‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, released as the first single from their 1986 album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child about a woman who has jilted her lover, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on November 29, 1986, and became the band's first number-one hit. In 2007, the song re-entered the charts at No. 29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol. Despite the lyrics of the chorus, the song should not be confused with ‘Shot Through the Heart’, an unrelated song from Bon Jovi's 1984 self-titled debut album.
The chorus tune of ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ was originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler under the title ‘If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)’ with different lyrics commissioned by its producer Jim Steinman. Dissatisfied with its success in the US and the UK (which he attributed to reticence on the part of her label in promoting it), Desmond Child re-wrote the song with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
For the band to break through, Polygram Records executive, Derek Shulman thought the key was big choruses, and the man to deliver that was Desmond Child, who worked with Kiss on ‘I Was Made For Lovin' You.’ Child got together with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, and the trio got to work. In an interview with Desmond Child, he said: "The very first day we got together we wrote 'You Give Love a Bad Name.' Then a few weeks later we wrote 'Livin' On A Prayer.' It was a magical collaboration and there was instant chemistry between us." Child later teamed up with Jon and Richie for many more Bon Jovi songs, including ‘Born To Be My Baby’ and ‘Keep The Faith.’
Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child and Richie Sambora wrote this in the basement of Sambora's mother's house in New Jersey. Child came up with the title, and Jon immediately thought up the first line ("Shot through the heart..."). From there, they put the rest of the song together, with ‘Shot Through The Heart’ as the working title. The song ended up being about a guy whose girlfriend is really bad for him - common material, but a very interesting way to say it. Jon Bon Jovi dated actress Diane Lane in the mid-'80s, and there were rumors that she was the inspiration for this song, but the lyrical inspiration was more of a universal feeling.
Cash Box called it a "jackhammer single" that could push Bon Jovi to massive success and said that "Jon Bon Jovi’s grinding vocal and the anthemic production spell A-O-R." Billboard called it "hard rock, raspy and aggressive." In a retrospective analysis, Chris Molanphy expressed his disgust at the song, calling its lyrics "sub-Meat Loaf" (Meat Loaf being best known for his work with Steinman). However, he did credit it for introducing the genre of hair metal to the mainstream. He also noted in another commentary how the song shared many similarities with Steinman's songs due to Child's involvement, saying "Steinman might as well have [produced it]", due to Child using devices such as its verbose title and anthemic chorus, likening it to "'Bat Out of Hell' infused with Aqua Net". It was placed at No. 20 on VH1's list of the "100 Best Hard Rock Songs".
Label – Mercury
Songwriters – Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
Producer – Bruce Fairbairn
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Shot through the heart and you're to blame
Darling, you give love a bad name
[Verse 1]
An angel's smile is what you sell
You promised me heaven, then put me through hell
Chains of love got a hold on me
When passion's a prison, you can't break free
[Pre-Chorus]
Woah, you're a loaded gun, yeah
Oh, there's nowhere to run
No one can save me, the damage is done
[Chorus]
Shot through the heart and you're to blame
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
Yeah, you give love a bad name
[Verse 2]
Paint your smile on your lips
Blood red nails on your fingertips
A school boy's dream, you act so shy
Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye
[Pre-Chorus]
Woah, you're a loaded gun
Oh, there's nowhere to run
No one can save me, the damage is done
[Chorus]
Shot through the heart and you're to blame
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
You give love a—
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus]
Oh, shot through the heart and you're to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
Shot through the heart and you're to blame
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
[Outro]
You give love
You give love, bad name
You give love
You give love, bad name
You give love
You give love, bad name
You give love
You give love, bad name