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.
Doesn't It Make You Sick
Gilbert O'Sullivan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Question unanswered and I recall
Haves that have no qualms what arses they lick
In taking their pick)
Doesn't It make you sick
One day Tuesday three days
Or more
Framed in a store
Rushed into buy it but I was
Too quick
Doesn't it make you sick
At no time in my mind are
Wheelchairs inept
Governments tell you with charm
When faced with a stairway
Here's what they advice
Just walk with it under
Your arm
Who are what are
Where are the few
Always it's arabs hated by jews
Bombing your neighbor with mortar and brick
Doesn't it make you sick
At no time in my mind are
Wheelchairs inept
Governments tell you with charm
When faced with a stairway
Here's their advise
Just walk with it under your arm
No doubt sauerkraut is a racist remark
So to is Blackpool long after dark
Have nots deprived of their mortar and brick
Doesn't it make you sick
Doesn't it make you sick
And suppose If I'm a atheist
It's God I'll thank
The lyrics to Gilbert O'Sullivan's song "Doesn't It Make You Sick" comment on the many injustices and hypocrisies of the world. The singer expresses frustration with the various issues that he sees around him, including the difficulty of finding a job, the lack of accessibility for disabled people, government incompetence, and racism.
The opening lines of the song, "Heart beat low heat no heat at all / Question unanswered and I recall," suggest a sense of despair and uncertainty. The singer is troubled by the injustices he sees in the world, but feels powerless to do anything about them. He is haunted by unanswered questions and a sense of hopelessness.
The lyrics go on to comment on a range of issues, from the ways in which the wealthy and powerful exploit others ("Haves that have no qualms what arses they lick / In taking their pick"), to the struggles of ordinary people just trying to get by ("Looked for a job saw one / Framed in a store / Rushed into buy it but I was / Too quick").
The chorus, "Doesn't it make you sick," is a potent statement of frustration and anger about the state of the world. The singer's tone is one of exasperation and disbelief, as if he cannot fathom how such injustices can exist.
Line by Line Meaning
Heart beat low heat no heat at all
My heart isn't racing, I'm not angry or excited - I feel nothing.
Question unanswered and I recall
I have a lingering concern that hasn't been addressed and it bothers me.
Haves that have no qualms what arses they lick, In taking their pick)
The privileged and powerful don't care who they curry favor with, as they take whatever they want.
Doesn't It make you sick
Don't you feel disgusted by the state of the world and the injustices within it?
One day Tuesday three days, Or more
I can't remember how long it's been since the event I'm referring to.
Looked for a job saw one, Framed in a store
I found a job listing in a shop window.
Rushed into buy it but I was, Too quick
I was eager to get the job and acted impulsively, perhaps without considering the consequences.
At no time in my mind are, Wheelchairs inept
I never think of people with disabilities as unable or inadequate.
Governments tell you with charm, When faced with a stairway, Here's what they advise
Politicians try to spin their inability to make things accessible for all, and when there is a physical barrier, their solution is to ignore it or pretend it can be easily overcome.
Just walk with it under, Your arm
Rather than fix the problem, the advice is to just carry whatever obstacle is in the way and make do with what little accommodations are present.
Who are what are, Where are the few
There are only a select, fortunate few who wield real power, and their identities and whereabouts are often unknown to the wider public.
Always it's arabs hated by jews
One group is always scapegoated by another group, with the Jewish people often targeted by many.
Bombing your neighbor with mortar and brick
People enact violence against those who live near them or are different in some way.
Doesn't it make you sick
The pervasive hatred and violence should make us all upset.
No doubt sauerkraut is a racist remark
Even seemingly innocuous food items can become associated with negative stereotypes, leading to further marginalization and bigotry.
So to is Blackpool long after dark
Being in certain places at night might also carry negative connotations due to various stereotypes or fears.
Have nots deprived of their mortar and brick
Those who are economically or socially disadvantaged often have their basic needs like housing and shelter denied to them.
Doesn't it make you sick
The inequality and systemic injustice towards those without power and privilege ought to appall us all.
And suppose If I'm a atheist, It's God I'll thank
Even if I don't believe in a higher power, I'll still have someone or something to credit for the good things that happen to me.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GILBERT O'SULLIVAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Glyn Birchall
At his best ,i love it .
bayan bayan
この美しくもクソッタレな世界に乾杯🍻
Eugenio López
¡Salud! 🍻
Steve B.
Loved Gilbert, but these lyrics are disgracefully antisemetic
Science Alliance
yeah I only listened to the music I never really heard lyrics well in songs for whatever reason, kinda zoned out, but yeah a lot of these lyrics are weird. Might have to just play the instrumentals or something