Girl U Want was the first track on Devo's hit album Freedom Of Choice. It opens with a simple guitar riff, quickly met by synthesizer and synthesized bass. The drums kick in, and Mark Mothersbaugh launches into a tale of unrequited love so powerful it makes most Emo bands look upbeat. The blend of guitar and synthesizer used for the instruments was the hallmark of the new Devo sound from Freedom Of Choice, and helped make Girl U Want a new wave classic. Girl U Want was the first single from Freedom Of Choice backed with a remix of the song Snowball.
The track, originally planned as the centerpiece of Freedom Of Choice (back when the album was to be called Girl U Want) was inspired by The Knack's hit single My Sharona, though with a Devo twist. The song of sexual frustration was piped through Devo's filters, and emerged as a song of pure frustation. It is the anthem of the geek in love with a woman just beyond his grasp. No version other than Devo's captures the essence. It sounds like it should be sung by an ectomorphic, nerdy man with a red plastic flowerpot shaped thing on his head.
Girl U Want was redone twice since it's inception. The E-Z Listening version that appeared on Devo's E-Z Listening Disc, and E-Z Listening Cassettes was performed with lyrics on the 1982 Oh, No! It's Devo! tour. In 1995 Girl U Want was re-recorded for the soundtrack to Tank Girl, this time with a more heavy metal tone. Girl U Want was also covered by Soundgarden, though their version is more of a ballad.
She sings from somewhere you can’t see
She sits in the top of the greenest tree
She sends out an aroma of undefined love
It drips on down in a mist from above
She’s just the girl
She's just the girl
The girl u want
You hear her calling everywhere you turn
You know you’re headed for the pleasure burn
But the words get stuck on the tip of your tongue
She’s the real thing but you knew it all along
She’s just the girl
She's just the girl
The girl u want
Look at you with your mouth watering
Look at you with your mind reeling
Why don’t we just admit it’s all over
She's just the girl u want
She’s just the girl
She's just the girl
The girl u want
She sings from somewhere you can’t see
She sits in the top of the greenest tree
She sends out an aroma of undefined lust
It drips on down in a mist from above
She’s just the girl
She's just the girl
The girl u want
Look at you with your mouth watering
Look at you with your mind spinnin’
Why don’t we just admit it’s all over
She's just the girl u want
She’s just the girl
She's just the girl
The girl u want
She’s just the girl
She’s just the girl