‘You and Me’ is a song by Alice Cooper, released in 1977 as the lead single from his album Lace and Whiskey. The song is a soft rock ballad, reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100 in the summer of 1977. The song reached number three in Canada and number two in Australia, where it is ranked as the 13th biggest hit of 1977. The song turned out to be Cooper's last US top-ten hit until ‘Poison’ twelve years later.
This love ballad was a significant departure from Cooper's usual dark-themed rockers. It was the last in a trilogy of ballads Cooper recorded, following ‘Only Women Bleed’ and ‘I Never Cry’ He has described this genre as "heavy metal housewife rock." In an interview with Creem magazine a few months after the release of ‘You and Me,’ Cooper discussed the impetus behind his trilogy of ballads: "I did those songs totally out of spite," he said. "I kept reading so many interviews and articles that I said I was never considered musical. Best rock show they ever saw, but musically lacking. 'They aren't as good as ELP.' Of course not," he laughed, "we didn't want to be."
This was the lead single off the 1977 album Lace and Whiskey, which was the shock-rock legend's third album as a solo artist following the breakup of the original Alice Cooper band in 1974. Cooper decided to change up his sound a bit on this collection and soften his image. He considered it a concept album based on a 1940s-era detective he called "Inspector Maurice Escargot." For his 1977 tour, Cooper divided his show into three sets: Oldies, Hell, and Lace and Whiskey. This third part he performed in his Escargot character.
This song climbed to #9 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking his last Top-10 on the chart until ‘Poison’ in 1989. The song also hit #23 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and # 3 on the singles chart in Australia. Cooper regularly performed ‘You and Me’ live on his 1977 and 1978 concert tours. He also performed the song on The Muppet Show in 1978, as a duet with a female monster who turned out to be Miss Piggy.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriters – Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner
Producers – Bob Ezrin
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]When I get home from work
I wanna wrap myself around you
I wanna take you and squeeze you
'Til the passion starts to rise
[Pre-Chorus]
I wanna take you to heaven
That would make my day complete
[Chorus]
But you and me ain't no movie stars
What we are is what we are
We share a bed, some lovin' and TV, yeah
And that's enough for a workin' man
What I am is what I am
And I tell you, babe, well that's enough for me
[Verse 2]
Sometimes when you're asleep
And I'm just starin' at the ceiling
I wanna reach out and touch you
But you just go on dreamin'
[Pre-Chorus]
If I could take you to heaven
That would make my day complete
[Chorus]
But you and me ain't no movie stars
What we are is what we are
We share a bed, some lovin' and TV, yeah
'Cause that's enough for a workin' man
What I am is what I am
And I tell you, sweetheart, that's just enough for me
[Instrumental Break]
[Chorus]
You and me ain't no superstars
What we are is what we are
We share a bed, some popcorn and TV, yeah
And that's enough for a workin' man
What I am is what I am
And I tell you, babe, you're just enough for me
[Verse 3]
When I get home from work
I wanna wrap myself around you
I'd like to hold you, squeeze you
'Til the passion starts to rise
[Pre-Chorus]
I wanna take you to heaven
That would make my day complete
[Chorus]
You and me ain't no movie stars
What we are is what we are
We share a bed, some lovin' and TV, yeah
And that's enough for a workin' man
What I am, well that's what I am
I tell you, baby, that's just enough for me