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).
Just A Two Of Us
Bill Withers Lyrics
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And the beauty of it all
Is when the sun comes shining through
To make those rainbows in my mind
When I think of you sometime
And I want to spend some time with you
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I
We look for love no time for tears
Wasted water's all that is
And it don't make no flowers grow
Good things might come to those who wait
Not for those who wait too late
We gotta go for all we know
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I
I hear the crystal raindrops fall
On the window down the hall
And it becomes the morning dew
And darling when the morning comes
And I see the morning sun
I want to be the one with you.
The lyrics to Bill Withers's song "Just A Two of Us" captures the beauty and wonder of being in love with someone special. The opening lines, "I see the crystal raindrops fall, and the beauty of it all, is when the sun comes shining through to make those rainbows in my mind," speaks to the powerful connection between the beauty of nature and the emotions evoked by love. The imagery of rainbows in the mind when thinking of someone special shows how the experience of love can be transformative and joyous.
The chorus, "Just the two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us, building castles in the sky you and I," encapsulates the message of the song. The idea that two people in love can achieve anything if they work together is a powerful and hopeful message. The lyricist acknowledges the hard work and effort that love requires but remains optimistic about the possibility of succeeding if both people committed to making it work.
The final verse, "I hear the crystal raindrops fall, on the window down the hall, and it becomes the morning dew, and darling when the morning comes, and I see the morning sun, I want to be the one with you," brings the song to a tranquil and hopeful conclusion. The song is a representation of the simplicity and beauty of love, where two individuals find solace in one another and appreciate the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
I see the crystal raindrops fall
I witness the clear raindrops fall from the sky
And the beauty of it all
I appreciate the splendor of nature’s gift
Is when the sun comes shining through
The true magnificence happens when the sunrays reflect rainbows
To make those rainbows in my mind
The sight of the rainbow creates an image in my memory
When I think of you sometime
Whenever I ponder over you occasionally
And I want to spend some time with you
I desire to pass moments with you
Just the two of us
Only you and I alone
We can make it if we try
We can succeed if we endeavor
Building castles in the sky
Shaping dreams, regardless of how unrealistic they are
You and I
Me and you
We look for love no time for tears
We search for happiness instead of being sad
Wasted water's all that is
Crying is of no use
And it don't make no flowers grow
It will not create anything useful
Good things might come to those who wait
Patience might lead to favorable circumstances
Not for those who wait too late
However, waiting for too long will only result in disappointment
We gotta go for all we know
Hence, we must give our best to the opportunities we have now
I hear the crystal raindrops fall
I listen to the serene sound of raindrops from afar
On the window down the hall
They drum on the windows of the hallway
And it becomes the morning dew
Eventually the raindrops turn into dew in the morning
And darling when the morning comes
Sweetheart, as soon as dawn breaks
And I see the morning sun
When I glimpse the full sunrise
I want to be the one with you.
I aspire to be by your side in that moment.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, BLEUNIG MUSIC
Written by: BILL WITHERS, RALPH MACDONALD, WILLIAM SALTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind