Daryl Hall & John Oates – Kiss On My List

“Kiss on My List” – Single by Hall & Oates from the album Voices
B-side: “Africa”
Released: November 1980
Recorded: 1980
Songwriters: Daryl Hall and Janna Allen
Producers: Daryl Hall and John Oates
Charted No.1 in US and No.35 in UK

The song was written with the intention of Janna Allen, sister of Hall’s longtime girlfriend Sara Allen, singing it, as she was interested in starting a music career. Hall cut a demo version as a guide for her, but later when his manager found the tape lying around the studio, he insisted that Hall and Oates cut the song themselves. In fact, the production team liked the demo so much that they did not do a second take, instead adding background vocals and instrumentation to the demo and mixing them together.

This is a very misinterpreted song, as many people hear the lyric as “kiss on my lips.” According to Daryl Hall, it is what he calls “an anti-love song,” and the lyric, “Your kiss is on my list of the best things in life” means that the kiss is simply another item on the guy’s list – and certainly not the best thing. Said Hall: “Everyone thinks it’s ‘I love you and without you I would die.’ It’s exactly the opposite of that.”

Lyrics:
Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list
Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list
Because your kiss is on my list of the best things in life
Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list
Because your kiss, your kiss I can’t resist
Because your kiss is what I miss when I turn out the light

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