"You Wreck Me" by Tom Petty: the Best Song Ever

It's amazing what three chords properly assembled can do, how powerful they can be.  Tom Petty put the three easiest chords for a guitar player to learn together to compose the Best Song Ever.

Sure, you need a capo to play this, but them things is cheap.  D, A, E, a couple of C's and G's, and you're home free.  This is what rock'n'roll is meant to be.  Guitar, bass, drums.  All right, throw in some keyboards if you have to.  But no more.  Make sure the song is about "the girl at the high school dance."  Done.

Cool story about Tom Petty.  He was at a massive benefit concert like they used to throw in the nineties and about to go on,  and Jackson Browne who was coming off stage, stopped him to give him some advice.  

"Don't worry if you hear them booing you throughout your set," Brown said, "they're not, they're just yelling 'Bruce!'," referring to the crowd clamouring for Bruce Springsteen, who was going to headline the show.

To which Tom Petty replied: "What's the difference?"

Cool story about this song:  It was originally entitled "You Rock Me", and he thought it was trite and not worthy, but his producer told him the hook was killer and it had to go on the album.  He wasn't convinced and while jamming and riffing with the Heartbreakers during a break in recording, he started to sing the song ironically and substituted "You wreck me..." in the lyrics.  He felt the band start to tighten up, and he started to change the lyrics around.  Before long he had re-written it as an ironic homage to garage bands and songs about high school girls.  With a killer, killer hook.  Which makes it the Best Song Ever.

Tonight we ride, right or wrong 
Tonight we sail, on a radio song 
Rescue me, should I go down 
If I stay too long in trouble town 

Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby 
You break me in two 
But you move me, honey 
Yes you do 

Now and again I get the feeling 
Well if I don't wi n, I'm a gonna break even 
Rescue me, should I go wrong 
If I dig too deep, if I stay too long 

Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby 
You break me in two 
But you move me, honey 
Yes you do 

I'll be the boy in the corduroy pants 
You be the girl at the high school dance 
Run with me wherever I go 
And just play dumb, whatever you know 

Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby 
You break me in two 
But you move me, honey 
Yes you do