The Girl Is Mine

Album

A Taste of Honey

Label

Epic records

Genre

Soft Rock

Composer(s)

Michael Jackson

Entered Chart

Nov 6, 1982

Peak Date

Jan 8, 1983

Released

October 18, 1982

Recorded

April 14–16, 1982 Studio Westlake (Los Angeles, California)

Catalog #

Epic 34-03288

B-Side

"Can't Get Outta the Rain"

This is a duet with Paul McCartney, one of three he and Jackson recorded together. As Jackson told it in his autobiography Moonwalk, when he first met McCartney in the '70s, Paul told him that he wrote a song for him called "Girlfriend." McCartney used the song on his 1978 album London Town, and Jackson included it on his 1979 Off the Wall album. The pair connected again when Jackson called McCartney on Christmas Day 1980 asking, "Do you wanna make some hits?" Jackson flew to London in the fall of 1981 where they wrote "Say, Say, Say" and began recording the song with producer George Martin. In December, with Jackson and Quincy Jones ready to start work on the "Thriller" album, they visited McCartney at his ranch in Tucson, Arizona and started working on a song Jackson wrote called "The Girl Is Mine," an experience Jones says was a lot of fun, as the song seemed tailor-made for the pair. They recorded the song together in April 1982 at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, which was home base for the Thriller sessions. Around this time, they finished work on "Say Say Say," shot a video for the song, and recorded another duet called "The Man." "The Girl Is Mine" ended up on Jackson's Thriller album, released in November 1982; "Say Say Say" and "The Man" went on McCartney's album Pipes of Peace, released in October 1983. Jackson and McCartney remained good friends until 1985, when Jackson bought the publishing rights to most of The Beatles' songs, causing an intractable rift in their relationship. McCartney taught Jackson about publishing rights when they got together in 1981, and Jackson used this wisdom, along with his Thriller profits, to buy the songs McCartney coveted. Jackson said it was "just business," but McCartney saw it as a betrayal. This was the first single released off the Thriller album. Although it was one of the weakest songs, it was released first because it was guaranteed airplay thanks to McCartney's contribution, and if they didn't release it first, radio stations would play it anyway and wear it out. Also, it was the first song completed for the album, which they were still working on. At the time, many big albums contained a song with a prominent guest vocalist to attract attention. Released ahead of the album, this song gave no indication that Thriller would become the best-selling album of all time. The lyrics are mostly friendly banter about who has dibs on the girl. The song was a very safe choice as the first single, since it was very conventional and easy to understand. Jackson was afraid that if he released an edgy song like "Billie Jean" or "Beat It" first, people wouldn't give the album a chance. McCartney was 40 years old and well into one of the most stable marriages in rock (to his wife, Linda, who was present at the recording session), when this song was released. Hearing him bicker with the 24-year-old Jackson over a girl was kind of ludicrous, but there are only so many homosocial duet topics out there. This was released a month before the album came out. The next six singles all came after the album, and were all Top 10 hits as well. Report this ad Michael Jackson said: "One of my favorite songs to record of all of my recordings as a solo artist is probably 'The Girl Is Mine' because working with Paul McCartney was pretty exciting and we just literally had fun. It was like lots of kibitzing and playing and throwing stuff at each other and making jokes." Four members of the band Toto - David Paich (piano), Steve Lukather (guitar), Jeff Porcaro (drums) and Steve Porcaro (synthesizer programming) - contributed to this track. David Foster, who was one of the top songwriter/producers of the '80s ("St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)," "Glory Of Love"), did the synthesizer arrangement. David Paich also worked on the arrangement with Quincy Jones. "That was a magic moment in the studio," Paich said in his 2015 Songfacts interview. "It was one of those 'pinch me' moments." Thanks to Jackson's star power and anticipation for his new album, this song went to #1 on the R&B chart and stayed there for three weeks. It made McCartney the only Beatle ever to top the R&B chart. Michael Jackson re-recorded Thriller in 2008 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the record. He enlisted a variety of musical stars, plus had tracks from it re-mixed. For "The Girl Is Mine 2008," he recruited Will.I.Am of Black Eyed Peas, to reprise the role initially performed by Sir Paul McCartney. Fifteen years after this song was released, Brandy and Monica teamed up for a lyrically similar duet, "The Boy Is Mine," which drew inspiration from this song. Thriller engineer Bruce Swedien told MusicRadar about one of Jackson's studio quirks: "Interestingly, we always recorded with Michael in the dark - he hated light. I mean I would have a little bit of light for him, but the studio was absolutely dark. I think one reason why he wanted this - and why it works so effectively - is that through my study of acoustics and so on, I found that the human being is primarily a visual animal, hearing is our second sense. People can be distracted by too much light in the studio to the extent that it can take away from the music."

Every night she walks right in my dreams
Since I met her from the start
I'm so proud I am the only one
Who is special in her heart

The girl is mine
The doggone girl is mine
I know she's mine
Because the doggone girl is mine

I don't understand the way you think
Saying that she's yours not mine
Sending roses and your silly dreams
Really just a waste of time

Because she's mine
The doggone girl is mine
Don't waste your time
Because the doggone girl is mine

I love you more than he
(Take you anywhere)

Well I love you endlessly
(Loving we will share)

So come and go with me
Two on the town

But we both cannot have her
So it's one or the other
And one day you'll discover
That she's my girl forever and ever

I don't build your hopes to be let down
'Cause I really feel it's time

I know she'll tell you I'm the one for her
'Cause she said I blow her mind

The girl is mine
The doggone girl is mine
Don't waste your time
Because the doggone girl is mine

She's mine, she's mine
No, no, no, she's mine
The girl is mine, the girl is mine
The girl is mine, the girl is mine

The girl is mine, (yep) she's mine
The girl is mine, (yep) she's mine

Don't waste your time
Because the doggone girl is mine
The girl is mine, the girl is mine

Michael, we're not going to fight about this, okay
Paul, I think I told you, I'm a lover not a fighter
I've heard it all before, Michael, she told me that I'm her forever lover
You know, don't you remember?
Well, after loving me, she said she couldn't love another
Is that what she said?
Yes, she said it, you keep dreaming
I don't believe it

The girl is mine (mine, mine, mine)