Women will always remain the number one inspiration for all rock musicians. In addition to the theme of heartbreak, sadness and betrayal, however, throughout the years we have also witnessed how rockers incorporate the theme of “femme fatale” in their songs. Personally, I’m quite fond of the “tough girl” topic and I really enjoy songs that portray women in such way.
I thought about this topic and came up with this playlist, featuring classic rock songs about girls who know how to leave an impression and make a man’s heart go wild… I would also like to focus on the lyrics because above all, that’s how musicians convey their thoughts and feelings…and in these cases, the lyrics are more than brilliant…

Playlist:

Def Leppard – She’s Too Tough (1993)
Foreigner – She’s Too Tough (1984)
Foreigner – Woman in Black (1981)
Survivor – Popular Girl (1894)
Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (1988)
Queen – Killer Queen (1974)
AC/DC – Whole Lotta Rosie (1977)
AC/DC – She’s Got Balls (1975)
Simple Minds – She’s a River (1995)
Billy Joel – Stiletto (1978)
+
Velvet Underground – Femme Fatale (1967)
Hall & Oates – Maneater (1982)

Def Leppard – She’s Too Tough (1993)

Love loaded she’s got plenty to spare
She’ll pull your trigger if only you dare
She’s no angel…
…
She’s too tough
Can’t help it, She just can’t help it
She’s too tough
Can’t help it, She just can’t help it
…
Hands off, well it’s Catch-22
Y’ can’t touch if she can’t have you
She’s no angel, oh no…
Whiplash give you six of the best
Lay back let her mind do the rest
She’s no angel…

Foreigner – She’s Too Tough (1984)

Well, she’s a hard headed woman
Got a mean attitude
I may have bitten off more than I can chew
I get a little light headed
At her altitude
But she goes one step higher
If I’m going to spend the rest of my life
With a woman like that, I better think twice
…
She’s too tough
I said she’s too tough
From the moment she wakes up
Her mind is made up
She’s too tough, she’s too tough…

Foreigner – Woman in Black (1981)

I knew the moment
I walked through that door
I felt so close to a burning sensation
It got so warm
As I moved across the floor
My body aching with anticipation
…
I saw a dark silhouette, at the table
I tried to talk, but I was unable
She drew me in right under her spell
I was hypnotized by the sudden temptation
…
Of that woman in black, she’s a mystery
She’s everything a woman should be
Woman in black, she’s got a hold on me
She’s in control, she won’t set me free…

Survivor – Popular Girl (1894)

When she walks in the room, every eye in the place
Turns to follow her every move
She’s arrived on the scene in her diamonds and jeans
World class — she’s got nothing to prove
It takes a long time to know her, whe gives it up a little at a time
…
She’s gettin’ what she wants
She’s a popular girl
Settin’ those hearts on fire
Everybody wants to be
Part of her world
She’s a popular girl
Such a popular girl
…
She walks down the street, knocks ’em dead on their feet
With a casual nonchalance
When she’s breaking your heart, she’s the state of the art
With license to take what she wants
It takes a hard man to hold her, she likes to get a little out of line…

Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (1988)

…She’s Saying That’s Ok
Hey Baby Do What You Please
I Have The Stuff That You Want
I Am The Thing That You Need
She Looked Me Deep In The Eyes
She’s Touchin’ Me So To Start
She Says There’s No Turnin’ Back
She Trapped Me In Her Heart
Dirty Diana…

Queen – Killer Queen (1974)

Caviar and cigarettes
Well versed in etiquette
Extraordinarily nice
…
…Perfume came naturally from Paris
For cars she couldn’t care less
Fastidious and precise
…
She’s a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime…

AC/DC – Whole Lotta Rosie (1977)

Wanna tell you story
About woman I know
When it comes to lovin’
She steals the show
She ain’t exactly pretty
Ain’t exactly small
Fourt’two thirt’ninefiftysix
You could say she’s got it all
…
Never had a woman
Never had a woman like you
Doin’ all the things
Doin’ all the things you do
Ain’t no fairy story
Ain’t no skin and bones
But you give it all you got
Weighin’ in at nineteen stone
You’re a whole lotta woman
A whole lotta woman
Whole lotta Rosie…

AC/DC – She’s Got Balls (1975)

She’s got style that woman
Makes me smile that woman
She’s got spunk that woman
Funk that woman
She’s got speed my lady
Got what I need my babe
She’s got the ability, hey
To make a man outta me
…
But most important of all
Let me tell you
My lady’s got balls…

Simple Minds – She’s a River (1995)

Shadow let go
There’s something you should know
I just found my new direction
And I hope you like the key
Like the air that led me to it
She’s like the wind that sucked me through it
She’s a river and she’s turning there in front of me
Stand back – get back
She’ll paint your blue skies black
She gives bullet proof protection
Got a resurrection feel
When I’m scared, and ’bout to lose
She gives me travelling shoes
She’s a river and she’s turning in front of me
And I go blind
Wasting my time
While the rivers in front of me
That’s where I’m goin’ to be….

Billy Joel – Stiletto (1978)

She cuts you once, she cuts you twice
But still you believe
The wound is so fresh you can taste the blood
But you don’t have strength to leave
You’ve been bought, you’ve been sold
You’ve been locked outside the door
But you stand there pleadin’
With your insides bleedin’
‘Cause deep down you want some more
Then she says she wants forgiveness
It’s such a clever masquerade
She’s so good with her stiletto
You don’t even see the blade…

+ Bonus Tracks

Velvet Underground – Femme Fatale (1967)

Here she comes, you better watch your step
She’s going to break your heart in two, it’s true It’s not hard to realize
Just look into her false colored eyes
She builds you up to just put you down, what a clown
‘Cause everybody knows (She’s a femme fatale)
The things she does to please (She’s a femme fatale)
She’s just a little tease (She’s a femme fatale)
…
See the way she walks
Hear the way she talks
You’re put down in her book
You’re number 37, have a look
She’s going to smile to make you frown, what a clown
Little boy, she’s from the street
Before you start, you’re already beat
She’s gonna play you for a fool, yes it’s true…

Hall & Oates – Maneater (1982)

I wouldn’t if I were you
I know what she can do
She’s deadly man
And she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there
But a beast is in the heart
…
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She’ll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She’s a maneater…

P.S. – Let’s keep an open mind; Every song is open to interpretation based on personal perceptions! Cheers!