"Tempted" is a song by the British rock band Squeeze. Written by the Squeeze songwriting team of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the song features lyrics inspired by Difford's experiences on an American tour and an arrangement inspired by the Temptations. "Tempted" is one of a few Squeeze songs with Paul Carrack as lead vocalist, at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello. "Tempted" was released as the second single from their fourth album, East Side Story, in 1981. The single was only a moderate chart hit at the time; however, it has since become one of the band's most famous songs, appearing in movies, TV shows, video games, and commercials. It has also seen critical acclaim and has become a mainstay of the band's live setlist, often being sung by Tilbrook. Background "Tempted" was cowritten by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. Difford wrote the lyric while the band was taking a taxi to Heathrow Airport. The descriptions of the city and airport sights are interspersed with the narrator's ruminations on a relationship that is failing, or has failed, due to his own infidelities. As Difford recalled, Unlike most other Squeeze songs, which are sung usually by Tilbrook or Difford, the song's lead vocal is sung by newly recruited keyboardist Paul Carrack. According to Carrack, this was the result of a suggestion by co-producer Elvis Costello:

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“I may not here omit those two main plagues, and common dotages of human kind, wine and women, which have infatuated and besotted myriads of people: they go commonly together.”
— Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), Part I, Section II. Memb. 3. Subsect, XIII.
“Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in fine gay colours, that are but skin-deep.”
— Matthew Henry, Commentaries, Genesis, III.
“Honest bread is very well—it's the butter that makes the temptation.”
— Douglas Jerrold, The Catspaw.
“Temptations, when we meet them at first, are as the lion that roared upon Samson; but if we overcome them, the next time we see them we shall find a nest of honey within them.”
— John Bunyan, p. 577.
“The realization of God's presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation.”
— François Fénelon, p. 577.
“Occasions of adversity best discover how great virtue or strength each one hath. For occasions do not make a man frail, but they show what he is.”
— Thomas à Kempis, p. 578.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

"Tempted" is a song by the British rock band Squeeze. Written by the Squeeze songwriting team of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the song features lyrics inspired by Difford's experiences on an American tour and an arrangement inspired by the Temptations. "Tempted" is one of a few Squeeze songs with Paul Carrack as lead vocalist, at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello. "Tempted" was released as the second single from their fourth album, East Side Story, in 1981. The single was only a moderate chart hit at the time; however, it has since become one of the band's most famous songs, appearing in movies, TV shows, video games, and commercials. It has also seen critical acclaim and has become a mainstay of the band's live setlist, often being sung by Tilbrook. Background "Tempted" was cowritten by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. Difford wrote the lyric while the band was taking a taxi to Heathrow Airport. The descriptions of the city and airport sights are interspersed with the narrator's ruminations on a relationship that is failing, or has failed, due to his own infidelities. As Difford recalled, Unlike most other Squeeze songs, which are sung usually by Tilbrook or Difford, the song's lead vocal is sung by newly recruited keyboardist Paul Carrack. According to Carrack, this was the result of a suggestion by co-producer Elvis Costello:

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“I may not here omit those two main plagues, and common dotages of human kind, wine and women, which have infatuated and besotted myriads of people: they go commonly together.”
— Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), Part I, Section II. Memb. 3. Subsect, XIII.
“Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in fine gay colours, that are but skin-deep.”
— Matthew Henry, Commentaries, Genesis, III.
“Honest bread is very well—it's the butter that makes the temptation.”
— Douglas Jerrold, The Catspaw.
“Temptations, when we meet them at first, are as the lion that roared upon Samson; but if we overcome them, the next time we see them we shall find a nest of honey within them.”
— John Bunyan, p. 577.
“The realization of God's presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation.”
— François Fénelon, p. 577.
“Occasions of adversity best discover how great virtue or strength each one hath. For occasions do not make a man frail, but they show what he is.”
— Thomas à Kempis, p. 578.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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"Tempted" is a song by the British rock band Squeeze. Written by the Squeeze songwriting team of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the song features lyrics inspired by Difford's experiences on an American tour and an arrangement inspired by the Temptations. "Tempted" is one of a few Squeeze songs with Paul Carrack as lead vocalist, at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello.