Meaning of “Easy Lover” by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey

What is the meaning of the song Easy Lover by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey? 

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Phil Collins's Easy Lover at Lyrics.org.
Phil Collins and Philip Bailey.

Phil Collins and Philip Bailey in the music video of “Easy Lover”.

Easy Lover is a Grammy Award nominated song written by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins along with renowned American bass player Nathan East and American R&B and soul singer Philip Bailey of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. The song was performed by Collins and Bailey and first appeared on the Bailey’s third solo album titled Chinese Wall.

Easy Lover is a song that centers around two men (Man A and Man B) and a man-eater (which is the female version of a player), who is notorious for playing with the emotions of men before dumping them.

Man A and Man B, who are presumably friends, find themselves in a serious discussion about the man-eater (Easy Lover), who is notorious for using her beauty and charm to deceive men into falling in love with her and then dumping them after she’s got what she wants from them. From the song, Man A has apparently been dumped by the lady (Easy Lover) and decides to warn his friend Man B, who has fallen for her charms and beauty. In an attempt to save his friend from being Easy Lover’s next victim, Man A tells his friend that despite Easy Lover being “the kind of girl you dream of” and “dream of keeping hold of”, he should forget it since she will only end up playing with his emotions and deceiving him before finally dumping him the moment she finds her next victim. The song ends without making it clear whether Man B listened to the advice of his friend to stay away from the lady or not.

Facts about the Song “Easy Lover” by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey

  • The song was written by Philip Bailey, Nathan East and Phil Collins, with production being handled by Collins.

    Phil Collins, Nathan East, and Philip Bailey.

    All three writers of the song “Easy Lover”: Nathan East, Phil Collins and Philip Bailey.

  • In addition to appearing on Bailey’s album Chinese Wall in 1984, the song also appeared on two of Phil Collins’ solo albums, namely 1990’s live album Serious Hits… Live! and 1998’s Hits (Hits was released again in 2008).
  • Easy Lover began when Phil Collins was working as a producer for Bailey’s 1984 solo album Chinese Wall. According to Collins, while working on the production of Chinese Wall, Bailey approached him and asked him if they could write a song together, and that was how the song began.
  • Speaking about the song in an interview with the now defunct Musician magazine, Bailey said Collins and East had initially been playing some chords on the piano when he started singing the words “choosy lover” over the chords. The men eventually liked what they heard and decided to work on it further and record it, thereby giving birth to smash hit Easy Lover.
  • Easy Lover performed well on the charts, reaching the No. 1 spot in many countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland. Away from its chart success, the song also won an MTV Video Music Award in 1985 and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1986.
  • The awesome guitar solo on the song was performed by American guitarist Daryl Stuermer, who is a longtime collaborator and friend of Collins.
  • The song gave birth to the slang term “Easy Lover”, which basically refers to the female version of a player. Simply put, in the slang world, an Easy Lover is a woman who uses men and then dumps them when she’s done with them.

9 Responses

  1. Ačęlÿnki Beyãigo says:

    Cool something that something interesting to find out about… didn’t even know about this song and this here is the first time I’m finding out about it every since it came out

  2. Anonymous says:

    So happy this fabulous song still gets radio airplay!

  3. kenny says:

    Coca-ne for sure.

  4. ? says:

    till this day i love this song!

  5. Hitsongz says:

    LOL. no. It’s all about ADDICTION.

  1. April 6, 2017

    […] Meaning of the song “Easy Lover” by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey […]

  2. July 18, 2022

    […] It should be stated that legendary English singer Phil Collins also has an iconic song titled “Easy Lover“. […]

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