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 the Two of Us
Bill Withers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 wanna spend some time with you
Just the two of us
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)
Just the two of us
Building them 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 wanna be the one with you
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building big castles way on high
Just the two of us
You and I
(Just the two of us) Just the two of us
(We can make it, just the two of us)
Let's get it together baby (yeah)
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
(We can make it, just the two of us)
(Just the two of us)
(We can make it, just the two of us)
(Just the two of us)
(We can make it, just the two of us)
(Just the two of us)
(We can make it, just the two of us)
(Just the two of us)
(We can make it, just the two of us)
(Just the two of us)
In the song "Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers, the singer talks about the beauty of love and how two people can make it through anything. He metaphorically describes crystal raindrops falling and creating rainbows in his mind when he thinks of spending time with his loved one. He talks about building castles in the sky with this person and how nothing else matters when they are together. He also touches on the concept of not waiting too long for love and going for it when you have the chance because good things come to those who take action.
The song has a very romantic feel and encourages the idea of love and partnership. It speaks to the idea of making things happen together as a team of two rather than relying on anyone else. It's a classic song that has stood the test of time and is still beloved today.
Line by Line Meaning
I see the crystal raindrops fall
I notice the small, beautiful things in life
And the beauty of it all
I appreciate the beauty around me
Is when the sun comes shining through
Especially when the sun shines, it creates a special effect
To make those rainbows in my mind
It creates a beautiful image in my imagination
When I think of you sometime
When I think of spending time with you
And I wanna spend some time with you
I want to enjoy your company
Just the two of us
Only you and I, without anyone else
We can make it if we try
If we work together, we can achieve anything
Building castles in the sky
Dreaming and aiming high
You and I
Only you and I
We look for love, no time for tears
We search for happiness, not sadness
Wasted water's all that is
Crying is useless
And it don't make no flowers grow
Crying doesn't lead to anything good or positive
Good things might come to those who wait
Patience can bring good fortune
Not for those who wait too late
But waiting too long can lead to missed opportunities
We gotta go for all we know
So we should take chances and pursue our dreams
On the window down the hall
Raindrops on a nearby window
And it becomes the morning dew
Which turns into dew in the morning
And darling when the morning comes
When morning arrives, my love for you persists
And I see the morning sun
The sunrise brings new possibilities
I wanna be the one with you
I want to experience it all with you
Let's get it together baby (yeah)
Let's work together to achieve our goals
Lyrics © BLEUNIG MUSIC, BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Ralph Macdonald, William Salter, William Harrison Jr Withers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind