She Blinded Me With Science – Thomas Dolby | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5) and Mainstream Rock (#6); 1983
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In a blinding moment of artistic truthfulness, Thomas Dolby noted that his biggest hit was the most meaningless song he’d ever written. “So why write it?” you ask.
According to Dolby, he thought his music was too challenging, and that perhaps a bit of nonsense – like the rest of the chart singles – was in order. The album from which Science was taken arrived in America at just the right time to catch the initial MTV wave.
The song featured the voice of real-life scientist Magnus Pike who hosted a popular British children’s show. Dolby incorporated Pike’s trademark exclamation, “Science!” into his track, then hired Pike for a guest spot in the accompanying video which Dolby also directed.
The audio and video took the US by storm, and by May Dolby had a Top 5 hit. Science resurfaced in a sample on Mobb Deep’s Got It Twisted in 2004. Kevin “Mrs. Britney Spears” Federline did the same thing in 2006, albeit illegally, which prompted a blog rant from Dolby.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Thomas Dolby
- Tim Friese-Greene
Lyrics Written by:
- Thomas Dolby
- Jo Kerr
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).