| Verse 1 |
E A E A (x2)
Let me run with you tonight I'll take you on a moonlight ride
There's someone I used to see but she don't give a damn for me
| Chorus |
| E | Bsus4 | E | A | |
| So let's | get to the | point, let's | roll another | joint |
| E | Bsus4 | E | A | |
| Turn the | radio | loud, I'm too a | lone to be p | roud |
| E | D | A |
| You don't | know how it | feels |
| E | D | A | E | D | A | E | D | A |
| You don't | know how it | feels...to be me |
| Verse 2 |
E A E A (x2)
People come, people go, some grow young, some grow cold
I woke up in between a memory and a dream
| Chorus |
| E | Bsus4 | E | A | |
| So let's | get to the | point, let's | roll another | joint |
| E | Bsus4 | E | A | |
| Let's get | on do | wn the road, Th | ere's somewh | ere I gotta go |
| E | D | A |
| You don't | know how it | feels |
E D A E D A - E D A
You don't know how it feels...to be me
| Bridge |
| Verse 3 |
E A E A (x2)
My old man was born to rock but he's still tryin' to beat the clock
Think of me what you will, I've gotta a little space to fill
| Chorus |
| x2 |
| E | Bsus4 | E | A | |
| So let's | get to the | point, let's | roll another | joint |
| E | Bsus4 | E | A | |
| Let's get | on do | wn the road, Th | ere's somepl | ace I gotta go |
| E | D | A |
| You don't | know how it | feels |
E D A E D A - E D A
You don't know how it feels...to be me
Song Data (From the Spotify API)
YouTube Video
Karaoke Video
Wikipedia
Expand Wikipedia Info
| "You Don't Know How It Feels" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tom Petty | ||||
| from the album Wildflowers | ||||
| B-side | "Girl on LSD" | |||
| Released | November 7, 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:49 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter | Tom Petty | |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "You Don't Know How It Feels" on YouTube | ||||
| Lyric video | ||||
| "You Don't Know How It Feels (Home Recording)" on YouTube | ||||
"You Don't Know How It Feels" is a song and the lead single from American musician Tom Petty's 1994 album Wildflowers. The track features candid lyrics describing the songwriter's desire for personal and professional autonomy.[6] The single reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, No. 3 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, and No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Petty's last top-40 hit in the US. An alternate version was posthumously released on June 26, 2020.[7]
Due to the song’s reference to marijuana, several outlets including MTV, VH1, and many radio stations aired a censored version, taking the word "roll" out of "let's roll another joint", or a version that played the word "joint" backwards. A version replacing the word "roll" with "hit" was also made.[8]
The music video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1995. At the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996, the song won the award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.[9]
"Girl on LSD"
Petty originally intended the B-side of the single, "Girl on LSD", to appear on Wildflowers, but Warner Bros. refused because it was too controversial.[6] In the song Petty sings about being in love with multiple girls on different drugs: marijuana, cocaine, LSD, beer, crystal meth, china white (a slang term for heroin) and coffee and being a drug dealer. In the chorus Petty states: "Through ecstasy, crystal meth and glue / I found no drug compares to you / All these pills, all this weed / I dunno just what I need."
Track listing
- "You Don't Know How It Feels"
- "House in the Woods"
- "Girl on LSD"
- "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
- "Something in the Air"
Personnel
Personnel are taken from the Wildflowers CD booklet.[10]
- Tom Petty – lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar (first solo), harmonica, bass guitar
- Mike Campbell – electric guitar (second solo)
- Steve Ferrone – drums
- Howie Epstein – harmony vocals
- Lenny Castro – percussion
- Benmont Tench – grand piano, electric piano
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certification
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[23] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | November 7, 1994 |
|
Warner Bros. | [24] |
| Australia | November 28, 1994 | [25] |
References
- ↑ "You Don't Know How It Feels - Tom Petty | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ↑ Greenwald, Matthew. "You Don't Know How It Feels - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ↑ Greenwald, Matthew. "You Wreck Me - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ↑ Molanphy, Chris (October 30, 2017). "Le Petty Prince Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ↑ Osmon, Erin (April 28, 2026). "Appendix: 150 Essential Heartland Rock Songs". Won't Back Down: Heartland Rock and the Fight for America. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 293–300. ISBN 978-1-324-05137-4. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
- 1 2 Greenwald, Matthew. You Don't Know How It Feels. AllMusic. Retrieved on April 9, 2009.
- ↑ Rowley, Glenn (June 29, 2020). "Hear a Newly Unearthed Home Recording of Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels'". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ↑ "MTV.com |Video: "You Don't Know How It Feels"". MTV. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- ↑ https://www.grammy.com/artists/tom-petty/5380
- ↑ Wildflowers (CD booklet). Warner Bros. 1994.
- ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles – Week Ending 29 Jan 1995". ARIA. Retrieved December 10, 2016 – via Imgur.
- ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Image 2715". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 19/11/1994 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. Retrieved September 7, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved September 7, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ↑ "The Year in Music: Top Mainstream Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard Rock Airplay Monitor. Vol. 2, no. 51. December 15, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ↑ "The Year in Music: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles" (PDF). Billboard Airplay Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 51. December 15, 1995. p. 8. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Tom Petty – You Don't Know How It Feels". Radioscope. Retrieved February 1, 2026. Type You Don't Know How It Feels in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
- ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. November 5, 1994. p. 23.
- ↑ "New Releases – Product Available from : 28/11/94: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 250. November 27, 1994. p. 20.
