Alone Again (Naturally)

One was Gilbert O'Sullivan's Christmas Song.

In the States in the early 70s, we knew him from the soft pop hits Alone Again Naturally and Claire.

But in 1974, he also got into the Christmas song game with Christmas Song.

It did nothing here and was only a moderate hit in England.

And the court cases kept coming, each one bringing bigger and bigger consequences.

This is Gilbert O'Sullivan's song, Alone Again, Naturally.

It's not exactly an obscure sample.

It was a massive number one hit.

He did have two top 10 hits from the UK in 1970 and 1971, as well as a number two hit in Ireland called Nothing Rhymed, but they didn't chart in the States.

His first hit in the States, Alone Again Naturally, went to number one for six weeks and was the number two song of the year and one of the 200 biggest songs in rock history.

The follow-up song to that was this one, and it actually went up to number two.

He did have some success with his follow-up.

It went all the way up to number two on December 30th, 1972, and January 6th, 1973.

Kept out of the top spot, first by Billy Paul's Me and Mrs. Jones, and then leapfrogged by Carly Simon's You're So Vain.

Unfortunately, it couldn't match its debut alone again naturally at the top spot, but it hit number two, and it's song number 1456.

This is Claire by Gilbert O'Sullivan.

No point in us remaining.

We may as well go home," as I did on my own, alone again, naturally.

To think that only yesterday, I was cheerful, bright and gay, looking forward to who wouldn't do the role I was about to play.

But as if to knock me down, reality came around and without so much as a mere touch, cut me into little pieces, leaving me to doubt, talk about God in his mercy.

If he really does exist, why did he desert me in my hour of need? I truly am indeed alone again, naturally.

It seems to me that there are more hearts broken in the world that can't be mended, left unattended.

What do we do? What do we do? [singing] Alone again, naturally.

And looking back over the years, whatever else that appears, I remember I cried when my father died, never wishing to hide the tears.

Gotta Get a Message to You, Hubert Laws.

Alone Again Naturally, Gilbert O'Sullivan by Esther Phillips.

Summer Breeze by the Isley, by, what are they called? Not Brewer and Shipley.

Oh, that's...

I never understand they use the word top line melody or the phrase top line melody and that, that somehow differs from the song.

But isn't, surely it's the, it's just the same thing, isn't it? I mean, Alone Again Naturally, [singing] is that the top line melody or is that the chord changes? What is that?

Oh, you tell me.

[laughs]

... you know.

So that was pretty special.

And I remember he did an interview a few years back before he recorded it where he was talking to a, to a Radio 2 DJ, and the, and, uh, he said, um, they were talking and he said how much he loved Alone Again to the, the jour- the, the DJ, and the DJ said, "Well, why do you like that?" And, and, uh, Neil said it was because he, he found it kind of rare for somebody so young to write a song with such a, a serious subject-

Mm