‘White Wedding’ is a song by Billy Idol that was released as the second single from his self-titled studio album in 1982. Although it is not Idol's highest-charting hit, it is often considered one of his most recognizable songs. In the US, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart on 27 November 1982, then reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 July 1983 after it was re-issued. In the UK, it reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart upon its re-release there in 1985, when it was re-issued to promote the Vital Idol remix album.
Despite rumors to the contrary, this song is not about Idol's actual little sister. "Little sister" is slang for girlfriend. He is singing about a woman/girl he loves marrying someone else while he still loves her. Idol did have a sister who was getting married, but on an episode of VH1 Storytellers, he explained that his sister's wedding simply gave him the idea for the song. Like many of Idol's compositions, he started with the title and wrote the song from there.
When Billy Idol arrived in New York to record his self-titled debut album, he knew he needed more songs than he'd brought with him from London. Producer Keith Forsey sat Idol in the mixing room with a semi-acoustic guitar and a drum machine, and told him to come up with some ideas. Then he walked away and left him alone. Inspiration came suddenly. "I looked at the blank page in front of me, instinctively picked up the pen and without thinking I wrote two words, White Wedding," Idol recalled in his Dancing With Myself memoir. "I searched for my favorite key on the guitar, and started making chords to create music with a spaghetti western-like vibe. It seemed like the right way to start a song." Twenty minutes later, he'd written "White Wedding."
The music video, featuring Idol attending a goth wedding, is one of his best-known. The bride is played by Perri Lister, Idol's real-life girlfriend at the time. She is also one of the three dancers clad in black leather, who slap their buttocks in time with the clap track in the song as they shimmy downwards near the end. "That's the kind of thing they love in England", says Idol.
The song was featured in the 1998 film The Wedding Singer (in which Idol appears), on the American TV series My Name Is Earl and on the British TV series Blackpool.
Label – ChrysalisSongwriter – Billy Idol
Producer – Keith Forsey
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Hey, little sister, what have you done?
Hey, little sister, who's the only one?
Hey, little sister, who's your Superman?
Hey, little sister, who's the one you want?
Hey, little sister, shotgun
[Chorus]
It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again
[Verse 2]
Hey, little sister, who is it you're with?
Hey, little sister, what's your vice or wish?
Hey, little sister, shotgun, oh yeah
Hey, little sister, who's your Superman?
Hey, little sister, shotgun
[Chorus]
It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again, ow!
[Guitar solo]
[Bridge]
Pick it up
Take me back home, yeah
[Verse 3]
Hey, little sister, what have you done?
Oh, hey, little sister, who's the only one?
I've been away for so long
I've been away for so long
I let you go for so long
[Chorus]
It's a nice day to start again
Come on, it's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again, wow!
[Bridge]
There is nothin' fair in this world, girl
There is nothin' safe in this world
And there's nothin' sure in this world
And there's nothin' pure in this world
Look for something left in this world
Start again
[Chorus]
Come on, It's a nice day for a white wedding, woow!
It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day to start again