He attended a school for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas where he joined… Read Full Bio ↴He attended a school for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas where he joined the school choir. He won an amateur talent contest in Memphis, Tennessee and at first worked with local bands, as well as starting a band of his own. In 1942 he joined a band led by Jay McShann, and the next year he joined Duke Ellington's band, replacing Herb Jeffries. He worked eight years with Ellington before becoming a soloist. Some of his singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is really best classified as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music.

His biggest hit was "Unchained Melody" in 1955. Other hits were "He", "11th Hour Melody", "Never Turn Back", and "After the Lights Go Low" (all in 1956). "After the Lights Go Low", sung with a put-on British accent, was his last charted hit.

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Hibbler became a civil rights activist, marching with protestors and getting arrested in 1959 in New Jersey and in 1963 in Alabama. The notoriety of this activism discouraged major record labels from carrying his work, but Frank Sinatra supported him and signed him to a contract with his label, [lable]Reprise Records.

However, Hibbler made very few recordings after that, occasionally doing live appearances through the 1990s. He died in April 2001 in Chicago.

All or Nothing at All
Al Hibbler Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You know the game of love, so the flame never burns you
No passion concerns you, no violins play
But me, I lose control of my heart when I'm near you
That's why I fear you and turn away
I need a love that's true, I wish it could be you
I know it should be you and so I say

All or nothing at all

Half a love, never appealed to me
If your heart, never could yield to me
Then I'd rather have nothing at all

All or nothing at all
If it's love, there is no in between
Why begin then cry, for something that might have been
No I'd rather have nothing at all

But please don't bring your lips so close to my cheek
Don't smile or I'll be lost beyond recall
The kiss in your eyes, the touch of your hand makes me weak
And my heart may go dizzy and fall

And if I fell under the spell of your call
I would be, caught in the undertow

So you see, I've got to say "No, No"
All or nothing at all

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Al Hibbler's song "All or Nothing at All" describe a man who is torn between his desire for love and his fear of getting hurt. He acknowledges that love is a game that can be dangerous, and that he is cautious because he knows that the flame of passion can easily burn out. However, despite this fear, he is unable to control his emotions when he is near the woman he loves. He longs for a love that is true, and ultimately decides that he would rather have nothing at all than settle for half-hearted love.

Line by Line Meaning

You know the game of love, so the flame never burns you
You have experienced love before, so you won't let yourself get hurt by it

No passion concerns you, no violins play
You are not moved by love or romance

But me, I lose control of my heart when I'm near you
When I am around you, I can't help but feel deeply for you

That's why I fear you and turn away
I am scared of how much I feel for you, so I try to push you away

I need a love that's true, I wish it could be you
I am looking for a genuine and real love, and I wish that you could provide that for me

I know it should be you and so I say
I believe that you are the one who can give me the true love that I am looking for

All or nothing at all
I am not interested in a love that is only halfway, I want it to be all or nothing

Half a love, never appealed to me
Having just a part of someone's love is not enough for me

If your heart, never could yield to me
If you cannot give me your whole heart, then I cannot accept just a part of it

Then I'd rather have nothing at all
If you cannot love me fully, then I would rather not have any love from you at all

If it's love, there is no in between
Love is not something that can be half-hearted or lukewarm, it is either there or it isn't

Why begin then cry, for something that might have been
Starting something with the possibility of never having it completed will only lead to disappointment and regret

No I'd rather have nothing at all
I would rather not have any love than to have a fraction of it

But please don't bring your lips so close to my cheek
I can't handle the physical closeness between us because of how much I feel for you

Don't smile or I'll be lost beyond recall
If you show me any affection, I will not be able to resist you

The kiss in your eyes, the touch of your hand makes me weak
Your gestures of affection have a profound effect on me and make me powerless

And my heart may go dizzy and fall
My emotions are so strong that they could potentially overwhelm me

And if I fell under the spell of your call
If I let myself get caught up in your love, I would be completely consumed by it

I would be, caught in the undertow
I would be swept away and unable to resist the pull of my emotions

So you see, I've got to say "No, No"
Because of how much I feel for you, I have to reject you completely

All or nothing at all
Once again emphasizing that I am only interested in a love that is complete and whole, not just a fraction of it

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PHILIP JAMES RICE, RICHARD GUARD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@33uptempo

2y↑4

Saw The Duke with Al Hibbler in concert around this time in - (wait for it!) - Kalamazoo, Michigan, when I was around 18 or so. It's been in my head ever since.....