Jennifer She Said

Speaking of the song's lyrics, Cole told Smash Hits in 1988, {{blockquote|"It's the story of a gentleman engaged in an embrace with a young lady who notices he has a tattoo that isn't her name. People assume that love will be forever and it very rarely is. It is a little fatalistic, but I absolutely believe the sentiments of it. I don't know how many times I've said 'forever', or at least thought it if I didn't say it out loud. I wrote the song because I wanted to describe that little scenario of her seeing the tattoo that illustrated this recurring truth. But I think people who conclude from that that you can't love somebody because you don't know if it will last are just silly. To be in love for a few years is better than not being in love at all."{{cite magazine |title=Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Jennifer She Said |magazine=Smash Hits |date=27 January 1988 |page=11}}}}

Upon its release as a single, Bob Stanley of NME praised "Jennifer She Said" as "a charming vignette to tattoos and marriage" that "yields all those deft lyrical twists which seemed to have deserted Cole after the self-parody of Easy Pieces and the forgettable 'My Bag'". He considered it the band's "best single in yonks" and noted it could have been "one of the finer moments" from the band's 1984 debut album Rattlesnakes. He added, "Most impressive is the way in which the production includes nothing but a small string section for frills. Delightful."{{cite magazine |last=Stanley |first=Bob |date=2 January 1988 |title=Singles |magazine=New Musical Express}} Jerry Smith of Music Week described it as a "superb track" and added that, in light of the preceding single's failure to reach the top 40, "If talent like this can't result in hits, then God help us!"{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Jerry |title=A&R: Singles |magazine=Music Week |date=16 January 1988 |page=18 |issn=0265-1548 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1988/MW-1988-01-16.pdf |via=World Radio History |access-date=9 March 2023}} Kate Davies of Number One awarded three out of five stars and commented, "One of the best things they've had out for yonks. Lloyd's got the sort of voice that soon gets under your skin once you've got used to its compelling breathiness."{{cite magazine |last=Davies |first=Kate |title=Singles |magazine=Number One |date=16 January 1988 |issue=239 |page=42}}

Marcus Hodge of the Cambridge Evening News praised it as the "strongest song" from Mainstream and added, "Lloyd at his best, being both literary and tuneful. Hope it's a hit."{{cite news |last=Hodge |first=Marcus |title=Pop: Soccer melody makes return |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003740/19871228/008/0008 |newspaper=Cambridge Evening News |date=28 December 1987 |page=8 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 March 2023}} In a 2012 feature on the song, Jim Griffin, writing for The Guardian, described it as his favourite Lloyd Cole song and noted the "jangly guitars", "croaked delivery" and lyrics "about the fickle nature of early romance".{{cite news |last=Griffin |first=Jim |title=Old music: Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Jennifer She Said |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 June 2012 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/jun/25/lloyd-cole-commotions-jennifer-she-said |access-date=9 March 2023}}

7–inch single (UK, Europe and Australasia){{cite AV media notes |title=Jennifer She Said |others=Lloyd Cole and the Commotions |year=1987–88 |type=UK, European and Australasian 7-inch single sleeve |publisher=Polydor Records |id=COLE 8, 887 246-7}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Jennifer She Said |others=Lloyd Cole and the Commotions |year=1987–88 |type=UK and European 7-inch single gatefold sleeve |publisher=Polydor Records |id=COLEG 8, 887 299-7}}

1. "Jennifer She Said" – 3:03
2. "Perfect Blue" – 4:13

12–inch single (UK, Europe and Australasia){{cite AV media notes |title=Jennifer She Said |others=Lloyd Cole and the Commotions |year=1987–88 |type=UK, European and Australasian 12-inch single sleeve |publisher=Polydor Records |id=COLEX8, 887 246-1}}

1. "Jennifer She Said" – 3:03
2. "Perfect Blue" – 4:13
3. "Mystery Train" (Recorded live at 'The World' USA 1986) – 2:48
4. "I Don't Believe You" (Recorded live at 'The World' USA 1986) – 3:04

CD single (UK and Europe){{cite AV media notes |title=Jennifer She Said |others=Lloyd Cole and the Commotions |year=1987–88 |type=UK and European CD single sleeve |publisher=Polydor Records |id=COLCD 8, 887 246-2}}

1. "Jennifer She Said" – 3:03
2. "Perfect Blue" – 4:13
3. "My Bag" (Dancing Remix) – 6:38

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

• Lloyd Cole – vocals, guitar
• Neil Clark – guitar
• Blair Cowan – keyboards
• Lawrence Donegan – bass
• Stephen Irvine – drums

Additional musicians

• Nicky Holland – string arrangements ("Jennifer She Said")

Production

• Ian Stanley – producer ("Jennifer She Said", "My Bag")
• Femi Jiya – recording ("Jennifer She Said")
• Bruce Lampcov – mixing ("Jennifer She Said")
• Paul Hardiman – producer ("Perfect Blue")
• François Kevorkian – remixer ("My Bag")

Other

• Alastair Thain – photography
• Michael Nash Associates – sleeve

{{Reflist}}

{{Lloyd Cole and the Commotions}}

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Category:1987 songs

Category:1987 singles

Category:1988 singles

Category:Lloyd Cole songs

Category:Songs written by Neil Clark (musician)

Category:Songs written by Lloyd Cole

Category:Song recordings produced by Ian Stanley

Category:Polydor Records singles