Just about every songwriter worth their salt has attempted what might be best described as a putdown song. We’re talking about those songs that deal out a heaping helping of truth to someone who’s gone off on a wayward path.
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Graham Parker knocked out a classic in this subgenre with the song “That’s What They All Say” back in 1976. It’s not as nasty as other songs of that ilk. But Parker still manages to make plenty of winning points for his side of the argument.
Rumour Has It
The late 70s proved to be a boom time for outstanding British songwriters. Many of them were linked to the punk scene, if for no other reason than they wrote songs that weren’t afraid to show some snarling attitude. But these tunesmiths generally offered wide musical variety.
Graham Parker initially played with more psychedelic bands before falling for gritty soul music a la Wilson Pickett. Along the way, he developed a sharp songwriting style that balanced acerbic humor with heartfelt confession. And he picked up an ace band to back him in The Rumour.
When Parker and The Rumour hit the scene with the Howlin’ Wind album in April 1976, they quickly became critical darlings. Demand for more music from them was high. That’s why they rushed out another album called Heat Treatment just six months later.
Parker later bemoaned the fact that he didn’t have enough time to write a better batch of songs, even though the LP again received excellent notices. He also questioned the choices of Mutt Lange, who was tackling one of his first high-profile production gigs. Nonetheless, it’s hard to find much fault with “That’s What They All Say”, which features chiming guitars and a galloping rhythm a la some long-lost British Invasion single from the early 60s.
A Deep Dive into the Lyrics of “That’s What They All Say”
“That’s What They All Say” features a narrator attempting to tell an acquaintance that her seeming ascent in the world might not be all it’s cracked up to be. The title hints that she’s more common than she’d be willing to admit.
The first part of each line begins with the words “You think”, before the narrator contradicts her assumptions. Take, for example, the stinging opening lines. “You think you’ve got a head for heights, be careful, babe, you might fall,” Parker sings. “You think you know all your rights, but you’re at someone’s beck and call.”
The narrator suggests that she’s stopping herself from listening to her better instincts. “You wanna come down and check out my level, but something stands in your way,” he explains. In the middle eight, he implies that she’s trying to forget her past, which includes him: “Standing in the rain/You pass by, don’t even remember my name.”
According to the narrator, her achievements are illusory. “You think your jewels aren’t made out of paste, believe me, they’re looking that way,” he mocks. And, at the end of each verse, he hits her with this damning assertion: “You’re in the race, you’ve got a place/But that’s what they all say.”
Perhaps Bob Dylan set the tone for this kind of song way back when with “Positively 4th Street”. Folks like Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, and Warren Zevon have excelled at it as well. Graham Parker immediately rose to the upper echelon of the category with “That’s What They All Say”. Which is ironic, because the song deftly sketches a character who’s bound to fall.
Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns
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