About The Song
“Don’t Do Me Like That” is a rock song written by Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their third album, Damn the Torpedoes, released on October 19, 1979, by Backstreet/MCA Records. Released as the album’s lead single in November 1979, with “Casa Dega” as the B-side, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 2, 1980, spending 14 weeks on the chart, and hit No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, blocked by Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for three million US sales.
Recorded in mid-1979 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, the track was produced by Jimmy Iovine and Tom Petty. It features Tom Petty on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Mike Campbell on lead guitar, Benmont Tench on organ and piano, Ron Blair on bass, and Stan Lynch on drums. The song’s upbeat, R&B-inflected groove, driven by Tench’s organ and Campbell’s sharp guitar licks, was inspired by 1960s soul, particularly Sam & Dave, as Petty noted in a 1991 Rolling Stone interview. The lyrics, about a man warning against betrayal in a relationship, were written by Petty in 1974 during his time with Mudcrutch, his pre-Heartbreakers band, per Songfacts. The track was recorded in a few takes, with Iovine pushing for a punchy mix, per Rhino’s session logs.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976, were navigating a legal battle with Shelter Records during Damn the Torpedoes’ production, which delayed the album, per American Songwriter. “Don’t Do Me Like That” was initially offered to The J. Geils Band, but Iovine, hearing it during Mudcrutch demos, insisted the Heartbreakers keep it, as Petty recalled in Petty: The Biography. Its release followed their modest success with “Breakdown” (No. 40, 1977), marking their first US Top 10 hit. The band performed it live on their 1979 tour, including a December show at LA’s Universal Amphitheatre, and it remained a setlist staple, notably at their 2017 Hollywood Bowl finale, per Stereogum.
Covers include The Dirty Knobs’ 2020 version, led by Mike Campbell, and a 1980 live take by Pat Benatar. The song appeared in films like It’s Complicated (2009) and TV shows like Freaks and Geeks (2000). Its simple A-G-D chord progression, analyzed on Medium, and catchy “don’t, don’t” refrain drove its radio success, per Genius. The music video, a simple performance clip, aired on early MTV. Petty debunked rumors of a specific personal inspiration, calling it a “generalized frustration” in a 2002 Mojo interview. The track’s recording coincided with Iovine’s work on Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donna, fostering a tight studio vibe, per Billboard.
Video
Lyric
I was talkin’ with a friend of mine
Said a woman had hurt his pride
Told him that she loved him so
And turned around and let him go
Then he said, “You better watch your step
Or you’re gonna get hurt yourself
Someone’s gonna tell you lies
Cut you down to size”Don’t do me like that
Don’t do me like that
What if I love you, baby?
Don’t do me like thatDon’t do me like that
Don’t do me like that
I’ll just go crazy
Don’t do me like thatI’m just sittin’ here thinkin’ ‘bout you
Wonderin’ what you’re gonna do
I heard a rumor, baby, you’re leavin’ me
I don’t believe what they say about you
I don’t believe it’s true
But if you leave me, baby, it’s gonna beDon’t do me like that
Don’t do me like that
What if I love you, baby?
Don’t do me like thatDon’t do me like that
Don’t do me like that
I’ll just go crazy
Don’t do me like that