You Don't Know How It Feels
"You Don't Know How It Feels" is a song and the lead single from American musician Tom Petty's 1994 album, Wildflowers. The track features candid lyrics describing the songwriter's desire for personal and professional autonomy.[6] The single reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, No. 3 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, and No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Petty's last top-40 hit in the US. An alternate version was posthumously released on June 26, 2020.[7] This version peaked at No. 54 on the iTunes chart.[8]
"You Don't Know How It Feels" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Tom Petty | ||||
from the album Wildflowers | ||||
B-side | "Girl on LSD" | |||
Released | November 7, 1994[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:49 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tom Petty | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
|
MTV, VH1, and many radio stations aired a censored version of "You Don't Know How It Feels," taking the word "roll" out of "let's roll another joint", as well as a version that played the word "joint" backwards. A version replacing the word "roll" with "hit" was also made.[9] The music video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1995. The actress in the video is Raven Snow; she also appeared in several episodes of Zalman King's Red Shoe Diaries and the film Delta of Venus as lounge singer Leila.
"Girl on LSD"
Petty originally intended the B-side of the single, "Girl on LSD", to appear on Wildflowers, but Warner Bros. refused because it was too controversial.[6] In the song Petty sings about being in love with multiple girls on different drugs: marijuana, cocaine, LSD, beer, crystal meth, china white (a slang term for heroin) and coffee. In the chorus Petty states: "Through ecstasy, crystal meth and glue / I found no drug compares to you / All these pills, all this weed / I dunno just what I need."
Track listing
- "You Don't Know How It Feels"
- "House in the Woods"
- "Girl on LSD"
- "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
- "Something in the Air"
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
References
- "Single Releases". Music Week. November 5, 1994. p. 23.
- "You Don't Know How It Feels - Tom Petty | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- Greenwald, Matthew. "You Don't Know How It Feels - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- Greenwald, Matthew. "You Wreck Me - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- Molanphy, Chris (October 30, 2017). "Le Petty Prince Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- Greenwald, Matthew. You Don't Know How It Feels. AllMusic. Retrieved on April 9, 2009.
- Rowley, Glenn (June 29, 2020). "Hear a Newly Unearthed Home Recording of Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels'". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "'You Don't Know How It Feels (Home Recording)' by Tom Petty (American Songs iTunes Chart)". iTunesCharts.net. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "MTV.com |Video: "You Don't Know How It Feels"". MTV. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles – Week Ending 29 Jan 1995". ARIA. Retrieved December 10, 2016 – via Imgur.
- "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2715." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. Retrieved September 7, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved September 7, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved September 7, 2020.