Ian Gillan (born on 19 August 1945), is a rock music vocalist best known as… Read Full Bio ↴Ian Gillan (born on 19 August 1945), is a rock music vocalist best known as the lead singer for legendary rock band Deep Purple. He is considered to be one of the foremost rock vocalists, who introduced into the rock music the vocal belting technique. In his prime he possessed a very wide vocal range which was rumored to be 4 and a half to 5 octaves and with seemingly effortless and fluid movement throughout it and with remarkable force and precision in the upper register.

Gillan was born in Hounslow, Middlesex, England. He joined the band Deep Purple in 1969. In 1970, he sang the part of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. After leaving Deep Purple in 1973, he went into brief retirement before forming the Ian Gillan Band. The early band sound had a distinct jazz-rock aspect which proved unpopular and was replaced by a more high powered hard rock sound as Gillan reformed the lineup and shortened the groups name to Gillan. With the release of Mr. Universe Ian Gillan was back in the UK charts and through several more line up changes released a string of hit singles and successful albums including Glory Road, Future Shock, Double Trouble, and finally Magic.

Then he announced the band would fold as he needed to rest his damaged vocal cords. In 1983 he joined Black Sabbath to record the Born Again album before rejoining a reunited Deep Purple shortly after completing the Born Again tour in early 1984. He left Purple again in 1989, but rejoined for good in 1992. He remains in the band today.

Gillan is now working on a project to document his 40-year career, tentatively called Gillan's Inn. Tony Iommi, Jeff Healey, various members of Deep Purple and many others will be featured on this 2006 DVD project.

Hard On You
Ian Gillan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Maybe, sex goddess
Tomorrow if you're honest
You'll get a feeling
something's wrong
One of those things
that you can't put your finger on

I set my heart on you

I thought you you knew it
I've been so hard on you

You hurt my dignity
and my pride
And woman,
something deep inside me snapped
The way you looked at me
So cold and I was lost
in my misery

I set my heart on you
I thought you you knew it
I've been so hard on you

I've been hard on you
I've been so hard on you
I've been hard on you
I've been hard on you

I can see you
I can hear you
You smell good
I want to taste you
and touch you
But you're out of reach
no surprise
I knew that you were going
I could see it in your eyes
I set my heart on you
I thought you you knew it
I've been so hard on you

I've been hard on you
I've been so hard on you

I've been hard on you
I've been hard on you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of “Hard On You” by Ian Gillan talks about a relationship that has come to an end. The song reflects the singer’s feelings towards his former lover who has hurt him badly, and he finds it hard to put off his feelings for her. The lines “Maybe, sex goddess, tomorrow if you're honest, you'll get a feeling, something's wrong,” suggest that the woman is not being honest and that her actions have caused the man to become distant. He knows that there is something not right, but he cannot put his finger on it. This feeling of confusion is reflected in the lines “One of those things, that you can’t put your finger on.”

The chorus “I set my heart on you, I thought you knew it, I’ve been so hard on you” repeats itself throughout the song. This line suggests that the singer was dedicated to the woman and that she did not reciprocate in the way he thought she would. The lines “You hurt my dignity and my pride, and woman, something deep inside me snapped,” suggest that the relationship ended in a way that left the singer feeling humiliated and hurt. The song’s final verse suggests that despite everything, the singer still desires the woman, but he knows deep down that it is impossible. The lines “You smell good, I want to taste you and touch you, but you’re out of reach, no surprise, I knew that you were going, I could see it in your eyes” suggest that the singer knows that the relationship is over, but his heart still longs for her.

Line by Line Meaning

Maybe, sex goddess
There's a possibility that you embody the qualities of a sex goddess

Tomorrow if you're honest
If you're truthful with yourself tomorrow

You'll get a feeling
You'll sense something

something's wrong
That something isn't quite right

One of those things
Something unexplainable

that you can't put your finger on
That you can't exactly identify

I set my heart on you
I fell in love with you completely

I thought you knew it
I believed you were aware of my feelings for you

I've been so hard on you
I've been treating you harshly

You hurt my dignity
You damaged my self-respect

and my pride
And made me feel ashamed