ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY) by GILBERT O'SULLIVAN ~ Retrospective Reaction

ALONE AGAIN by GILBERT O'SULLIVAN ~ Retrospective Reaction
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Intro/Exit Song: The Jam by Slynk & Mr Stabalina
Royalty/Copyright Free Music - Courtesy of KZbin Audio Library
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[@Immortalheart66]

The most upbeat sad song ever written. What makes Gilbert a brilliant writer,… in a interview I believe he said he put him self in the position of someone who felt this way. That’s a great writer. One of my favorites. Thank you kindly Sue!!!!!!

[@playitagainsue]

Hi Michael, it was my pleasure. That is definitely a sign of a great writer to put yourself in someone else's shoes and to be able to write such a great piece. Thanks for letting know that 🤩

[@daveharris7224]

Hi Sue, you have guessed it, back in the day I saw Gilbert sing live. Vey enjoyable from my memory. And this was one of his very best songs. He is still touring & making new music, which is great.

[@playitagainsue]

Wow, Dave! You have seen so many great artists🤩💜

[@birgittalagerstrom6264]

I love this song ❤ Thank you, never saw this. Yes I agree with you. It is a sad song.yes there is a song of a yellow tree. Don't know the whole name.

[@playitagainsue]

Hi Birgitta, my pleasure..great performance. 🤩

[@MarcoNegrisEye]

I only discovered him about 8 years ago or so. I quickly hoovered up his back catalogue and am steadfast in my opinion that he has never released a bad album and in fact are all absolute class. Hearing Morrissey is a big fan just confirmed I have great taste...😉😂

[@playitagainsue]

Haha love it, Marco. I too will have to duscover more of his stuff. He us clearly very talented 🤗

[@cabdriveruk]

Gilbert O'Sullivan (real name Raymond O'Sullivan) in an interview, said this song was not about his life. It was just an idea that he came up with and wrote. "Alone Again (Naturally)" is an introspective ballad, starting with the singer contemplating suicide after being left at the altar after his bride deserted him, and then telling about the death of his parents. O'Sullivan has said that the song is not autobiographical, as he did not know his father (who died when O'Sullivan was 11) very well, and that his father had mistreated his mother. Also, his mother was still alive when the song was written

[@playitagainsue]

Hey Cabdriveruk, thanks for the clarification on that 😀

[@lonelyp1]

It is such a beautiful tune you really wish it wasn't so sad.

[@playitagainsue]

I agree, Lonelyp 💜

[@jdmanson54]

Thanks for this review Sue as I have always liked this song and the emotional impact that it had. I think it is not a song about depression per se, but more about the reality of what it is to be human, and to feel loss. We are all seeking connections with others so as too avoid loneliness, but this song talks about this as a common human condition, that's why he is reviewing his memories and realising that he is alone again - naturally. I also have heard his other hit songs "Claire" and "Get Down" and they are both worth a listen.

[@playitagainsue]

Hi Ausrocker, so true. It is the common thing we all share especially as we age....loss. Yes I must check those songs out. I have heard they are both good ones 🤩

[@kimr3729]

That was a trip down memory lane for me! Newly arrived in Australia, my sister and I were given this album for Christmas that year, (along with Neil Diamond's Hot August Night!) and I vividly remember our Dad basically taking over and deciding that this album would be his because he loved that song so much! We all loved music in our family and many nights were spent around the stereogram listening and singing to this and multitudes of other albums too. This was definitely one of our favourites.

[@playitagainsue]

Hi Kim, I love that you all enjoyed music together with your family and became such a big part of your life. It was similar for me. My mom was always playing music and I learnt so much from her and we both appreciated music together as well. You said you had newly arrived to Australia. Where did you move from? 🤗

[@kimr3729]

@@playitagainsue we emigrated from England, I was just 13! My son is a musician, and so is my niece, it must run in the family I think!

[@playitagainsue]

@kimr3729 very cool. Clearly you have a very talented family. That was a big move when you are 13 🤗

[@wayne_twentyfive]

Hi Sue .. Like you, I remember when I was a kid, liking this song for it's lovely melody and the feel of it, but never getting into the lyrics or their meaning .. And yes, I think you are right in saying that a big part of the appeal of it to grown ups is that he verbalises our sad experiences and makes us feel less alone in them .. He had a number of other very good songs too .. "Claire' is another sentimental one with a beautiful melody .. "Get Down" is a fun, bouncy, uptempo number .. And "Ooh Wakka Doo Wakka Day" is a playful song with nonsense-like lyrics .. Cheers, Wayne

[@playitagainsue]

Hi Wayne, of course you loved the gorgeous melody as a kid...we are like 2 peas in a pod 🫛. We would have been fast friends as children 😍. I don't know the others you mentioned but would be happy to give them a listen. I think I will react to one of the upbeat ones you mentioned, next as a contrast to this one. That will be cool to hear him do something different 😀💜

[@wayne_twentyfive]

@@playitagainsue Yes, Sue, I reckon we would have had many a good conversation as kids about artists, songs, music and our love for it ! .. Of the 2 upbeat songs I mentioned, I think "Get Down" is probably the better of them .. but they're both cool.

[@playitagainsue]

@@wayne_twentyfive Get Down it is then 😍

[@susieq9801]

I saw Gilbert in Buffalo. He was entertaining enough but maybe too low key in an era of glam and as a result just seemed to fade away in a short time. I wondered what happened to him. The song is more depressing to me now as an adult than when I was young because I can relate to losing my family and then add COVID and the general social isolation that is so pervasive now. Gee, aren't I a ray of sunshine, LOL. 🌞

[@playitagainsue]

Haha hey Sunshine 🌞 I totally agree. It hits home a lot harder as we get older and experience more hardships...sticks with is more 🥰

[@michaelsullivan1631]

HI SUE ,I TOLD YOU ABOUT HOW SAD THIS ONE WAS, WHEN YOU DID BARRY MANALOW, THE OTHER SONG I MENTIONED WAS CLAIRE.

[@playitagainsue]

You are right, Michael. It is a sad one for sure. I will check Clare out as well 😍

[@stephenhowell5611]

Great songwriter, check out Nothing Rhymed .

[@playitagainsue]

Ok will do, Stephen 😃

[@jono.pom-downunder]

😱A jaunty little ditty about loss topping yourself. A real juxtaposition. Raymond Edward O'Sullivan (Gilbert) And the royalties & fair return issues after years of tooing & froing(?) he was awarded £7,000,000 in '82 and also changed the hip-hop scene over copyright issues. (samples must be cleared before use) in '91 which he sued rapper Biz Markie over the rights to use a sample of his song "Alone Again (Naturally)". He won 100% of the royalties and made sampling an expensive undertaking. Yep not autobiographical, his father died when he was 11, he was abusive to Gilbert's mother, so not greatly mourned.

[@playitagainsue]

Wow, I had no idea about any of that stuff about royalities and sampling...good for him. Thanks for that Jono 🤩. His dad sounded like a jerk

[@jono.pom-downunder]

@@playitagainsue yeah he had more influence in the industry and made more money in payouts than his music, despite not charting, over recent years he's had 20 or so albums.