Withers, the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. He was the son of Mattie (Galloway), a maid, and William Withers, a miner. He was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. He was 13 years old when his father died. Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17, and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs.
He left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career. His debut release was "Three Nights and a Morning" in 1967. Arranged by Mort Garson, the song went unnoticed at the time but was later reworked by Withers as the track "Harlem".
Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford, while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night. When he returned with the song "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971, he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry. In early 1970, Withers's demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones to produce Withers' first album. Four three-hour recording sessions were planned for the album, but funding caused the album to be recorded in three sessions with a six-month break between the second and final sessions. Just as I Am was released in 1971 with the tracks, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" as singles. The album features Stephen Stills playing lead guitar. On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch box.
Withers was known for his "smooth" baritone vocals and "sumptuous" soul arrangements. He wrote some of the most covered songs of the 1970s, including "Lean on Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine". The former entered the Hot 100 chart through multiple versions, including Club Nouveau's 1987 cover, which made the composition one of nine songs to have led the chart via different acts. With "Lovely Day", he set the record for the longest sustained note on a chart hit on American charts, holding a high E for 18 seconds. Editors from The Guardian considered that Withers' songs are "some of the most beloved in the American songbook," citing, "'Ain't No Sunshine' is regarded as one of the all-time great breakup tracks, while 'Lean on Me', an ode to the supportive power of friendship ..." For the same newspaper, Alex Petridis noticed "[he] laid pain and paranoia under his deceptively gentle songs, and retired early having conquered gospel, funk, blues, disco and more." In Rolling Stone, writer Andy Greene noted that several of his songs "are embedded in the culture and have been covered countless times."
Writing for The New York Times, Giovanni Russonello considered Withers "[a] soulful singer with a gift for writing understated classics", adding, "the ultimate homespun hitmaker, he had an innate sense of what might make a song memorable, and little interest in excess attitude or accoutrements. Ultimately Withers reminded us that it’s the everyday that is the most meaningful: work, family, love, loss." A Billboard article considered that Withers "stands as one of R&B/soul music's most revered singer-songwriters." In the same magazine, writer Gail Mitchell acknowledged "Withers' legacy has flourished in the decades since, thanks to a cross-section of artists who have covered/sampled his songs or cited him as a major influence." Musician and music journalist Questlove referred to Withers' post-breakup 1974 album +'Justments as "a diary [...] [it] was a pre-reality-show look at his life. Keep in mind this was years before Marvin Gaye did it with Here, My Dear." The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson deemed him "a songwriter's songwriter". Musicians Sade, D'Angelo, Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Ed Sheeran have credited Withers as a music inspiration.
Withers died from heart complications in Los Angeles on March 30, 2020, at age 81; his family announced his death four days later. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).
I Wish You Well
Bill Withers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wish you children that grow to make you proud
I wish you pretty things to wear
And sweet things to smell
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you good friends that always treat you fair
Wanna wish you ribbons to tie around your hair
I wish you truckloads of cheer and many happy years
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (well)
Wanna wish you freedom to do the things you love
Wanna wish you blessings and kindness from above
Wanna wish you sunlight through the clouds
Hope you laugh out loud
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (well)
Oh now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (well)
Oh now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
Oh now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (well)
Oh now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (I wish you well)
Now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
I wish you well (well)
The lyrics to Bill Withers’s song “You” are a heartfelt expression of genuine desire for someone’s well-being. The lyrics begin with a wish for the person to experience pleasure in the form of flowers, sunshine, smiles, pretty things to wear, and sweet things to smell. The second verse extends the wish for goodness by expressing a desire for the person to have good friends, items like ribbons to tie in their hair, truckloads of cheer, and many happy years. The third verse expresses a wish for freedom, blessings, and kindness from above, as well as an unmistakable feeling of hope that the person will “laugh out loud”.
Throughout the song, the repetition of the phrase “I wish you well” is an emphatic refrain, almost like a prayer or a positive affirmation, reinforcing the sincere desire of the singer for the happiness and welfare of the addressee. The song is optimistic in its perspective, as the singer expresses a hope for the best for the person even when things may not be going well. Indeed, the song expresses a profound sense of empathy for the person, as the singer seems to want to impart the strength and positivity of their own spirit to the addressee, wishing them joy and sunshine in the face of any adversity they may experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I wish you flowers, sunshine and smiles
I hope you have happiness and joy in your life
I wish you children that grow to make you proud
I hope you have kids that grow up and bring you pride and fulfillment
I wish you pretty things to wear
I hope you have nice clothes and feel good about yourself
And sweet things to smell
I hope you have pleasant fragrances in your surroundings
I wish you well (I wish you well)
I hope everything in your life goes smoothly and positively
Wanna wish you good friends that always treat you fair
I hope you have true friends who treat you with respect and fairness
Wanna wish you ribbons to tie around your hair
I hope you have fun and playful accessories to wear
I wish you truckloads of cheer and many happy years
I hope you have a lot of joy and happiness throughout your life
Wanna wish you freedom to do the things you love
I hope you have the freedom to pursue your passions
Wanna wish you blessings and kindness from above
I hope you receive blessings and kindness from a higher power
Wanna wish you sunlight through the clouds
I hope you find light and positivity even in difficult times
Hope you laugh out loud
I hope you find joy in life and laugh a lot
Oh now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
I really do hope all the best for you
Now, I wish you well (I wish you well)
Once again, I hope everything is good for you
Lyrics © GOLDEN WITHERS MUSIC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Bill Withers, WILLIAM HARRISON JR WITHERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind