About The Song
“Easy Lover” is a song performed by Philip Bailey of the band Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins of the band Genesis, jointly written and composed by Bailey, Collins, and Nathan East. The song appears on Bailey’s solo album, Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts, and it appears on both his 1990 album, Serious Hits… Live!, and his 1998 compilation album, …Hits. It is Bailey’s only US Top 40 hit as a solo artist.
The song was a No. 1 hit in several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., it spent 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 7 weeks in the Top 10, and peaked at No. 2 the weeks of 2 February 1985 and 9 February 1985, behind the chart-topping “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner. In the UK Singles Chart, it reached No. 1, staying there for four weeks. The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold, as the RIAA requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to one million units until 1989. In addition, “Easy Lover” has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Music Canada. Despite Collins’ popularity in Australia, its lowly position on that country’s charts was because of a record company dispute.
“Easy Lover” won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985 and was Grammy Award nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1986.
The song was also used as the theme song for the World Wrestling Federation’s first ever WrestleMania, it was used in the opening of the show but later versions removed this due to licensing issues.
In 1984, Phil Collins was hired as the producer for Philip Bailey’s solo album, Chinese Wall. According to Collins, Bailey approached him at the end of the sessions for the album and asked him to write a song together. In “Phil Collins: My Life in 15 Songs”, a 2016 interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine, Collins said of the song: “So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round and turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn’t forget it. That song doesn’t sound like any particular era. It’s just fantastic.” According to the official sheet music, the song is in the key of F minor and has a tempo of 105 BPM, though the studio recording has a tempo of 130 BPM.
Video
Lyrics
Easy lover
She’ll get a hold on you, believe it
Like no other
Before you know it you’ll be on your knees
She’s an easy lover
She’ll take your heart but you won’t feel it
She’s like no other
And I’m just trying to make you see
She’s the kind of girl you dream of
Dream of keeping hold of
You’d better forget it
You’ll never get it
She will play around and leave you
Leave you and deceive you
Better forget it
Oh, you’ll regret it
No, you’ll never change her, so leave it, leave it
Get out quick ’cause seeing is believing
It’s the only way
You’ll ever know, oh
She’s an easy lover
She’ll get a hold on you, believe it
Like no other
Before you know it you’ll be on your knees
She’s an easy lover
She’ll take your heart but you won’t feel it
She’s like no other
And I’m just trying to make you see
You’re the one that wants to hold her
Hold her and control her
Better forget it
You’ll never get it
Oh, she’ll say that there’s no other
‘Til she finds another
Better forget it
Oh, you’ll regret it
And don’t try to change her, just leave it, leave it
You’re not the only one, ooh, seeing is believing
It’s the only way
You’ll ever know, oh
Now don’t try to change her, just leave it, leave it
You’re not the only one, ’cause seeing is believing
It’s the only way
You’ll ever know, oh
She’s an easy lover (she’s a easy lover)
She’ll get a hold on you, believe it (get a hold on you)
She’s like no other
Before you know it you’ll be on your knees (you’ll be down on your knees)
She’s an easy lover
She’ll take your heart but you won’t feel it (you won’t feel it)
She’s like no other
And I’m just trying to make you see (trying to make you see, yeah)
She’s an easy lover
She’ll get a hold on you, believe it (get a hold on you)
And like no other
Before you know it you’ll be on your knees (you’ll be down on your knees)
She’s an easy lover
She’ll take your heart but you won’t feel it (you won’t feel it)
She’s like no other
And I’m just trying to make you see (trying to make you see)
She’s an easy lover
She’ll get a hold on you, believe it