‘Photograph’ is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, Pyromania (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart. Cash Box called it "a well-crafted if typical hard-pop outing," praising the "incendiary metal guitar licks and deafening drumbeats."
This was Def Leppard's first hit. The band formed in 1977 and released two major-label albums before issuing Pyromania. These first two albums sold well, with Def Leppard gaining appeal in the hard rock realm (they toured with both Blackfoot and Rainbow in 1981).
The Pyromania album was produced by Mutt Lange, who came up with the line, "All I've got is a photograph." This gave them the idea to write a song about a guy who's crazy about a girl, but all he has of her is a photograph. Lange, whose first work with the band was producing their previous album High 'n' Dry, was so integral to the band's sound that he got songwriter credits on every Pyromania track. Def Leppard's next album, Hysteria, was also produced by Lange after an attempt with Jim Steinman failed. It wasn't released until 1987, delayed because of Lange's schedule and a severed limb: drummer Rick Allen lost an arm in a car accident on New Year's Eve, 1984.
The band would sometimes dedicate this song to Marilyn Monroe when they performed it live, and the video featured a Monroe look-a-like. This drew many listeners to the conclusion that the song is about the actress, but the Monroe association was constructed for the sake of a good story. The band didn't have a specific inspiration for the lyrics, but wanted to express their young lust in an anthemic song - what guy hasn't found himself so infatuated with a girl that every photograph he sees reminds him of her?
MTV, which launched in 1981, put the ‘Photograph’ video in hot rotation, creating a feedback loop between the network and local radio stations. In an interview with Joe Elliott, he explained: "It went through the roof because of MTV. Once people started getting cable all over the States, this fledgling MTV thing took off. We got fantastic bounce-back from people watching it on MTV and then asking the radio stations to play it. The two started bouncing back from each other request-wise, and the song just went crazy."
Labels – Vertigo, Mercury
Songwriters – Steve Clark, Pete Willis, Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Producer – Robert John "Mutt" Lange
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Huh!
[Verse 1]
I'm outta luck, outta love
Gotta photograph, picture of
Passion killer, you're too much
You're the only one I wanna touch
[Verse 2]
I see your face every time I dream
On every page, every magazine
So wild and free, so far from me
You're all I want, my fantasy
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown
Oh-oh, look what you've done
[Chorus]
(Photograph)
I don't want your (Photograph)
I don't need your (Photograph)
All I've got is a photograph
But it's not enough
[Verse 3]
I'd be your lover, if you were there
Put your hurt on me, if you dare
Such a woman, you got style
You make every man feel like a child, oh
[Verse 4]
You got some kinda hold on me
You're all wrapped up in mystery
So wild and free, so far from me
You're all I want, my fantasy
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown
Oh-oh, look what you've done
[Chorus]
I gotta have your (Photograph)
I don't want your (Photograph)
I don't need your (Photograph)
All I've got is a photograph
You've gone straight to my head
[Guitar Solo]
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown
Oh-oh, look what you've done
I gotta have your
[Chorus]
I gotta have your (Photograph)
I don't want your (Photograph)
I don't need your (Photograph)
All I've got is a photograph
I want to touch you
[Outro]
Ohhh
(Photograph, photograph)
Ohh yeah, photograph
(Photograph, photograph)
I need more, baby
(Photograph)
I'm all outta love
(Photograph)
I wanna love
(Photograph)
You're the only one
(Photograph)
I want to touch