Diabolics: I Bet You Never Knew (That I Followed You)
From 7″ (Togetherness, 196?)
If there was some kind of competition for “most ill-considered songwriting,” this otherwise gorgeous sweet soul tune from The Diabolics would have to rank somewhere near the top. I mean…the artists’ name and song title alone should set off huge red flags and as dulcet a performance we get, it still doesn’t change the fact that the core lyric is: “bet you never knew/that I followed you.”
But hey, now that you’ve warned her, think of the answer song opportunities! “Better You Never Knew (That I Took Out a Restraining Order On You”) or “Better You Never Knew (I Bought a Baby Glock For You)”.
I’m having fun with all this but no, seriously: the production here is gorgeous. And the fact that it’s supposedly a Bay Area disc only ices the cake further. Love this sound.
(I should note that this single also takes over the “really stark lyrics” #1 spot from Lynn Willaims’ “Don’t Be Surprise.”
Diabolics aren’t as depressing but they win for the creepy vibe.
Just to make this single even a little weirder, the flip side is a fuzzy funk song called “N—–s Will Be N—–s Everyday.” That’s with the “er” not the “a.” Definitely sounds like some kind of post-Last Poets, let’s-rise-up-and-stop-killing-one-another chastisement track.
Just catching up to this tune. Lovely!