Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?” Lyrics Meaning

This song is based on the singer lamenting the way he is being mistreated by his lover.  According to Boy George, the lyrics are based on a relationship he had with a fellow singer by the name of Kirk Brandon. However, Julien Temple, who directed the song’s music video, ascribed a deeper meaning to it. And he said what it is actually about is being persecuted as a homosexual.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Culture Club's Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? at Lyrics.org.

Music Video

As aforementioned, it was Julien Temple who directed the music video to “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”.  Said clip included the use of the blackface by a jury depicted in a courtroom. This imagery is not intended to be racist yet to point to the idea of bigotry as a whole. Or stated otherwise, Temple wanted to equate being prejudiced against due to one’s homosexuality with another form of prejudice, i.e. racism, which many people are familiar with.

In the clip, George dons a shirt with some Hebrew writing on it. Said script is said to translate to the words “culture association”, which is roundabout another way of saying ‘culture club’.

Writing Credits for “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?”

This song was written by the members of Culture Club, hence the following:

  • Boy George
  • Roy Hay
  • Mikey Craig
  • Jon Moss

The producer of this song is Steve Levine, who worked extensively with Culture Club.

Release Date

“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” is the third single from Culture Club’s debut album, which is entitled “Kissing to Be Clever”. And it was released as such, initially by Virgin Records in the UK and later by Epic Records in the US, on 6 September 1982.

Interestingly enough, Boy George did not initially approve of this track being released as a single. The two singles from the album that were issued prior to it (respectively “White Boy” and “I’m Afraid of Me”) both flopped. So Culture Club’s career was on the line when “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” came out. And at first the band’s lead singer was not convinced that this song properly represented the genre the group specialized in, that being club music.

Success

But instead “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” became Culture Club’s first hit. In fact it was an international smash hit, topping music charts in a dozen nations, including the UK Singles Chart. And overall it charted in over 20 nations, peaking at number 2 on the massively celebrated Billboard Hot 100. And the reason it has been deduced that it didn’t actually score a number 1 on the Hot 100 is because at the time Michael Jackson’s industry-changing “Billie Jean” was holding down the top spot.

This track has also been certified Gold in six countries, including the UK and France. And it went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award in 1984.

“Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?” on the “Top of the Pops”

According to the legend behind the tune, this track didn’t blow up until Culture Club, led by Boy George of course, gave a memorable performance of it on “Top of the Pops”. And what really caught the public’s eye was George’s androgynous appearance, which was a very-unconventional style in the early 1980s.

Said performance included Boy George coming on stage, in front of an international audience, barefooted. Later he revealed that he did so as a tribute to Sandie Shaw, a singer from the 1960s who had the tendency to sing barefooted.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...