Every band wants a hit song; something that grabs a listener and doesn't let go. You know, an irresistible hook, an infectious groove, an undeniable melody - the kind of tune that becomes synonymous with the band. And everybody wants to hear that song.

Don't tell me you haven't heard The Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah," off the group's recent album "Every Second Counts." Since this summer, the song has been everywhere. It is plaintive and sad and beautiful. It's also made up to some degree. Yes, there is an actual Delilah, but the facts drift a little from there.

And there is a Plain White T's, the band from Chicago behind the song. For the past 10 years the band has played pop music with an exuberant crunch and energy. Singer/guitarist Tom Higgenson's songs feature melodious lyrics about lost love and its ensuing burn, and have earned the band a substantial following. When Higgenson met Delilah she didn't blind him or cut of his hair, but the girl knocked him out for sure.

It's just Higgenson and his guitar on this tune but, it packs an epic symphonic punch. "Oh, what you do to me," he sings. Who doesn't want to feel that way about another person? Who hasn't already?

So as Delilah joins the ranks of Lola, Sharona, Little Susie, Maybellene, Rosanna, Roxanne, and other love interests immortalized by rock 'n' roll, The Plain White T's continue to play her song, all the while wondering how the band can possibly top it. Higgenson didn't seem too worried when he checked in with City from a tour stop in Albany. An edited transcript of the interview follows.

City: Are you sick of talking about "Delilah" yet?

Tom Higgenson: Well, I've answered the "Who's Delilah?" question about a million times, you know? But it's all good. People love the song and people wanna know about it, so I guess I can't complain too much.

How about playing it?

Nah, I love the song. I mean, the song is still fun to play, everybody's singing along and everything.

Then let me be number 1 million and 1 to ask you about Delilah.

Well, the song was written about four years ago. I met a girl named Delilah one night through a friend. After hanging out with her and my friend for a few hours that night, that was it... I was like, "Man, this girl is just so incredibly gorgeous" and I couldn't stop staring at her. And I told her "I've got a song about you." I was telling her about the band and everything. And for some reason I said I have a song about you - trying to be funny or something.

So that very next day, after one night of meeting her, she went back to New York to go back to school. I kept in touch with her through instant messaging and e-mail and stuff and she was always like, "Where's my song?" So I eventually started writing the song and all I really had to go off of was that she's a student in New York. I didn't really know the girl so I just kinda made up this long-distance love story and kinda wrote as if I was with this girl. What would I want to say to her? What would be a great thing to say to her? And that was it.

Why didn't you pursue her?

She actually had a boyfriend all this time. I ended up recording the song. She heard the song, she loved it. The boyfriend hated it, but she came out to a few shows

With the boyfriend?

Without the boyfriend.

She still with him now?

I don't know. I've heard some things recently. I haven't talked to her in a while so I'm not really sure.

What does your current girlfriend think?

About the girl or about the song?

Both.

She's never met her or anything. It's one of those things, "Oh, you obviously liked her if you wrote a song about her." And I was like, "I did, but I didn't even really know her." I think she likes the song as much as she can.

I read somewhere you said Delilah and your girlfriend look alike.

A little bit, yeah.

What's harder to write, songs of fictional love or songs of real love?

I dunno, they both have their ups and downs. When I'm writing for someone who actually is my girlfriend, there's kinda more pressure. It's like, "Shoot, she's actually gonna hear this, this is for her." It's gotta be real and it's gotta be serious, it has to make sense. When it's about someone like Delilah, I don't know her, so there's no pressure. It's all in my court to say whatever I wanna say. I can be as cheesy or as romantic as I want. There's no risk really.

Besides "Delilah," what are your songs about?

We've always been fans of songs about relationships...the good and the bad in relationships. But a lot of our stuff is upbeat.

Do you think this return to good songwriting for your generation of bands is killing the rock star? Will it effect how people get their rock show?

I don't know. In the 90s I think there was a big sense of song. There have always been great songs in every decade. I think perhaps hip-hop with beats and stuff like that overtook melody in a way. When Britney Spears came out she was singing some of the best songs of the decade. Then her next album, there were no melodies. It was all dance music or something they think is catchy.

But look at the effect a song with a gorgeous melody like "Delilah" has.

I can't even explain why people don't write like that anymore. it's just... never mind, I'm not even going to get into it.

Are you working on new stuff?

Definitely. I'm always writing.

But now you're competing with yourself and "Delilah."

Exactly, thanks for the pressure. That's the goal with each record. You hope that things get just a little bit better than the last one.

I've got one song now some of the guys in the band think is better than "Delilah." It's a similar style, a soft little love song. It's got a cool hook. I think it's a cool song. I'd like to think I've got few more "Delilah"s in me.