‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. The Go-Go's supported the Specials on the latter's 1980 Seaside tour of England. According to Jane Wiedlin, she and Terry Hall had a brief affair despite his being in a relationship with another woman at the time. After Wiedlin returned to the United States, Hall mailed her some lyrics, and this led to their co-writing the song. The Go-Go's version is significantly more upbeat than Fun Boy Three's, which Wiedlin describes as "great" but also "gloomier".
It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album Beauty and the Beat (1981) and was their debut American single in June 1981. The single eventually reached the top 5 in Australia and Canada, and the top 20 in the United States. Originally written and performed with three verses, the song appears in an abbreviated version on Beauty and the Beat. Most of the song's vocals are performed by lead singer Belinda Carlisle, with co-writer Wiedlin singing the bridge.
This was the first hit for the Go-Go's, who started as a punk band in the late '70s, but became pop superstars with the release of their first album, Beauty and the Beat. Unlike most other female pop groups, the Go-Go's wrote their own songs and were serious musicians. Despite their pure pop sound, they had a confidence and attitude that gave them lots of credibility and set them apart from other bands on the fledgling MTV network. It was MTV that really broke the song because many radio stations were reluctant to put an all-girl band on the air.
The original version, by the Go-Go’s peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and 15 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart. On the dance chart, the song peaked at number 10. A song of unusual longevity as a hit, it remained on the Billboard charts until March 1982, long after its peak, ultimately charting for 30 weeks.
In 2000, Rolling Stone & MTV put the Go-Go's' original version of ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ at No. 57 on a list of 100 Greatest Pop Songs. In 2021, their version was also listed at No. 477 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The Go-Go's performed the song, along with "Vacation" and "We Got the Beat", during the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Label – I.R.S.
Songwriters – Jane Wiedlin, Terry Hall
Producers – Richard Gottehrer, Rob Freeman
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Can you hear them?
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them?
See right through them
They have no shield
No secrets to reveal
[Chorus]
Doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
[Verse 2]
There's a weapon
That we must use
In our defense
Silence
When you look at them
Look right through them
That's when they'll disappear
That's when we'll be feared
[Chorus]
Doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
Pay no mind to what they say
Doesn't matter anyway
Our lips are sealed
[Bridge]
Hush, my darling
Don't you cry
Quiet, angel
Forget their lies
[Verse 3]
Can you hear them?
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them?
See right through them
They have no shield
No secrets to reveal
[Chorus]
Doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
Pay no mind to what they say
Doesn't matter anyway
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed