The Hold Steady – You Can Make Him Like You

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Send "You Can Make Him Like You" Ringtone to Cell

You don't have to deal with the dealers
Let your boyfriend deal with the dealers
It only gets inconvenient
When you wanna get high alone
You don't have to know how to get home
Let your boyfriend tell the driver the best way to go,
It only gets kinda weird when you wanna go home alone,
You don't have to know the inspiring people
Let your boyfriend know the inspiring people
You can hang in the kitchen
Talk about the stars in the upcoming sequel

If you get tired of your boyfriend's things
There's always other boys,
There's always other boyfriends
If you get tired of your boyfriend's scene
There's always other scenes
There's always other boyfriends

You don't have to deal with the dealers
Let your boyfriend deal with the dealers
It only gets inconvenient
When you wanna get high alone
You don't have to go to the right kind of schools,
Let your boyfriend come from the right kind of school
You can wear his old sweatshirt
You can cover yourself like a bruise

But if you get tired of your boyfriend's things
There's always other boys
There's always other boyfriends
If you get tired of your football pranks
There's always other boys
There's always other boyfriends
If you get tired of the car he drives,
There's always other boys
And you can make him like you
If you get tired of the music he likes
There's always other boys
And you can make him like you

They say you don't have a problem
Until you start to do it alone
They say you don't have a problem
Until you start bringing it home
They say you don't have a problem
Until you start sleeping alone

There's always other boys
There's always other boyfriends
There's always other boys
And you can make him like you
There's always other boys
There's always other boyfriends
There's always other boys
And you can make him like you
There's always other boys
There's always other boyfriends
There's always other boys
And you can make him like you
There's always other boys
There's always other boyfriends
There's always other boys
And you can make him like you

Send "You Can Make Him Like You" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by kemekongka

Track duration: 02:49

"You Can Make Him Like You" as written by Tad Jason Kubler Craig Finn

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC

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You Can Make Him Like You song meanings
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25 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I mean, think about it. If you're a beautiful woman, you've got the world at your fingertips. There is some rich person out there that will do anything and everything for you just to be with you. And all you've got to do is put out. And I think beautiful girls are faced with that indecision. Do I take advantage of this, or be who I am and find someone I care about regardless of my looks? And I think this song is about the girl that's like "Hell, I'm hot, I don't need to do anything except be hot and some guy, whoever he is, will take care of the rest." But it only gets inconvenient when you have to go home alone," I think that means there will always be an emptiness inside you unless you ignore the superficial and just be who you are.
    Flag rbach48on June 30, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Like most songs, it's about Donald Fagen.

    I'd never thought about two ways to read "you can make him like you".

    However, the idea of making him the same way you are fails for two reasons.

    There's always other boys and you came make him LIKE you is how the song sounds, which connotes differently than
    There's always other boys and you can make him like YOU. Plus the second version is a non sequitor
    Flag tpksummerson March 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i went to a hold steady gig and craig introduced this as "the most romantic song I've ever written"


    something to think about...
    Flag glubson May 19, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:It's about how a boyfriend can weigh you down and stifle your potential. Even if it's only your potential to do drugs
    Flag hannahkawon August 12, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:unless this is how it's printed on the inlet, i'm pretty sure it's "if you get tired of your boyfriend's bends/.../if you get tired of your football friends/..."
    Flag themagnetcon December 31, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love it that it's "you can make him like you" - as in make him like you are, or make him be quite fond of you.
    Flag raiseyourvoiceon July 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The thing is when on stage, Craig stresses 'you CAN make him like you', as if to say it's empowering to women.

    But really the;
    "they say you don't have a problem
    untill you start to do it alone" bit suggest it's more about how girls sacrifice their entire selves for a relationship..
    Flag brendzillaon June 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's supposed to be interpreted in two different ways based on the gender of the interpreter: Laughable and sarcastic for boys; a bolster of spirits for girls. Just the fact that Finn could set it up so it works both ways baffles me. It's kind of like the fantasy baseball draft scene in Knocked Up for anyone who has seen that.

    These four lines can be taken at least two different ways:

    you don't have to go to the right kind of schools,
    let your boyfriend come from the right kind of school
    you can wear his old sweatshirt
    you can cover yourself like a bruise
    Flag Pitchforkretentiouson May 12, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I kind of feel that "you can make him like you" is a double entendre. If you interpret the song title like that, it becomes more of an indictment of intergender relationships, which sticks to the theme of the rest of the album. The line speaks about how men so easily succumb to manipulation, but also what happens to the relationship in general. "You can make him like you" also means that she's making him as miserable as she is...spreading the sadness.
    Flag bbrown301on September 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with Specialist... I think this song is about girls who completely define themselves by the guy that they're with. So the question becomes well, who are you, then? It's about someone who takes the backseat for their own life, which is really pretty sad.
    Flag KaNinch3non August 28, 2008   Link

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