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.
All by Myself
Gilbert O'Sullivan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always coping on my own
Girls were more or less
A trail of one night stands
But with you I realized
The morning after you arrived
A change of plans (a change of plans)
Instead of wishing you'd leave
Begged and pleaded with you
Not to get dressed
It's no secret that I love you
But what good is our affair
If I can't have you all to myself
She says while you're having fun
You are not the only one
There is someone else she sees
From time to time
Into detail she won't go
Only that he loves her so
But that's unkind (that's unkind)
Well you'll have to decide
I may not be riding high
In fact I'm so down
That I'm almost in hell...
Have you no consideration
What am I supposed to feel
If I can't have you all to my
(Can't have you all to my)
Can't have you all to myself
If I (can't have you all) to myself
If I (can't have you all) to myself
If I (can't have you all,
Can't have you all,
Can't have you all) to myself
I don't know what I'm supposed to do
Love they say can break your
Heart in two
I always thought, rubbish, that's
Not true
It's true
You think you should run around
You don't want to settle down
Still you like me more than anyone else
It's not like me to be jealous
But what else is there to do
If I can't have you all to my
(Can't have you all to my)
Can't have you all to myself
In Gilbert O'Sullivan's song "All By Myself," the singer confesses that he has always been a loner and has had a history of one-night stands with girls. However, his perspective changes when he meets someone who he wants to have a more serious relationship with. He realizes that he doesn't want her to leave and pleads with her to stay. He admits that he loves her but wonders what good their relationship is if he can't have her all to himself.
The woman responds by telling him that she has someone else in her life but doesn't want to go into detail. She challenges him with the idea that he is not the only one who can have fun with her. He is hurt and asks her to consider his feelings. He declares that he wants her all to himself but acknowledges that he may not be in a position to demand that.
The song explores the themes of jealousy, possessiveness, and the desire for exclusivity in a relationship. It is a poignant portrayal of the complexities and challenges that can arise in romantic relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Having been so long a loner
Having lived single for a long time
Always coping on my own
Always managing things without anyone else's help
Girls were more or less A trail of one night stands
His prior relationships with girls were short-lived and casual
But with you I realized The morning after you arrived A change of plans (a change of plans)
Meeting a special person made him reconsider his perspective on relationships
Instead of wishing you'd leave I got down on my knees Begged and pleaded with you Not to get dressed
He enjoyed being with this special person and didn't want them to leave
It's no secret that I love you But what good is our affair If I can't have you all to myself
He loves this person and wants to be exclusive with them
She says while you're having fun You are not the only one There is someone else she sees From time to time
The person he loves is seeing someone else casually
Into detail she won't go Only that he loves her so But that's unkind (that's unkind)
The person he loves won't reveal much about their other relationship, which he finds hurtful
Well you'll have to decide I may not be riding high In fact I'm so down That I'm almost in hell...
He is leaving the decision with the person he loves, but is suffering because of their divided attention
Have you no consideration What am I supposed to feel If I can't have you all to my (Can't have you all to my) Can't have you all to myself
He feels neglected and unimportant, and needs exclusivity to be happy
If I (can't have you all) to myself If I (can't have you all) to myself If I (can't have you all, Can't have you all, Can't have you all) to myself
He repeats his desire for exclusivity with the person he loves
I don't know what I'm supposed to do Love they say can break your Heart in two I always thought, rubbish, that's Not true It's true
He is conflicted and doesn't know how to proceed, although he always thought love was more positive than negative
You think you should run around You don't want to settle down Still you like me more than anyone else
The person he loves doesn't want a committed relationship, but likes him the most
It's not like me to be jealous But what else is there to do If I can't have you all to my (Can't have you all to my) Can't have you all to myself
He doesn't want to be jealous, but he can't help it if he can't have exclusivity with the person he loves
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@craig1538
Sad news from his official website: Eric Carmen passed away today aged 74. His music will live on in our hearts and minds, and our condolences go to his family, friends and fans at this sad time.
@bluesky11187
Oh my heart is broken such a masterpiece , rest in peace 😭
@AlgoNudger
First comment, huh?
@Imnottapinata
RiP
@lmeupos218
Just read the sad news. That’s why I’m here. Great singer.
@sharoncorbin5466
RIP his music will live on. Classic
@michealsullivan4205
Shortly after graduating from high school, my girlfriend died in a car accident. After a few months of trying to heal from her loss I enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. I eventually found myself in the middle of the Mojave desert at Marine Corps base 29 Palms as a field medic/base dispensary corpsman. A "sand sailor"...and about as isolated as one could get. At that time you couldn't get radio or television reception unless you paid for a cable sevice. 1976 I found this album at the base exchange and could really relate to this song. On my "down days" I would play this song from time to time. I still have the album. RIP Eric Carmen.
@theminecrafthaag1609
God bless you, life teaches to be resilient and strong.
@angelaangela7356
❤
@johnmorrison3970
Was that near China Lake in the Mojave?