Jerry Fuller's "Young Girl": A Sweet Spot Song Between Romance and Out of Line Desire?

Alex Traub posted on the New York Times “Jerry Fuller, Songwriter of ‘Young Girl’ and ‘Travelin’ Man,’ Is Dead at 85” (Aug. 16, 2024). Interestingly, the subtitle of the post related that Fuller: “[...] found a musical sweet spot between romance and “out of line” desire [...]”

In the piece, Traub wrote that Fuller wrote songs “about lustful desire”, which provided a soundtrack for the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Traub wrote:

Jerry Fuller, [was] a songwriter who helped give the sexual revolution a Top 40 soundtrack [...]

He specialized in love songs, and in songs about lustful desire that sounded like love songs.

Traub related that while working as a music producer at Columbia Records, Fuller saw Gary Puckett perform at a bowling alley. Consequently, Fuller signed Gary Puckett and the Union Gap to Columbia Records. Subsequently, Fuller produced four singles for the American pop rock band, which had a combined sales of over a million copies; however, unsurprisingly, the single that had the most “staying power” was “Young Girl”. Fuller not only produced “Young Girl”, but he wrote the song as well. Traub wrote:

[Fuller] he oversaw the rise to fame of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.

[...] as a producer for Columbia Records, Mr. Fuller was charged with finding new talent, and he succeeded with Mr. Puckett, whom he came across performing in a San Diego bowling alley [...] he offered to sign Mr. Puckett to Columbia that night.

From the end of 1967 to the end of 1968, Mr. Fuller produced four singles that sold a million or more copies for the band: “Woman, Woman” and three songs he himself wrote — “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” and “Over You.”

But none of those songs had the staying power of “Young Girl.”

The “out of line” desire related in the subtitle must be in reference to “Young Girl” (1968). Here’s Traub’s synopsis of the “Young Girl” 

The song tells the story of an older man realizing, in the midst of an intensifying flirtation, that he is with an underage girl. She is “a baby in disguise” — with “perfume and makeup,” she pretends to be “old enough to give me love.” He admonishes her, “Better run, girl,” worried that he will give in to an attraction that is “way out of line.”

In the chorus, the man sings that his love is “way out of line”, because the girl is “much too young”; therefore, he urges her to leave. 

[Chorus]

Young girl, get out of my mind

My love for you is way out of line

Better run, girl

You're much too young, girl

Listeners learned in verse 1 that the girl intentionally misled the man by strategically using the “charms of a woman” to keep her (under) age a secret. Consequently, after learning the truth, the older man was crushed. 

[Verse 1]

With all the charms of a woman

You've kept the secret of your youth

You led me to believe you're old enough

To give me love

And now it hurts to know the truth

Verse 2 revealed that the girl used “perfume and make-up” to keep the secret of her youth. And despite the fact that she knew that it was wrong to be alone with the man, she beckoned him with her young eyes. 

[Verse 2]

Beneath your perfume and make-up

You're just a baby in disguise

And though you know that it's wrong to be

Alone with me

That come-on look is in your eyes

One can infer from verse 3 why the young girl was attracted to the man. The man was powerful. In other words, the man possessed self-control (i.e., power over himself), which, no matter the age, is attractive; however, in the end, he confessed that the allure of a nymphet is powerful as well.

[Verse 3]

So hurry home to your mama

I'm sure she wonders where you are

Get out of here before I have the time

To change my mind

'Cause I'm afraid we'll go too far

Per Genius, Fuller shared that “Young Girl” is based on interactions he had with “14-year-olds [whom] look[ed] like 20-year-olds”. 

The song’s Wikipedia page shows that “Young Girl” “is a RIAA million-selling Gold-certified single” that “hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks”. Interestingly, CBS Records re-released the song in 1974 in the UK. Thereby, inducting the “Young Girl” into the "Hall of Fame Hits". 

However, Traub reported that years after its release “Young Girl” and Fuller “drew scorn for its upbeat treatment of a potentially criminal situation.” Consequently, the song “appeared on lists like “10 Songs That Just Aren’t OK Anymore” and [Paste magazine’s] “Secretly Horrifying Song Lyrics”. 

Yet, Traub related that the song drew praise from other listeners. For example, the song has over 19 million views on YouTube, accompanied by a number of “heartfelt tributes” in the comments section, like:

Met a guy in 1971 when I was 17, he was 26. This was our song. Married the guy in 1982. In two weeks we will celebrate our 34th anniversary.

Lastly, Traub shared that in 2018, Puckett and Fuller performed “Young Girl” at a venue near L.A., while the “crowd sang along with them, word for word, during their duet of “Young Girl,” and then gave them a standing ovation.”