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The Stranglers — Skin Deep
Album: Aural Sculpture
Avg rating:
7.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1854









Released: 1984
Length: 3:41
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Many people tell you that they're your friend
You believe them
You need them
For what's round the river bend
Make sure that you're recieving the signals they send
Cos brother, you've only got two hands to lend

Maybe there's someone who makes you weep
And some nights loom up ahead
When you're asleep
Some days there's things on your mind you should keep
Sometimes, it's tougher to look than to leap

Better watch out for the skin deep
Better watch out for the skin deep
(Better watch out) Watch out for the skin deep
(Better watch out) Watch out for the skin deep
Better watch out for the skin deep

One day the track that you're climbing gets steep
Your emotions are frayed
And your nerves are starting to creep
Just remember the days
As long as the time that you keep
Brother, you better watch out for the skin deep

Better watch out for the skin deep
Better watch out for the skin deep
(Better watch out) Watch out for the skin deep
(Better watch out) Watch out for the skin deep
Better watch out for the skin deep

(Better watch out) Watch out for the skin deep
(Better watch out) Watch out for the skin deep
Better watch out for the skin deep
Comments (203)add comment
Hmm  ?! All this time I thought it was,
"Better watch out for the 'skinned knee' "....?!
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"


I hear "Better watch out for the string beans."

Up to now, I've never thought about it.  However, I do worry about pineapples.
 dischuckin wrote:
totally what i heard.



  same!
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"

totally what i heard.
Song just didn't get much play back in the 80s (and I listened to the great Live 105).  One of the Stranglers best (me thinks)...
 timmus wrote:

I don't think this song ever got much airplay in the US back in 1984 when it first came out.  I guess the radio stations were too busy playing "What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Footloose" into the ground.  I suspect though that the first few times I heard it I might have assumed it was an underplayed Billy Idol song.



This was in frequent rotation on WWVU 92 in Morgantown, WV, so I suspect the rest of the college radio stations were playing it.

I always liked this song.  Happy to hear it again here.
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"



I went with Skinny
I’ll take “lyrics you never would have guessed without reading the lyrics for $300”
 Dahlia_Gumbo wrote:

I thought they were saying better watch out for the strip tease.



I always hear "Better watch out for the Scooby"
 Laptopdog wrote:

I have no problem watching out for the skin deep. I just have one question, though. What the hell is the skin deep?




"Beauty is only skin deep" is the expression I believe. 
I thought they were saying better watch out for the strip tease.
A friend of mine once dated a woman named Cindy...

after they broke up...

When I sang the song, I changed the chorus to:
"Better watch for the Cin-dy"
 
The power of minor chords!  What it feels like to be in Boston to play a gig, late summer, early fall as students return to college.  Vivid memories of this tune playing in the background.  

RIP Dave.
I don't think this song ever got much airplay in the US back in 1984 when it first came out.  I guess the radio stations were too busy playing "What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Footloose" into the ground.  I suspect though that the first few times I heard it I might have assumed it was an underplayed Billy Idol song.
Yes - watch out for those that have no depth - there are a few here on RP! 🤣
Excellent!! I never heard this tune before. Thank You RP!
 Proclivities wrote:

I never heard that term either, but a lot of people danced to "punk" rock, even in the early days.  Most people who listened to prog rock didn't even know how to dance.


Okay, I see where you were going with your comment, and sorta kinda agree. And yet feel a wee bit compelled to also comment that much of the body movements I saw at punk shows would be a bit of a stretch to call "dancing" and, while i don't recall much dancing at prog rock shows, many in attendance did know how to dance, just not to prog rock songs usually.
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"


I thought it was schoolies, which makes just as much sense.
Don't mess with the schoolies everyone.
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"



I can't unhear this now.
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"



I hear "Schoolies"
 skuzzfud wrote:

Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"



Interesting.  I always that it was  "Better watch out for the School years!"  Oddly, the album cover seems to portend this discussion with the big ear.....
 Aural_not_Oral wrote:

Many people tell you that they're your friend
Make sure that you're receiving the signals they send ...

This is great album. I've always thought this song was about people that are just users and don't offer any real friendship.


The O'Jays sang that in '72 in the song Back Stabbers...

Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.
Many people tell you that they're your friend
Make sure that you're receiving the signals they send ...

This is great album. I've always thought this song was about people that are just users and don't offer any real friendship.
I recall seeing The Stranglers at the Silverstone Classic. I've never been more disappointed in a live performance - lazy, showing nothing but contempt for the audience, and unable to take the negative reaction they had from the audience. ~75% of the audience walked away four songs in. Shocking for a band of their calibre.
Spent a semester in UK at Teesside Poly in Middlesbrough in 1984. Flew over on British Airways and heard this song for the first time on the in flight radio. Always remember that flight.
cool and driving sound
 salice wrote:
this qualifies as soul music to a middle aged white dude
 
The term "soul music" is basically a racist way of categorizing music that black people sing as something separate from what white people sing. There's no real musical style that defines "soul" and the same goes for "Rhythm and Blues" aka R&B. 
Bill played us Golden Brown Friday afternoon and this today. Thank you Bill. Sad news about Dave Greenfield.
This song just came on as I read Dave Greenfield had lost his fight with Covid-19. RIP :(
 ubuntourist wrote:
I always heard "Better watch out for the skinned knees." which sorta made sense.
 

I thought i heard "better watch out for the Scooby"  
this qualifies as soul music to a middle aged white dude
I always heard "Better watch out for the skinned knees." which sorta made sense.
 skuzzfud wrote:
Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"
 

That's what I was hearing too; that, or "watch out for the scurvy" (something from the orange juice lobby).
I always watch out for the sting bee - though I’ve never been stung
"Peaches" aside the early Stranglers never did a whole lot for me but Aural Sculpture was an excellent album all around. I don't know about "dance punk" but certainly "alt pop".
Better watch out for the Scooby? Why, he with those meddling kids again? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXUqwuzcGeU
Co-worker dude went with "Better watch out for the Scoobies"
 Proclivities wrote:
Most people who listened to prog rock didn't even know how to dance.
 

I still do, and still don't
Better watch out for the string beans?
Fun fact: Hugh Cornwell played bass in a band with Richard Thompson  whilst they were at school
better watch out for the string bean
 NotShakespeare wrote:

I honestly just came to say the same thing. It hit me I didn't know what the correct lyrics were until today.
 
The title of the song offers an astounding hint.
 Laptopdog wrote:
I have no problem watching out for the skin deep. I just have one question, though. What the hell is the skin deep?
 

Shallow people? At least that's what I always thought.
I always thought it was string beans 
I was hearing "better watch out for the suitcase."
I have no problem watching out for the skin deep. I just have one question, though. What the hell is the skin deep?
 fredriley wrote:
ThePoose wrote:
The Stranglers are the best dance-punk group ever.
"dance-punk"? I've never heard that term before, and in the early days of punk it would have been an oxymoron as punk was a reaction to many 'over-produced' musical forms that preceded it, in particular prog/pomp rock and dance. For years I thought that yer man was singing "watch out for the schoolies" ;-)
 
I never heard that term either, but a lot of people danced to "punk" rock, even in the early days.  Most people who listened to prog rock didn't even know how to dance.
Better watch out for the scoonies. 
Better watch out for the schooner!

You dumb bastard. It's not a schooner... it's a skin deep. #ClerksReferences
 agd3 wrote:
Very Echo-ish...in a good way

 
Is it bad when you forget your posts from 5 years earlier? #RPoldman
Very Echo-ish...in a good way
 Ihatethissong wrote:
Never like The Stranglers, thought they were a waste of a great band name.  But that being said, I didn't rate the song and I don't wish death upon them or their fans (that would be insane).  I'm sure they are terrific fellows and I'm glad people enjoy their music.

 
They were a product of the time and one of a number of pseudo punk/pop bands that produced some good 'pop' songs.  I saw Hugh Cornwell a few years ago opening for Blondie and he had at least one of his children playing in the band.  He played some of the old Stranglers songs and I then began to appreciate how good the Stranglers music had been and what a nice all round guy Hugh was. 
 skindy wrote:

LOL! It has always sounded like "Better watch out for the scoobies" to me. As in, Scooby snacks. {#Cheesygrin}

 
Rut-roh!
Not one of the better known songs off Aural Sculpture.  Fun times with the Stranglers.
 skindy wrote:

LOL! It has always sounded like "Better watch out for the scoobies" to me. As in, Scooby snacks. {#Cheesygrin}

 
I honestly just came to say the same thing. It hit me I didn't know what the correct lyrics were until today.
we didn't appreciate them so much then
we now realize they produced some of the best pure pop ever  
 I too loved my Stingray..I owned a couple of them...one was a two speed automatic (rare).  They both were stolen from me..broke my heart.  I would have givin you a challenge on the sweetest powerslides !KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
I recall back in about the summer of '71, I just restored my '64 Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle. (I still have it). This is when BMX bicycles were really getting popular and the guys in my neighborhood would have contest to see who was the best at wheelies, power slides and just general rowdiness on our bikes. I was the oldest one at 16.
One early evening, we decided to see who could do the longest wheelie without pedaling. I pretty much dominated the competition (no brag, just fact).
Well, I was really going to show them. I got way back from the line and pedaled at top speed. Just before I hit the start line, I pulled the front wheel off the ground and sailed for almost 200' and then tried to eek out a few more, when I lost it.
I flipped over and landed on my knees and got the worst skinned knees in my entire life... to date anyway.
That's the story of my skinned knees.

Gotta watch out for the Skinned Knees.


 


We're not here to destroy We are here to employ We have come to make you function So we can eat at our functions We are the meninblack We are the meninblack We are the meninblack Information can destroy So we'll treat you just like toys Healthy livestock so we can eat Human flesh is porky meat hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...
 Art_Carnage wrote:
Is it really that hard to pronounce "skin deep"?

 
LOL! It has always sounded like "Better watch out for the scoobies" to me. As in, Scooby snacks. {#Cheesygrin}
The Stranglers got great public radio rotation in Australia.

 
watch out for the string bean
Gak!    Choke......cough....its the Stranglers.  Somebody call 911.  Fingernails.  On.  A.  Chalkboard.
oh my goodness!
Lead male singer, sounds like Jack White ... or, ahem, Jack White sounds like him.
Better watch out for this QB.
A song for the Browns fans!

Better watch out for the scurvy?

Better watch out in your skivvies?

Better watch out with Scooby?


OMG! this is one of those songs I have always loved but never figured out who performed it - or what the song was called!  Thank you for playing -- I am making note of it right this moment so I can buy it on iTunes!  {#Jump} (and you can ask any of my friends, I am usually faster naming songs than that Shazam app....)
Is it really that hard to pronounce "skin deep"?
 ce wrote:

I wonder if there is any relation to the film The Beast of War, about a Russian tank crew in Afghanistan?
It's quite good.

Oh, having read the lyrics, it appears to be quite a different beast... Yikes.

 
Good Lord, there's Jason Patric. Thought he was going to be the Next Big Thing in Hollywood. Didn't quite work out that way. 


So...are we sure we don't have to watch out for the skinned bee?  
 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
I recall back in about the summer of '71, I just restored my '64 Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle. (I still have it). This is when BMX bicycles were really getting popular and the guys in my neighborhood would have contest to see who was the best at wheelies, power slides and just general rowdiness on our bikes. I was the oldest one at 16.
One early evening, we decided to see who could do the longest wheelie without pedaling. I pretty much dominated the competition (no brag, just fact).
Well, I was really going to show them. I got way back from the line and pedaled at top speed. Just before I hit the start line, I pulled the front wheel off the ground and sailed for almost 200' and then tried to eek out a few more, when I lost it.
I flipped over and landed on my knees and got the worst skinned knees in my entire life... to date anyway.
That's the story of my skinned knees.

Gotta watch out for the Skinned Knees.
 
Had one of the first Schwinn true BMX frames...broke it at the braze joints on the head casting. Later had a Schwinn Predator I raced in competition.
Ended up cracking that too, but it took a hammering to do so.
Never Skinned Knees but pulled much of it off my palms when my trendy spandex back cycle gloves ripped off in a header when riding at the riverfront section of Audubon Park in N.O. (R.I.P. "The Fly") a few days before state championships. Borrowed a pair from a buddy who sweated salt by the pound. I was still putting them on at "Riders Ready" and as I crossed the line I was pulling them off with my teeth.
Took second that year.


GH cover without all the garbage. Or better yet, the original album...


Love it!
err-rut-roh
And tonight !

 

Bosami wrote:
Bill and Becca are tearing up the airwaves tonight. 

Cheers to that. LOVE RP.

 
 


An incredibly talented pop group, sadly forgotten, but not here!

Bill and Becca are tearing up the airwaves tonight. 

Cheers to that. LOVE RP.

 
 meinthecorner wrote:

I could be wrong... but i believe Stranglers trump Echo&Bunnymen, and predate them, too. And this coming from a rabbit, too! Go figger.
 



But sure sounds a lot like Ian M. And he kind of defined the sound for most everyone. Good stuff either way.
This works for me!
A wonderful classic!  Such a great tune - gotta love the message.
I recall back in about the summer of '71, I just restored my '64 Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle. (I still have it). This is when BMX bicycles were really getting popular and the guys in my neighborhood would have contest to see who was the best at wheelies, power slides and just general rowdiness on our bikes. I was the oldest one at 16.
One early evening, we decided to see who could do the longest wheelie without pedaling. I pretty much dominated the competition (no brag, just fact).
Well, I was really going to show them. I got way back from the line and pedaled at top speed. Just before I hit the start line, I pulled the front wheel off the ground and sailed for almost 200' and then tried to eek out a few more, when I lost it.
I flipped over and landed on my knees and got the worst skinned knees in my entire life... to date anyway.
That's the story of my skinned knees.

Gotta watch out for the Skinned Knees.

I pretty much like The Stranglers over the Bunnys
 
 mem_313 wrote:
wow, echo and the bunnymen reincarnated. and not in a bad way.
 
I could be wrong... but i believe Stranglers trump Echo&Bunnymen, and predate them, too. And this coming from a rabbit, too! Go figger.
 Art_Carnage wrote:
watch out for the skinned knee


 


 mandolin wrote:
...better watch out for the scooby...


 


 Foot wrote:
A great, largely unknown gem from The Stranglers was a mid-80's EP called "Vladimer & the Beast," an incredibly funny, spot-on song of the Cold War Soviet debacle in Afghanistan as seen thru the eyes of a Russian conscript.  Rarely have more clever songs been penned.  Try it...
 
I still have that record...somewhere.
 Foot wrote:
A great, largely unknown gem from The Stranglers was a mid-80's EP called "Vladimer & the Beast," an incredibly funny, spot-on song of the Cold War Soviet debacle in Afghanistan as seen thru the eyes of a Russian conscript.  Rarely have more clever songs been penned.  Try it...
 
I wonder if there is any relation to the film The Beast of War, about a Russian tank crew in Afghanistan?
It's quite good.

Oh, having read the lyrics, it appears to be quite a different beast... Yikes.
sounds like Billy Idol on lead vocal
Love it.

Always makes me feel good.

Surprised I never rated this one before.  9.
 AliGator wrote:

Better watch out for the Scooby.

 
Yep, that's what I thought I was hearing, too..  I like this song, though - and I like the Stranglers.  Up from 7 to 8.

 twitterpated wrote:


better watch out for the "skin deep"  :)
 
Better watch out for the string bean :D

A great, largely unknown gem from The Stranglers was a mid-80's EP called "Vladimer & the Beast," an incredibly funny, spot-on song of the Cold War Soviet debacle in Afghanistan as seen thru the eyes of a Russian conscript.  Rarely have more clever songs been penned.  Try it...

Great band but as one of their later efforts, more techo-pop than their more cutting edge stuff ("Hanging Around" for example) of the late 70's & early 80's.
wow, echo and the bunnymen reincarnated. and not in a bad way.
Hands up if you recall details of those punk shows in the late 70s and early 80s? Oh a few of you great.
During a Stranglers show back then the lead singer, Hugh,  took a break between songs to inform the Toronto crowd that spitting at the band was officially out of fashion in the UK. - so please stop. Weird but true, until that point the band had been subjected to a steady stream of gob. 
One of their last great albums........Thanks for playing this
 Proclivities wrote:
Great song by an excellent band.  I guess some of you also think the lyrics to  "Purple Haze" and "Bad Moon Rising" are "excuse me while I kiss this guy" and "there's a bathroom on the right" (respectively).

 
"I can see clearly now. . .I can see all Popsicles in my way"

 Proclivities wrote:
Great song by an excellent band.  I guess some of you also think the lyrics to  "Purple Haze" and "Bad Moon Rising" are "excuse me while I kiss this guy" and "there's a bathroom on the right" (respectively).
  Or , " Big old Jet had a light on" .


Great song by an excellent band.  I guess some of you also think the lyrics to  "Purple Haze" and "Bad Moon Rising" are "excuse me while I kiss this guy" and "there's a bathroom on the right" (respectively).

 Art_Carnage wrote:
"Better watch out for the skoon-dee" WTF?
 

better watch out for the "skin deep"  :)
...better watch out for the scooby...


 Art_Carnage wrote:
"Better watch out for the skoon-dee" WTF?
 
{#Roflol}

The Should-be-strangled. {#Headache}
"Better watch out for the skoon-dee" WTF?
{#Bananajam}
Possibly their worst "SINGLE" - from a long list
of wonderful "smash hits" -
and GORGEOUS (EARLY!!!!) ALBUMS!
"RATTUS NORVEGICUS", the first one, especially!

And a KILLER LIVE-BAND! Among the best I've ever seen
regarding emotion and raw, authentic power!


 maxmox wrote:
better watch out for the string bean?
 
{#Lol} How did I miss these guys? Were they only big in Europe?

I am not a fan of greatest hits packages...but i own this one and love it!  The Stranglers were one of those punk era bands that were good to begin with and improved with age.  They are sorely missed. 
I find it interesting that Hugh Cromwell at one time worked with Richard Thompson.
I concur but at least it brought about great stations like this one!  I think a form of torture could be blasting clear channel over a loud speaker for eternity.
 slowhand wrote:

Exactly, Clear Channel was/is the worst thing that ever happened to music in the in the United States since the 1700's.
 


Really like the song.  Mildly disappointed to discover that it's NOT "Scoobies"!
Love the " The Nice Price" sticker on the Album Cover... memories!


 i love this band , wish it was played more on rp, how bout some peaches ?{#Bananajam}
 AliGator wrote:

Better watch out for the Scooby.

 


Don't forget, "those meddling kids" too! 


I have a friend that is such a Strangler's fanatic.  Evidently they have those...{#Yes}
I especially love the "player piano" effect on this piece.

 prickelpit96 wrote:
Album is in my personal 'best-albums-ever'-list.
 
well prickelpit how the hell did i miss it? it's right up my 80s alley!

 andrewimft wrote:
This likeable tune was among the kind of songs that were the staple of FM alternative rock radio stations until Clear Channell bulldozed those stations out of existence and paved them over with giant piles of concrete dreck. Hearing this tune reminds me of the time America had freedom and quality on the radio back in the day.
 
Exactly, Clear Channel was/is the worst thing that ever happened to music in the in the United States since the 1700's.
 auburntigerrich wrote:
Eh?  What's the skin deep and why am I watching out for it?
 
When you can't figure out what a Stranglers song is about, just assume it's about heroin.