The Traveling Wilburys - Handle with Care (1988)

Looking to create a B-side for his upcoming solo release, “This Is Love,” George Harrison got together with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty to work on some ideas. Needing a place to record, they went to the home of Bob Dylan, who had a home recording studio nearby where they all happened to be. That session resulted in such a good track (heard below), that Harrison suggested they form a supergroup and release an entire album. All of them agreed and what resulted was the greatest commercial supergroup of the decade.

The title of this song came about when Harrison saw a box that had been lying around in Dylan’s garage. It was used as the first track on their first album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, and was the most success Dylan, Lynne, and Orbison had seen in years. Sadly, it was also the last release in Orbison’s lifetime, as it came out less than two months prior to his passing.



The Traveling Wilburys - Handle with Care (1988)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Been beat up and battered around
Been sent up and I've been shot down
You're the best thing that I've ever found
Handle me with care

Reputations changeable
Situations tolerable
But baby, you're adorable
Handle me with care

I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care?

Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine and dream on

I've been fobbed off and I've been fooled
I've been robbed and ridiculed
In daycare centers and night schools
Handle me with care

Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care

I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care?

Everybody got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine and dream on

I've been uptight and made a mess
But I'll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care