Counting Crows - She Don't Want Nobody Near

Counting Crows’ “She Don’t Want Nobody Near” is a song about emotional contradiction: its central character does not want people close because she feels exposed and uncomfortable around others, yet she also does not want to be alone. The song portrays this tension through images of people entering and leaving her life, while she tries to conceal her sadness behind excuses, denial, and the repeated insistence that she is all right. Written by members of Counting Crows and produced by Brendan O’Brien, the track was released as a single in 2003 from the band’s greatest-hits compilation Films About Ghosts (The Best Of...). It became especially successful on adult-oriented radio, reaching number one on the U.S. Adult Alternative Airplay chart and number twenty on the Adult Pop Airplay chart in 2004. Overall, the song reflects Counting Crows’ characteristic interest in loneliness, self-protection, complicated relationships, and the difficulty of admitting when someone is not truly okay.

Counting Crows She Don't Want Nobody Near Lyrics

She don't want nobody near
But you can't get away from that
They appear and disappear
And they all get a string attached
Pretty soon they got you hanging on a line
Pretty soon they're singing one by one the same old rhyme
They say, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."

She don't want nobody home
'Cause it's a little too crowded then
But she don't wanna be alone
So they just keep pouring in
Pretty soon they got her headed for the door
She comes home to find that they're not hanging 'round no more
She says "I'm alright, you just can't get home tonight."

Don't you wonder what she looks like in the light?
She says "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."

Pretty whitewashed lies
Endless alibis
And the reasons that need cleaning every night
Half a world away
You can't wash away the stain of the deceiving
And the things that you cannot believe, and well

She don't want no one around
'Cause she don't want anybody to see
What she looks like when she's down
'Cause that's a really sad place to be
Pretty soon she gets them crawling up the walls
Then she wonders why they beg her please to never call
She says, "I'm ok. It's alright. Hey, look who's on TV tonight."
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."

Don't you wonder why it's dark outside at night?
She says, I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight.