of nazereth's version of 'love hurts'

makes me think of junior high makeouts and shit

i do NOT concede the kinship to bell bottom blues which is a good and quality tale of romantic desperation

harrumph!

but yeah the riff isn't exactly breaking new bloozrock ground but it doesn't bug me and is well placed and well played

kinship just aching-blues-riff-wise, not word- or intent-wise.