What's Victoria's Secret
(Rick Springfield/Matt Bissonette)

Tell me her name, cause I really want to see her
And tell me her game, cause I need an exit strategy
Ah, what a tragedy

But I know she's not what's best for me
And I know she'll cause me harm
And I know she'd rather fly away
To someone else's arms

Oh it's true the world wants a mystery
But I need to know one thing….

What's Victoria's Secret
Tell me if the clothes she wears will expose
All of my weakness
Woman I just can't let go til I know
Victoria's Secret
Whispering her love song in my ear
Victoria's Secret
Will haunt me today
Do I really need to know her name

Show me that face
Is it really what it claims to be
Show me that brain
Is it really based in fantasy
Oh it's Vanity
Yeah she seems to get the best of me
Of what little there is left
And it seems that she's controlling me
Like a robot in a trance

And it's true we don't learn from history
But I gotta know one thing

What's Victoria's Secret
Tell me if the skin she bares will expose
All of my weakness
Woman I just can't let go til I know
Victoria's Secret
Whispering a love song in my ear
Victoria's Secret
Will haunt me today
Do I really need to know her…..

Will I find, peace of mind 
In a photograph of holidays
That little girl from yesterday

What was that name
Did I ever really know her 
What's Victoria's Secret
Tell me if the clothes she wears 
Will expose all of my weakness
Woman I just can't let go til I know
Victoria's Secret

Whispering a love song in my ear
Victoria's Secret
Will haunt me today
Did I ever really know her 
Secret
Will haunt me today
Will you ever really know her
Secret
Will haunt me today
Can we ever really know her name

Song Facts: This can be found on Venus in Overdrive.
Rick performed this live for the first time at the Acoustic performance in the Blu Bar in Milwaukee, WI on May 10, 2008 (although he did do a few lines in Vinton on 4/18)

The first single from VENUS IN OVERDRIVE is "What's Victoria's Secret?"  Rick says the title of the song "is one of those titles that was waiting to be written and we just got there first . Matt came up with it and we wrote the song while we were doing 5 nights of shows in Milwaukee. I had some recording gear brought into my hotel room and we wrote it there at the haunted Pfister hotel, room 804. It's basically about the sexualization of women and how we as males, want that, but also resist it and mainly need to connect to women as human beings. It's a dichotomy that most men feel I think." - PRNewswire

According to US

It’s been 6 months already since Rick released his latest CD, Venus In Overdrive. I’ve had a lot of time to listen to and digest the music and lyrics. I am still playing VIO in heavy rotation on my CD player. (I find it ironic/funny how when using abbreviations for Rick’s CD’s, we now have a “VIO” to go along with his 80’s CD “LIO” or better known to the general public as “Living In Oz.” I’m pretty sure the rhyming abbreviation-thing was not intentional on Rick’s part!) 

Before I go any farther, I have to say that I am thrilled Rick made the Billboard charts with this CD! I’m so happy he is still out there doing what he loves. I hope he never stops or decides to go into retirement. I know he still has a lot to offer his fans!

To be perfectly honest here, when I first heard this song I was not immediately taken by it. I liked it, yes…but I was not “amazed” by it right off the bat. I still feel that there are ‘better’ songs on VIO than this song, if we want to get picky about it. In fact, I kept getting the weird sense that he may have “missed it” by not releasing a different tune off VIO first, before this song. It’s one of those songs that had to “grow” on me, whereas a few of the other songs drew me in immediately (the title track, I’ll Miss That Someday, Oblivious, 

3 Warning Shots, Time Stand Still, She). But it didn’t take long before it began to stick in my mind, maybe 2 or 3 weeks. Plus, I was listening to it constantly with the rest of the CD and so it caught on. It’s also one of those songs with hooks, which Rick is notorious for creating. I found myself singing it in my sleep! 

I never really caught that the chords were reminiscent of Jessie’s Girl in particular, but I did hear a familiar ring to it. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Soon, the public began to hear this CD, and the google alerts discussing Rick’s new music were rolling in like crazy. There was a mixed bag of emotions about this song (and the rest of VIO) with it‘s familiar guitar chords, and also what I considered some undue jabs towards Rick. It was stated in various posts I read that Rick “ripped off” his hit song Jessie’s Girl by adding those chords…as if his new song was unoriginal because of that sound. Ok…first off…it IS Rick’s song, and if he wants to add that familiar “ring” to a new song…so be it! That is his God-given right in my opinion. And he certainly is not the 1st artist to ever do such a thing, and he won’t be the last. He owns Jessie’s Girl and he can recreate it anyway he feels, even if it‘s something as simple as adding a similar guitar riff from it to another song. I know it was all in fun for him, and YES…he did it on purpose. He has openly said so in various interviews since. If Kid Rock can be creative and do it with other people’s guitar riffs and whatnot, bringing in that feeling of nostalgia, then why can’t Rick have a little fun with his own song? 

I could go into all kinds of feelings I had in August as Rick was promoting his CD, such as how I wished so desperately that Rick and the guys had “mixed it up” song-wise when making appearances, at least what portion of their performances were aired anyway for us at home to see. There were other songs I thought would grab the general public more so than this one. For instance, “I‘ll Miss That Someday“ grabbed a hold of me instantly and I was hooked, wanting to hear more. That would be a killer radio song for today and could be the kickoff to the CD as the 1st track! (Not to mention, during promotion week…I would have loved seeing him perform 2 or 3 of his new songs, as opposed to just one!) Ok, sorry…enough about that ‘debate‘…but I just had to get that off my chest! LOL! On to my review of the song…

The music starts out with what seems to me like that “hi-fi/lo-fi” thing that Rick talks about, which really is a lot like Jessie’s Girl. It continues throughout the song from verse to chorus and back again until the break. I’m no musician, and have never put together a song, but that is what it reminds me of. It’s a technique that I like, apparently! It starts out with this catchy riff and Rick singing along in a breathy voice, “Tell me her name, ‘cuz I really wanna see her. Tell me her game, ‘cuz I need an exit strategy. Oh what a tragedy.” As much as I love this song now, and cannot resist singing along to it and tapping my foot to the cool beat, the lyrics still don’t totally hit home for me like I wish they would. (but that’s okay…there are at least 8 or 9 more songs on VIO that truly speak volumes to me, and that is what I love about Rick’s music…it has meaning, and that meaning can vary from person to person). 

I really don’t quite get the whole “Tell me her name” and then in the chorus he’s calling her “Victoria.” Unless he means all women in general as a whole race, and is just calling them “Victoria“, or of course…the particular woman/women you are fascinated with at that moment. That one is a head-scratcher for sure in my book! I am so used to Rick being a solo writer that I have to keep reminding myself that Matt and he wrote most of this material together. Their ideas and song-writing skills make an interesting mix! I was happy to hear Rick say that this is the most fun he’s had song-writing in a long time. :-D 

The music is infectious and of as always, Rick’s voice sounds amazing with all the ranges he can carry off and the little vocal inflections he adds here and there. Isn’t that Matt singing in the background of the chorus during “secret” with the really high voice? Their voices mesh together quite well. 

The most I can really say about the lyrics/meaning I gather from the song is that Rick (and Matt) are still insecure (to a point) when it comes to women---”tell me if the skin she bares will expose all of my weakness, woman I just can’t let go ‘til I know Victoria’s secret.” The funny thing is, as a woman myself, I don’t think most women have THAT big of a secret. Don’t women usually wonder what the secret is to men?! Probably my favorite line in the song is when he says, “Oh it’s vanity” in reference to whether or not the woman’s mind is really based in fantasy. 

Before I end my review, I have to mention one of the more obvious things about this song. I like the fact that they used “Victoria’s Secret” as part of the song, making one think of the clothing line. I thought that was pretty cute and clever on their part! Really kind of tongue-in-cheek in my opinion, which to me is a huge part of Rick’s style that I’ve always loved. The downside for me in the double title, was I immediately got visions of famous runway models and women of “that stature,” and Rick trying to figure out what made those women tick. There are a few lines in the song that gave me that 1st impression. Once I listened closer (and after hearing Rick’s take on the song), it took me a bit of time to shake that visual from my brain. Silly I know, but true. I see now that it’s definitely not about runway models in particular!  - Kelley Pearson

"Tell me her name...." Just those three little words sung to me in that voice that my ears still yearn to hear after 25 years and my heart is all a-flutter. Right away I'm taken back to when I was a younger version of myself. And it feels good. There's a little bit of guitar strumming. Even though I know he doesn't wear this look anymore, my mind pictures him in a suit with a skinny tie. There's quite a bit of a retro-feel to this song. I noticed it right away. Definitely 'signature Rick Springfield'. The Rick of my past has suddenly merged with the Rick of the present. We haven't seen this Rick in while. I think I'm liking it. 

By the time Rick is revving up to the chorus, "What's Victoria's Seeecret?" (written as sung, extra e's intentional here) I'm ready to sing along. I think the one of my most favorite things about Rick as a songwriter is his ability to write an absolute grab-by hook. By that I mean, by the end of the song you pretty much know the words and you're singing along. Nothing wrong with that in my book. 

This is a totally feel-good, it's summer time-put the windows down on the car- sing at the top of your lungs while driving song. I don't care really, what the words/lyrics mean. You don't really want to dig too deep into the meaning when a song like this is just there to make you feel good. That's how I feel about this song. Yeah there's some questionable lines in here, but who cares? 

I have to admit however, that I totally didn't hear the similarities between Jessie's Girl and this song. At least not at first. It wasn't until Rick was out promoting this album release and critic after critic mentioned their likeness that I started to doubt myself slightly. "Is that why I like the song so much?" I wondered. I've came to the conclusion that the answer to that is ,"Hell yeah." Now don't get me wrong. I soak up every new RS song as if I'm dry French toast waiting for his syrupy sweetness to pour over me. Every new one is my current favorite. Yet it is months now since the VIO release and I still find myself singing along and tapping my feet when this track comes on in my player. 

For all the catchiness in the chorus that I've touted; you'd think that was my favorite part of the song. You'd be wrong. My favorite parts are the in-between, where Rick is singing and there's less music. Very similar to JG, I agree -- but I've said over and over he could sing the phone book like that and I'd be there in the front row. There's just something about the sexiness that oozes out of him when he performs like that just makes me want to drool. He's definitely captured that in this song, and it's totally alright with me.  -  Michelle P.

This song is so ‘catchy’ who wouldn’t love it? From the beginning verse of, Tell me her name, ‘cause I really want to see her, the sexiness in his voice is very apparent and somewhat pulls you in to that ever present obsession to hear more. 

I don’t agree 100 percent with the comparisons of this song to Jessie’s Girl. Maybe and only maybe would I say that it was similar because it sounds like something comparable to music we heard in the 80’s.

If this song was given half a chance, I know that it would fly to the top of the charts  - Amy L

Very sexy song. Makes you want to be the woman he's singing about - Bethany DiMaggio

This is one Secret that should not be kept! - Tina M.

Catchy tune!  Great single to debut the album - Shelly Horton-Tuma

Sweet that he had the desire to find the real girl inside the outside package - Darla Gerken

Why isn't this song on the Victoria's Secret commercials yet?  It totally gets in your head - Terry Bell

My secret is I have to play this delicious song first thing every morning to get my day started with a smile - Annrene Boggs

I think Victoria's Secret may be she knows a hit song when she hears one!  This song truly delivers - Ally

Catchy contemporary beat; fun song that makes you smile just to hear it and smile BIG if you're a Rick fan with past references.  SUPERB! - Lauri J.

The first single is an irrestible pop song with a chorus that is pure ear candy and a bridge that should come stamped with "Instant Hit" on it - Melissa Ruggieri - Rich.com