“She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals
“She Drives Me Crazy” can be viewed from two different perspectives. On one hand, it would appear, especially at the beginning of the track, that the Fine Young Cannibals’ Roland Gift is singing about a lady he is trying to get with. But later in the song, it is arguable that he is instead speaking of someone he may have actually already been romantically involved with.
But whatever the situation may be, we can safely conclude, particularly considering the second verse, that this is a case of unrequited love. Roland has strong feelings for someone who either isn’t overly-interested in getting involved or has already decided she doesn’t want to be with him any longer. And this particular scenario, with this particular female, is ‘driving him crazy’. Hence the title of the track!
So once again, the ultimate meaning of this song can be viewed in a couple of manners. On the surface, you can say that the singer is expressing his infatuation for a certain lady in a good way, as in being in love. But all lyrics considered, it seems more likely that the source of his madness is not only founded in love but also the fact that these feelings are not mutual.
Release Date of “She Drives Me Crazy”
Fine Young Cannibals released this classic of theirs on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1989. It was a single from the last studio album of the band’s career. That album was titled The Raw & the Cooked.
A remixed version of this song was also featured on the Fine Young Cannibals’ 1997 compilation album. The group titled that album The Finest.
Multiple Music Videos
There are two different music videos to the track, one directed by Philippe Decouflé and the other by Pedro Romhanyi.
The Decouflé version received four nominations at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.
“She Drives Me Crazy” was a Global Hit
The original version of “She Drives Me Crazy” proved to be a hit, not only in the Britain, where the Fine Young Cannibals come from, but across the globe also. In Britain, it rose to the 5th position on the UK Singles Chart. The song further charted internationally, including scoring a number 1 in these countries:
- Australia
- Austria
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Spain
- United States (on the Billboard Hot 100)
Cover Versions
This song has been covered and featured in a number of different venues, including being parodied by American comedian Weird Al Yankovic and sung by country-music legend Dolly Parton.
“She Drives Me Crazy” was formally called “She’s My Baby”
Interestingly enough, Fine Young Cannibals originally titled this classic “She’s My Baby”. For some reason, they later changed it to the title we all know and love today.
Who wrote “She Drives Me Crazy”?
It was written by Fine Young Cannibals’ members by the names of David Steele and Roland Gift.
The entire band went on to produce the track along with producer David Z.
