Written by Rick Parfitt and Andy Bown, it was released on the album of the same name in 1979 and has become one of the band's better-known works. It originally appeared on the band's 1979 album Whatever You Want and was later re-recorded for their 2003 album Riffs.
The song commences with a quiet introduction, containing a guitar playing notes from chords. Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi used chorus, fuzz and flanging effects on their guitars. This lasts for approximately 26 seconds, and fades out towards the end. After this, the guitar picks up once more with a D-minor riff, and 40 seconds into the piece, the familiar D-major riff of the song begins, accompanied by drums from the 56 second mark.
At 1 minute, 11 seconds, all audio pauses for approximately half a second; at this point, the lyrical portion commences. The music returns as soon as the first lyrics are heard. This pause creates a short-lived dramatic start to the song, which lasts for a total of four minutes.
Lyrics
Whatever you want
Whatever you like
Whatever you say
You pay your money
You take your choice
Whatever you need
Whatever you use
Whatever you win
Whatever you lose
You're showing off
You're showing out
You look for trouble
Turn around, give me a shout
I take it all
You squeeze me dry
And now today
You couldn't even say goodbye
I could take you home
On the midnight train again
I could make an offer you can't refuse
Whatever you want
Whatever you like
Whatever you say
You pay your money
You take your choice
Whatever you need
Whatever you use
Whatever you win
Whatever you lose
You're showing off
You're showing out
You look for trouble
Turn around, give me a shout
I take it all
You squeeze me dry
And now today
You couldn't even say goodbye
I could take you home
On the midnight train again
I could make an offer you can't refuse
Whatever you want
Whatever you like
Whatever you say
You pay your money
You take your choice
Whatever you need
Whatever you use
Whatever you win
Whatever you lose
Whatever you want
Whatever you want
Songwriters: Rick Parfitt / Andy Bown
Whatever You Want lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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