The group debuted at the Lyceum Theatre in London on June 14, 1970 where the announcer mispronounced their provisional name of Eric and the Dynamos to Derek and the Dominos, the band decided to take up the new name and undertook a summer tour of England. From late August to early October, working at Criteria Studios in Miami with legendary Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, the band recorded Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, a brilliant double album now widely regarded as Clapton's masterpiece. Most of the material, including Layla (which soon became an FM radio staple) was inspired by Clapton's unrequited love for Pattie Boyd who was married to his best friend George Harrison. Clapton was seeing Pattie secretly at the time and Whitlock was dating her sister. It was not until much later that the affair was open; Boyd moved in with Clapton in 1974 and married him in 1979. However, they were separated in 1985 when Clapton started a relationship with Yvonne Khan Kelly and they divorced in 1988. The two-part song "Layla" was recorded in separate sessions; the opening guitar section was recorded first, with the second section following several months later. The second section was an elegiac piano piece composed and played by drummer Jim Gordon; early on, he objected to it being added onto Layla, but after some arguing among the band's members he finally agreed.
The Layla LP was actually recorded by a five-piece version of the group, thanks to the unforeseen inclusion of slide guitar virtuoso Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. Clapton recorded most of the album while lying on the floor strung out on drugs. The band was heavily into drugs at this time, but, unlike many artists such as The Beatles, Clapton feels this did not hurt the recording process. A few days into the Layla sessions, Dowd, who was also producing the Allmans, invited Clapton to an Allman Brothers outdoor concert in Miami. The two guitarists who previously knew each other only by reputation, met backstage after the show, and then both bands repaired to the studio to jam (an impromptu session which, happily, was captured on tape). Clapton and Allman "fell in love" with each other's playing and became instant friends, so Allman was immediately invited to become the fifth member of The Dominos. (These studio jams were eventually released as part of the 3-CD 20th-anniversary edition of the album.)
When Allman and Clapton met, The Dominos had already recorded three tracks (I Looked Away, Bell Bottom Blues and Keep On Growing); Allman debuted on the fourth cut, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, and contributed some of his most sublime slide-guitar playing to the remainder of the LP. The album was heavily blues-influenced and featured a winning combination of the twin guitars of Allman and Clapton, with Allman's incendiary slide-guitar a key ingredient of the sound. It showcased some of Clapton's strongest material to date, as well as arguably some of his best guitar playing, with Whitlock also contributing several superb numbers, and his powerful, soul-influenced voice.
It
Derek and the Dominos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's too late, she's gone.
It's too late, my baby's gone.
Wish I had told her she was my only one.
It's too late, she's gone.
It's a woman that cries,
So I guess I've gotta hide my eyes.
It's too late, she's gone.
She's gone, yes she's gone.
She's gone, my baby's gone.
She's gone, yes she's gone.
Where can my baby be?
And I wonder does she know
When she left me, it hurt me so.
I need your love babe, please don't make me wait.
Tell me it's not too late.
[Chorus]
And I wonder does she know
When she left me, it hurt me so.
I need your love babe, please don't make me wait.
Tell me it's not too late.
The song "It's Too Late" by Derek and the Dominos, featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar, is a lamenting ballad about lost love. The chorus repeats the same phrase three times, "It's too late, she's gone," emphasizing the finality of the situation. The singer regrets not expressing his love for her sooner, "Wish I had told her she was my only one." He believes he must conceal his tears from the world, "So I guess I've gotta hide my eyes." He admits that he'll miss her more than anyone, and his weeping sounds, in a way, like a woman's cries. The final stanza, "And I wonder does she know / When she left me, it hurt me so / I need your love babe, please don't make me wait / Tell me it's not too late," accentuates the pain and longing for his lost love.
The repetitive and simple chorus is the most memorable element of the song, seared into the listener's mind like a brand. However, the instrumentals and slide guitar solos played by Clapton elevate the song's melancholy feel. Rumors persist that "It's Too Late" was written for George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, who inspired other hits such as "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight." Boyd eventually divorced Harrison and remarried Clapton. Another interesting tidbit is that the single's B-side was Dominos' drummer Jim Gordon's composition "Layla," often cited as one of rock's greatest love songs. In 1993, the cover by Otis Rush received a Grammy nomination. "It's Too Late" was not initially included on the album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" but instead buried on the B-side of the hit's second single, "Bell Bottom Blues."
Some other fascinating facts about the song include that it was recorded in Criteria Studios, Miami. It was released in 1970 and was a track from their debut album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. The band released a total of one album before disbanding but you can listen to the live recordings of their songs on In Concert in 1973. The lyrics and the melody of the song have a "60s" feel to them which aligns with the time period in which it was recorded. The song has been covered by various artists including Otis Rush, Boz Scaggs, and Michael Katon, among others. Clapton has mentioned in interviews that he doesn't like to follow the conventional meaning of songs and leaves them open to interpretation. The song has been performed in a live acoustic version by Clapton even after the Dominos disbanded. The chords for the song are as follows:
Intro:
E E7 A E E7 A E E7 A E E7 A
Verse 1:
E E7
And I can't believe it's time to say goodbye
A E
But you were fed up with my alibis
E E7
I know that's where it ends for me
A
On the dead-end street of apathy
Chorus:
B7 A C#m A E Esus4 E
It's too late, too late she's gone too far away
B7 A C#m A E Esus4 E
Too late, too late she's gone too far away
Verse 2:
E E7
Slowly now I come to sense there's nothing left
A
The end of feeling, the end of breath
E E7
But till then my hand will still be sane
A
On the dead-end street of pain
Line by Line Meaning
It's too late, she's gone.
The person singing realizes that it's too late to save the relationship because his significant other has already left him.
It's too late, my baby's gone.
The singer acknowledges that he lost his love and he feels powerless about it because she's already left.
Wish I had told her she was my only one.
The singer wishes that he had been more vocal about his love, and that he had told his significant other that she was the only one for him.
She's gone, yes she's gone.
The singer repeats the fact that his significant other has left him, emphasizing his feeling of loss.
Where can my baby be?
The singer is wondering where his significant other could be, while also expressing concern about her wellbeing.
And I wonder does she know when she left me, it hurt me so.
The singer is questioning whether his significant other knows the impact of her leaving him and how badly it has hurt him.
I need your love babe, please don't make me wait.
The singer is admitting that he needs his significant other's love and wants her to come back to him.
Tell me it's not too late.
The singer is asking his significant other to give him a chance and to tell him that it's not too late to save the relationship.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN STERLING, ERIC VICTOR BURDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@darylrestly8133
They need to bring shows like this back to television rather than amateur singing contests.
@_antrider8584
@Philip Holmes False
@_antrider8584
Philip Holmes. It’s not the musicians fault there are food rock bands out there if you look for them. The networks are choosing not to put them on, not the bands.
@_antrider8584
Philip Holmes true. Old videos like this are gold
@mikek8553
Good luck
@VinnyDrysdale
I couldn't agree more.
@tylermcay6676
Eric Clapton was golden as he always was, but Bobby Whitlocks voice was absolutely golden. A very unappreciated voice in my opinion.
@johnredpath
Absolutely!!
@CabbagePlaster
I agree so much man
@bbb8997
bobby & Duane really made the lp better