Dickson was born in Dunfermline. Her singing career started in folk clubs around her native Fife in the sixties, exposing her to a rich combination of traditional and contemporary music. In the early seventies, she sang at a Liverpool folk club run by a young student teacher called Willy Russell. He showed Barbara the first draft of what would later become the award winning musical, ‘John, Paul, George, Ringo….and Bert’ and asked her to perform the music. The combination of fine writing, a superb cast of young unknowns, (including Antony Sher, Bernard Hill and Trevor Eve), and Barbara’s idiosyncratic interpretation of Beatles songs made the show hugely successful.
The show’s co-producer, Robert Stigwood, signed Barbara to his record label, RSO Records, where she recorded the album ‘Answer Me’, the title track becoming a top ten hit in 1976. This led to her guest residency on the much-loved series ‘The Two Ronnies’, which brought Barbara’s singing to the attention of more than 10 million BBC viewers every week.
Also impressed by Barbara’s performance were Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who invited her to record ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ from the new musical ‘Evita’, which became her second hit in 1977.
Other hits including ‘Caravan Song’ and ‘January, February’, followed in 1980.
In 1982, Willy Russell asked Barbara to star in his new musical ‘Blood Brothers’ in the pivotal role of the mother, Mrs. Johnstone. Although at first reluctant to accept, having never acted before, (not even in a school play!), she rose to the challenge, in the process garnering critical acclaim as well as Actress of the Year in a Musical from the Society of West End Theatres in 1984.
Later that year, Tim Rice approached Barbara to take part in the cast album recording of the musical ‘Chess’, which included the song ‘I Know Him So Well’, a duet sung with Elaine Paige. The song was a worldwide hit and remained at number one in the UK charts for many weeks.
During the 1990s Barbara appeared in various TV dramas including ‘Taggart’, the award winning ‘Band of Gold’ and ‘The Missing Postman’.
Acclaimed writer and director Chris Bond created a show for Barbara in 1996 called ‘The Seven Ages of Woman’ which won her the Liverpool Echo Actress of the Year Award. It premiered at the Liverpool Playhouse and toured extensively in 1997 and 1998.
In 1999, Barbara starred in ‘Spend, Spend, Spend’, a new musical by Steve Brown and Justin Greene. The show, based on the rollercoaster life story of pools winner, Viv Nicholson, played in the West End to capacity audiences. For her portrayal of Viv, Barbara was awarded ‘Best Actress in a Musical’ at the 2000 Laurence Olivier Awards.
Barbara continues to appear in concert and on record. She has in the last few years had great success with ‘The Platinum Collection’, which featured some of her most successful recordings.
Her last album, ‘Full Circle’, a journey back through her musical history, was hugely admired and well reviewed. Barbara’s most recent CD is an eclectic collection of the songs of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison called ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My World.’
During 2006 she has appeared as the Timekeeper in Alan Ayckbourn and Denis King’s fantasy musical play
‘Whenever’ for BBC Radio 4 and presented ‘Finding A Voice’, also for BBC Radio 4.
Married with three teenaged sons, Barbara lives in Lincolnshire. An O.B.E. was conferred upon her in the Queens’ New Year’s Honours in 2002.
Morning Comes Quickly
Barbara Dickson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the warm afterglow
Watching you sleeping
So I'll have to go
The morning comes quickly
And with it the pain
I can't turn to you
To help me come through
CHORUSÂ :
I can't hold back the sun
It's sure to rise
I can't stop the tears that'll fill your eyes
Can't hang onto love, we gotta be free
Morning comes oh, too quickly for me
I found another
He needs me too
Now I'm wonderin' how
To break it to you
The morning comes quickly
And I'll have to try
To own up to you
Our love song is through
We can't live a lie
CHORUS TO FADE
The lyrics to Barbara Dickson's song Morning Comes Quickly depict a sense of regret and sadness from the singer. The song begins with the singer contemplating her thoughts while watching her partner sleep in the warm afterglow. However, as the morning comes quickly, she realizes that she must leave, and with it comes the excruciating pain of saying goodbye. She acknowledges the fact that she cannot rely on her partner to help her come through the pain, and no words can explain how she feels.
In the chorus, the singer mentions that she cannot hold back the sun, which is sure to rise, and she cannot stop the tears that will fill her partner's eyes. She recognizes that she cannot hang onto love and that both she and her partner need to be free. The morning comes much too quickly for her to deal with the pain of leaving and ending their love.
The second verse reveals that the singer has already found someone else who needs her as much as her current partner does. However, she struggles with finding a way to break the news about her new love to her current partner. She acknowledges that the morning comes quickly and that she will have to try to own up to her partner that their love song is through. They cannot continue to live a lie, and it's time for them to part ways.
Overall, the song's message reflects the pain and difficulty of ending a relationship and coming to terms with moving on with life. It highlights the fact that sometimes, we have to make a difficult decision because we cannot keep holding onto things that are not meant to be.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been thinking it over
I have been contemplating about our relationship
In the warm afterglow
During the pleasant aftermath of our love making
Watching you sleeping
Observing you while you are asleep
So I'll have to go
I have to leave now
The morning comes quickly
The day is about to dawn soon
And with it the pain
Along with the day, comes the sorrow
I can't turn to you
I cannot seek comfort from you
To help me come through
To aid me in getting over this situation
No words can explain
There are no words to describe the emotions that I am feeling
I can't hold back the sun
I cannot stop the daylight from coming
It's sure to rise
The sun will definitely rise
I can't stop the tears that'll fill your eyes
I cannot prevent the tears that will roll down your eyes
Can't hang onto love, we gotta be free
We cannot hold on to our love, we need to be free
Morning comes oh, too quickly for me
The morning arrives too soon for me
I found another
I have found someone else
He needs me too
The other person also requires my love and attention
Now I'm wonderin' how
I am now pondering how
To break it to you
To inform you about this
The morning comes quickly
The day arrives very soon
And I'll have to try
And I will have to attempt
To own up to you
To confess the truth to you
Our love song is through
Our romantic relationship has ended
We can't live a lie
We cannot pretend and deceive each other
CHORUS TO FADE
Repetition of the chorus until the song fades out
Contributed by Owen I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
sct352 T
Wow! I came here looking for Clodagh Rodgers' version of 'Morning comes quickly' but I never knew Barbara Dickson recorded it and made it an LP title track. A lovely waltz time song written by the team that gave us 'Power to all our Friends'.
Rodders Fiftynine
Thanks for all these uploads. Wonderful !