Story Behind The Song
After a painful and dramatic relapse, it was cathartic to compose something extremely personal, honest and exposing that admitted there are in fact lonely moments in an otherwise happy and successful loner life.
Song Description
This is a gorgeous, epic, intensely personal black-key ballad that starts with fluid, rolling piano and builds to a dramatic string arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" intensity with rock drums (played by Gregg Willliams who played drums on Sheryl Crow's masterful "Globe Sessions" album) and guitar. Unusually confessional lyrics match a vulnerable, beautiful lead vocal with an unconventional chordal turn in the choruses of this stirring, powerful song.
| Song Length |
6:24 |
Genre |
Pop - General, Rock - Easy Listening |
| Tempo |
Medium Slow (91 - 110) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Moving, Poignant |
Subject |
Loneliness, Sadness |
| Similar Artists |
Nick Drake, Radiohead, Aimee Mann, Elton John, Simon & Garfunkel, George Michael, Stevie Wonder, |
Language |
English |
| Era |
1970 - 1979 |
| |
Lyrics
When I'm alone
I don't think of the past
most of the time
but we are judged by the people we meet
and you're looking fine
After all these years, far away those tears
so where are you now
could you be my one and only
or will you come back as an answer to a prayer
When I'm alone
I don't think of the times
that I've been ridiculed and ostracized
I can be just who I'm gonna be
without you looking at, talking to,
troubling me
threatening my reality
are you just my recognition
or can I give something of value to you, too?
The trouble is we live in a world full of joy
and full of pain
and when I'm alone I have all the answers
I pay attention
I'm not beholden to you
When I'm alone
you won't see me turning away
afterall, I shouldn't even been looking at you anyway
I guess I didn't figure into your dream
it's just a minor inconvenience
and it's fine with me
I've got my individuality
nothing more than sacrificing one thing for another
it's just the way that it goes
The trouble is we live in a world full of beauty
and full of trash
and when I'm alone I can tell the difference
I've got time to dwell on myself
and the meaning of life
Maybe we lead lives of quiet desperation
but sometimes when I'm alone
all the noise levels are exceeded
and all my reason feels depleted
and there's no one around to treat it
when I'm alone
After all these years, far away those tears
so where are you now
should I need any one and only
or can I just keep on existing as I have been
I'll tell you what the trouble is
we live in a world full of joy and full of pain
and when I'm alone I have all the answers
I pay attention, I'm not beholden to you
or anyone
you or anyone