About the Song
“To Love Somebody” is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967.[4] The single reached No. 17 in the United States and No. 41 in the United Kingdom. The song’s B-side was “Close Another Door“.[5] The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine’s “100 Best Tracks of the Sixties”.[6] It was a minor hit in the UK and France. It reached the top 20 in the US. It reached the top 10 in Canada.
In a 2017 interview with Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, Barry was asked “of all the songs that you’ve ever written, which song would you choose?” Barry said that “To Love Somebody” was the song that he’d choose as it has “a clear, emotional message”.[7] The song has been recorded by many other artists, including Janis Joplin, Roberta Flack, Lulu, James Carr, the Sweet Inspirations, Nina Simone, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Bonnie Tyler, Slobberbone and Jimmy Somerville.
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Lyrics
There’s a lightA certain kind of lightThat never shone on meI want my life to be lived with youLived with youThere’s a way everybody sayTo do each and every little thingBut what does it bringIf I ain’t got you, ain’t got?
You don’t know what it’s like, babyYou don’t know what it’s like
To love somebodyTo love somebodyThe way I love you
In my brainI see your face againI know my frame of mindYou ain’t got to be so blindAnd I’m blind, so, so, so blindI’m a manCan’t you see what I am?I live and I breathe for youBut what good does it doIf I ain’t got you, ain’t got? Baby
You don’t know what it’s like, babyYou don’t know what it’s like
To love somebodyTo love somebodyThe way I love you, oh no, no
You don’t know what it’s like, babyYou don’t know what it’s like
To love somebodyTo love somebodyThe way I love you
You don’t know what it’s like, babyYou don’t know what it’s likeTo love somebody