‘Come On Eileen’ is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners, released in the UK in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album Too-Rye-Ay. It reached number one in the United States and was their second number one hit in the UK, following 1980's ‘Geno’. The song was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley and was initially claimed to be written by Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, although Rowland later stated that the essence of the tune should be attributed to Kevin Archer.
While the song will fit nicely in an '80s music time capsule, it sounded nothing like the other hits of the era. There are no synthesizers on the song, but there is banjo, accordion, fiddle and saxophone. In an interview with Kevin Rowland, he explained how the song came together: “We wanted a good rhythm and we found one. Lots of records we liked had that rhythm: 'Concrete and Clay,' 'It's Not Unusual' by Tom Jones. Lots of records we liked had that 'Bomp ba bomp, bomp ba bomp.' We felt it was a good rhythm. We came up with the chord sequence ourselves and just started singing melodies over it. I remember thinking, 'We're really onto something here.' I came up with that, 'Too ra loo ra,' and I remember thinking, 'Wow, this is sounding really good.' You get a feeling when you're writing a song. Something happens. And in the end it kind of finished itself."
‘Come On Eileen’ won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards, and in 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's sixth favourite 1980s number one single in a poll for ITV. It was ranked number eighteen on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and was Britain's best-selling single of 1982.
The 1982 music video was directed by Julien Temple and filmed in the inner south London suburb of Kennington in the vicinity of the corner of Brook Drive and Hayles Street, then Austral Street and Holyoak Road. The character of ‘Eileen’ in the music video, as well as on the single cover, is played by Máire Fahey, sister of Siobhan Fahey from Bananarama. Archival footage of Johnnie Ray arriving at London Heathrow Airport in 1954 was featured in the video.
In a 2000 poll by Channel 4, the song was placed at number 38 in the 100 greatest number one singles of all time. Similar polls by the music channel VH1 placed the song at number three in their "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders" of all time, number 18 in their "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and number one in their "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '80s". (While the group had a previous number one single in the UK with ‘Geno’ in 1980, ‘Come On Eileen’ was their only US hit.) The song reached number one in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 charts during the week ending 23 April 1983. ‘Come On Eileen’ prevented Michael Jackson from having back-to-back number one hits in the US: ‘Billie Jean’ was the number one single the previous seven weeks, while ‘Beat It’ was the number one song the ensuing three.
Label – Mercury
Songwriters – Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson, Billy Adams
Producers – Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
SONG LYRICS
[Fiddle Tune][Intro]
Come on, Eileen
Come on, Eileen
[Verse 1]
Poor old Johnny Ray
Sounded sad upon the radio
Moved a million hearts in mono
Our mothers cried
Sang along, who'd blame them?
You're grown (You're grown up)
So grown (So grown up)
Now I must say more than ever (Come on, Eileen)
Toora, loora, toora, loo-rye-aye
And we can sing just like our fathers
[Chorus]
Come on, Eileen
Oh, I swear (Well, he means)
At this moment
You mean everything
You in that dress
My thoughts, I confess
Verge on dirty
Oh, come on, Eileen
[Post-Chorus]
Come on, Eileen
[Verse 2]
These people 'round here
Were beaten down, eyes sunk in smoke-dried face
They're resigned to what their fate is
But no, not us (No, never)
No, not us (No, never)
We are far too young and clever (Remember)
Toora, loora, toora, loo-rye-aye
Eileen, I'll hum this tune forever
[Chorus]
Come on, Eileen
Oh, I swear (Well, he means)
Ah, come on, let's
Take off everything
That pretty red dress
Eileen (Tell him yes)
Ah, come on, let's
Ah, come on, Eileen
That pretty red dress
Eileen (Tell him yes)
Ah, come on, let's
Ah, come on, Eileen
Please
[Bridge]
(Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-aye)
(Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-aye)
Now you are grown, now you have shown (Toora, toora, ta-loora)
Oh, Eileen, said
Come on, Eileen (You've grown)
(Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-aye)
These things, they are real and I know (So grown)
(Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-aye)
How you feel
Now I must say more than ever (Toora, toora, ta-loora)
Things 'round here have changed, I said
Toora, loora, toora, loo-rye-aye
(Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-aye)
(Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-aye)
(Toora, toora, ta-loora)
[Chorus]
Come on, Eileen
Oh, I swear (Well, he means)
At this moment
You mean everything
You in that dress
My thoughts, I confess
Verge on dirty
Ah, come on, Eileen
Come on, Eileen
Oh, I swear (Well, he means)
At this moment
You mean everything
In that dress
Oh, my thoughts, I confess
Well, they're dirty
Come on, Eileen
Come on, Eileen
Woah (Well, he means)
Oh-ho-ho-ho
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on (Everything)
In that dress
Woah (I confess)
[Outro]
Oh, believe me, if all those endearing young charms
That I gaze on so fondly today
Were to suddenly leave you or fly in the night
Just like fairy gifts gone in the sky