ln Waterford, O'Sullivan's father worked in a meat factory while his mother ran a sweet shop. In 1958, at the age of 11, he moved with his family to Swindon in England in search of a better life. He attended St. Joseph's Comprehensive school in Swindon. While there he developed an interest in both music and amateur boxing. Musically he began with the guitar and progressed to the piano. In the boxing ring he had nearly 50 bouts. Meanwhile his painting and drawing had won him a place at Swindon Art College. He started there in September 1963. His aim was to be a graphic designer. He played drums in his first group The Doodles and left them to join The Prefects while attending Swindon Art College. It was while at college that he met Rick Davies, who was later a member of Supertramp. While at college he began writing songs and sending out demo tapes, alas they were always returned unopened. The first song he remembers writing was Ready Miss Steady.
After finishing college, O'Sullivan moved to London in 1967 to try and further his musical career. He took a part-time job as a salesman at the C & A department store in Oxford Street. Mike Ward who also worked at C & A, had a contract with CBS and Gilbert went with him one day and played his tapes for some of the CBS executives. Gilbert signed a five year publishing contract with CBS which called for one single a year, and released two singles Disappear/You in 1967 and What Can I Do/You in 1968. Gilbert was disappointed that he was not allowed any input into the arranging or production of the singles. Neither single did well. Disillusioned with CBS, O'Sullivan signed with the Major Minor label and released I Wish I Could Cry/Mr. Moody's Garden in 1969.
O'Sullivan came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey, John Peel, who gave him a slot on his radio show Top Gear, little of note resulted, and O'Sullivan spent part of 1969 applying to other record labels and management companies. It was at this time that O'Sullivan formulated his 'Bisto Kid' image; grey flannel suit, flat cap, school boy tie, football socks and hobnail boots. In search of a manager he sent some demo tapes to Gordon Mills, an ex-pop singer and himself a songwriter of repute, who had successfully guided the careers of Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. Gordon Mills recognised something unique in the young Irishman and signed him for management as well as to a songwriting contract.
O'Sullivan made an irresistible impression with Nothing Rhymed, his first Top 10 hit and an introduction to his witty lyrics and original approach as a singer/songwriter. Signed to MAM Records, the label launched by Gordon Mills, who was also his record producer, great friend and surrogate older brother, O'Sullivan enjoyed four years of major success, incorporating a dozen more hit singles, ten of which reached the UK Top 10, and four Top 5 albums: Himself (1971), Back To Front (1972), I'm A Writer Not A Fighter (1973) and A Stranger In My Own Back Yard (1974).
Both Clair (written about Mills's infant daughter for whom Gilbert occasionally babysat) and Get Down were number one hit singles in Britain, and additionally, Back To Front topped the UK LP chart in 1972, emulating the success of the two million seller Alone Again (Naturally), a six week US chart-topper in 1972. O'Sullivan made his live debut in The National Stadium in Dublin in October of '72. Around this time, the singer jettisoned his so-called "Bisto Kid" image in favour of an endless series of collegiate-styled sweaters embossed with the letter "G". As quickly as O'Sullivan ascended to fame, however, his star began to fall , although singles like Ooh Baby and Happiness Is Me and You continued to chart, they sold increasingly fewer copies, and after 1973 his overseas popularity essentially ceased altogether. At home, he notched his final Top 20 hit with 1975's I Don't Love You But I Think I Like You. After a Greatest Hits album in 1976, and Southpaw in 1977, by which time the hit singles had dried up, disagreements over future direction led to a bitter split between O'Sullivan and Mills, which effectively sidelined the former as a recording artist for five years. The gruelling court case between O'Sullivan and his erstwhile manager, producer, music publisher and record company boss finally gave him control of his own recordings and the copyright in his songs, although it exacted an inevitable toll on his energy and his creativity during it's precedent-setting course.
Gilbert returned to CBS in 1980 and released Off Centre (1980) and Life & Rhymes (1982) but maintained a low profile during much of the 1980s, recharging his batteries and moving to Jersey, where he still lives with his wife and two children. Off Centre provided his 13th UK Top 20 single, What's In A Kiss?, after which legal proceedings monopolised his time. However, he continued writing songs, performing what he called "concepts within four walls" rather than starting back on the road before it was appropriate. He later recalled that the lyrics he wrote during that period were too heavily influenced by his personal emotions - having been extremely close to Mills before their disagreement, he was highly distressed to discover that his dear friend had been guilty of considerable financial greed at Gilbert's expense. Even so, he applied himself to his lonely creativity, working from 9 to 5 each day "just like Goffin & King and people like Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield at the Brill Building in New York used to do", although he later confessed "Really, the words were no good, because my mind was cluttered with all the problems". Lyrics have always been O'Sullivan's most unique facet, reflecting what's going on in his mind, and the strain under which he found himself was hardly conducive to much positive artistic or commercial creativity.
The first release for five years was Frobisher Drive and was only available in Germany. The same album with a slightly different track listing was released in the UK in 1989 under the title In The Key Of G, and included So What, his first chart single in almost a decade. Since the low-key comeback, the pace has increased, with five more albums. Gilbert also made a return to live performances in the early nineties, playing regularly in both Europe and Japan. In 1991, Gilbert was again in court, this time he sued American rapper Biz Markie and won the decision after Markie's unauthorized sample of "Alone Again (Naturally)" on his 1991 album I Need a Haircut. A 1992 single, Tomorrow Today had topped the Japanese charts for nine weeks, and this success led to a tour of Japan in early 1993 with his newly formed backing group, during which he recorded and filmed his first ever live album Tomorrow Today. Gilbert's newfound success in Japan led to the Japanese only release of The Little Album (1992) and Rare Tracks (1992). 1993's critical acclaimed Sounds Of The Loop (Daily Telegraph's Record Of The Week) included a duet with the legendary Peggy Lee on Can't Think Straight and even a solo version of the same song in Japanese. This album was recorded almost entirely at his home in Jersey in the Channel Islands.
By Larry (with a similar track listing to the Japanese released The Little Album) was released in 1994. Larry is a famous English cartoonist, much admired by Gilbert. Larry provided original cartoons for the album sleeve and booklet. Every Song Has It's Play was released the following year and was the soundtrack of the semi-autobiographical stage show that Gilbert had acted and sang in, in 1991. Singer Sowing Machine was released in 1997. The title is a humorous reaction by Gilbert to being constantly referred to as a singer/ songwriter. Irlish was released in 2000 and yielded three singles, Have It, Say Goodbye and Two's Company (Three Is Allowed). The album title Irlish, combination of the words Irish and English, appropriate for someone born in Ireland and raised in England. Gilbert's family was part of this migration. In 2001 The Official Gilbert O'Sullivan Website was launched as well as his own record label ByGum Records.
Gilbert continued to tour and he played a series of concerts in Ireland in 2001 and in the UK in 2002 to promote the Irlish album. A new studio album Piano Foreplay followed in 2003. In 2004 Rhino Handmade Records released a 3 CD anthology in the USA of Gilbert's music entitled Caricature: The Box. It contains 73 tracks which span the years 1967-2001. This is the first in-depth survey of Gilbert's lengthy career. It contains numerous singles and B-sides, tracks from 16 of his albums, and five previously unreleased tracks. A b-side collection entitled The Other Sides of Gilbert O'Sullivan was released in Japan in 2004 and contained many tracks available on CD for the first time. A series of concerts followed in Japan in June 2004 followed by a 20 date European Tour of the UK, Ireland, Norway and Denmark in November and December. In February 2005 a DVD/CD set of the 2004 Japanese show was released in Japan. Gilbert returned to Japan in June 2005 for a series of 13 shows. Gilbert spent the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006 recording his next studio album "A Scruff At Heart" which was released in Japan on 25 October 2006.
A Friend Of Mine
Gilbert O'Sullivan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And how are you upon this bright
And sunny morning
I hear your brother Ted
But was let off with a warning
I hope he's learnt his lesson
And the next time he goes out will drive with care
It doesn't pay to drive too fast
All it does is make your life last shorter
I know you won't believe this
But it happens to be true
I am a loner
My only real companion is dog I'm very fond of
His name's Homer
He follows me wherever I go
And of course I do my best to feed him
It's not the easiest of tasks
When you consider unlike cats
They're broader
Do what you want to within reason
But remember take your time
Nothing stops for those
Who can't afford to wait
The best advice that I can give you
Is to hold on to your head
And as long as you are good and kind
You'll always be a friend of mine
And it's true to say that a good friend is hard to find
But I'd like to think that you are
A friend of mine
Good morning Sarah Jane
And how are you today
Tell me is that your mother
She looks a lot like you
Though come to think of it
You look like one another
It's funny how with likenesses
Most people have a difference of opinion
They said that I was like my dad
Now they say that I'm just like his daughter
Do what you want to within reason
But remember take your time
Nothing stops for those
Who can't afford to wait
The best advice that I can give you
Is to hold on to your head
And as long as you are good and kind
You'll always be a friend of mine
You'll always be a friend of mine
As long as you are good and kind
You'll always be a friend of mine
A friend in need is a friend indeed
You'll always be a friend of mine
The song "A Friend of Mine" by Gilbert O'Sullivan is a friendly, conversational piece about catching up with a couple of friends on a bright and sunny morning. The song is written in a first-person narrative format and opens with the character talking to Mary Ann, asking after her brother who was caught for speeding. He advises her that it doesn't pay to drive too fast as it only shortens one's life. The character then moves to talking about himself, revealing that he's a loner and his only mate is his dog, whom he loves very much. The dog follows him wherever he goes, and the character always makes sure to feed him properly.
The chorus of the song, repeated throughout, serves as a sort of advice on how to live a good life. It advises doing what you want but within reason and taking your time at it. It stresses that nothing stops for those who can't afford to wait and encourages holding one's head high. The ultimate advice is to be good and kind, and as long as you are, you'll always be a friend of mine.
Overall, "A Friend of Mine" is a simple, cheerful song that reminds us of the importance of being good friends and living good lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Good morning Mary Ann
Greeting to Mary Ann
And how are you upon this bright
Asking Mary Ann about her current state of being
And sunny morning
Commenting on the present weather and time of the day
I hear your brother Ted
Bringing up a topic of conversation about Mary Ann's brother
Got caught for speeding
Explaining Ted's situation
But was let off with a warning
Clarifying the outcome of Ted's ticket
I hope he's learnt his lesson
Expressing a hope for Ted's future behavior
And the next time he goes out will drive with care
Suggesting Ted to drive carefully in the future
It doesn't pay to drive too fast
Commenting on the consequences of reckless driving
All it does is make your life last shorter
Reflecting on the danger of a fast lifestyle
I know you won't believe this
Admitting Mary Ann might find it hard to believe
But it happens to be true
Stressing that the following statement is factual
I am a loner
Explaining that the singer is a solitary person
My only real companion is dog I'm very fond of
Detailing the singer's sole companion
His name's Homer
Introducing the name of the dog
He follows me wherever I go
Describing Homer's behavior
And of course I do my best to feed him
Explaining the artist's responsibility as a pet owner
It's not the easiest of tasks
Acknowledging the difficulties in taking care of a pet
When you consider unlike cats
Comparing dogs to cats
They're broader
Noting that dogs have different dietary needs than cats
Do what you want to within reason
Giving advice but also encouraging individual freedom
But remember take your time
Suggesting to avoid rushing decisions
Nothing stops for those
Reminding that time always moves forward
Who can't afford to wait
Implying that patience is a virtue
The best advice that I can give you
Providing the singer's most valuable words of guidance
Is to hold on to your head
Encouraging mental strength and stability
And as long as you are good and kind
Defining the qualities of a good person
You'll always be a friend of mine
Expressing that the artist values these personal traits highly
And it's true to say that a good friend is hard to find
Acknowledging that finding a true friend is a difficult task
But I'd like to think that you are
Asserting the singer's belief in Mary Ann's friendship
Good morning Sarah Jane
Greeting to Sarah Jane
And how are you today
Inquiring about Sarah Jane's current state of being
Tell me is that your mother
Asking about Sarah Jane's parent
She looks a lot like you
Pointing out the resemblance between Sarah Jane and her mother
Though come to think of it
Making a connected observation
You look like one another
Concluding that Sarah Jane and her mother do look very similar
It's funny how with likenesses
Reflecting on the idea of likenesses and opinions
Most people have a difference of opinion
Acknowledging that people have varying perspectives
They said that I was like my dad
Sharing a personal anecdote to relate to Sarah Jane's situation
Now they say that I'm just like his daughter
Continuing to relate the artist's situation to Sarah Jane's
You'll always be a friend of mine
Reiterating the emphasis on personal qualities that make a good friend
As long as you are good and kind
Explaining the importance of these qualities again
A friend in need is a friend indeed
Reciting a common saying that encapsulates the essence of true friendship
You'll always be a friend of mine
Concluding that the artist values Sarah Jane's friendship highly
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GILBERT O'SULLIVAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@0723cpfesther
Good morning, Mary Ann and how are you upon this
Bright and sunny morning?
I hear your brother Ted got caught for speeding
But was let off with a warning
I hope he's learnt his lesson
And the next time he goes out will drive with care
It doesn't pay to drive too fast
All it does is make your life last shorter
I know you won't believe this
But it happens to be true, I am a loner
My only real companion is a dog
I'm very fond of, his name's Homer
He follows me wherever I go
And of course I do my best to feed him
It's not the easiest of tasks
When you consider unlike cats, they're broader
Do what you want to within reason
But remember take your time
Nothing stops for those
Who can't afford to wait
The best advice that I can give you
Is to hold on to your head
And as long as you are good and kind
You'll always be a friend of mine
And it's true to say that
A good fiend is hard to find
But I'd like to think that
You were a friend of mine
Good morning, Sarah Jane and how are you today?
Tell me is that your mother?
She looks a lot like you, though come to think of it
You look like one another
It's funny how with likenesses
Most people have a difference of opinion
They said that I was like my dad
Now they say that I'm just like his daughter
Do what you want to within reason
But remember take your time
Nothing stops for those
Who can't afford to wait
The best advice that I can give you
Is to hold on to your head
And as long as you are good and kind
You'll always be a friend of mine
@bahtimuhamedov9366
Как давно это было -- наше детство !!!!! Первый раз эту песню слышал ,вроде, где то в 75 или ,78 х годах !!!!! Но Звучание было отменным в записях не то что здесь !!!!!
@TheEctomorph
What an excellent piece of music ...... and how nice to hear it again after so many years. The last time I heard that album track by Gilbert O'Sullivan - "A Friend Of Mine" - was way back in 1980 or '81, when I was a kid of 15 or 16. I agree entirelywith the gentleman who said that this should have been a single release. Mr O'Sullivan is a great talent - both as a singer and as a songwriter. He deserves to have had as much success - commercially - as Sir Elton John and Rod Stewart.
@williamwongsin
I agree. I am from Singapore and I am only 17 year old when I first hear this song. I remember clearly singing along with this song when I was doing my welding class! I can't even imagine how I could be so care free without any reservations!! I really wished my two sons will have a similar experience
@tramhill1564
Gilbert O'Sullivan takes you, always, with his voice and lyrics, to a higher, refreshing plane and place!
@iandavidson6715
One of my favourite songs by Gilbert. Outstanding production! He has been a great inspiration to me in my song-writing endeavours. (100 plus so far.) I met him in Glasgow a couple of years ago. Gilbert's the real deal!
@thomasnmarthinussen1175
One of my all time favourite Gilbert songs! A stand out track on the magnificent Im A Writer Not A Stranger album.
@eddieandmaryproctor4476
I’m a Writer not a Fighter Album Thomasn
@aihpos2
Fighter !!
@anneward9796
I came out of swimming today. For no reason I started to sing that brilliant song!. Love you gilbert always a fan. Keep well
@martinstorey3139
Great Gilbert..
Still listening 😊
27/09/2021