Who Am I Telling You?
J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton Lyrics


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It don't take no fool to love you
You stand out in any crowd
And I know men who want to own you
I can hear them talking loud
There ain't no point in just me talking
Who am I telling you?

But you don't got yourself together
And you can bet whithin in you
I just realised
I just realised
Who am I telling you?

You never lose, you are a winner
It's a simple thing for you
If I'm standing at a crossroad
You know exactly what to do
From this moment on I loved you
Somewhere in between I learned
I'm just reaching out to touch you
It's the point of no return
I just realised
I just realised
And I just realised
Who am I, who am I, who am I telling you?

I just realised
I just realised




And I just realised
Who am I, who am I, who am I telling you?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton's "Who Am I Telling You?" imply a sense of admiration for its subject. The singer acknowledges that loving the subject doesn't take a fool, while also acknowledging that the subject is the center of attention in any group. The singer notes that other men want to own the subject, but there's no use in simply telling the subject this fact.


Yet, the singer can't help but comment on the subject's need to get themselves together. They note that the subject always wins and is a winner in life, but they're not put together. The singer seems to be reaching out to the subject to touch them, describing it as the point of no return. They're in love with the subject, but also seems to be wondering who they are to tell the subject anything about themselves.


Line by Line Meaning

It don't take no fool to love you
You're an easy person to fall in love with and love doesn't require being foolish.


You stand out in any crowd
You have a unique quality that makes you noticeable and stand out among others.


And I know men who want to own you
I'm aware of people who want to possess and control you, but I'm not one of them.


I can hear them talking loud
Their desire for you is so loud and obvious that I can hear it without effort.


There ain't no point in just me talking
I don't see the benefit of just telling you my thoughts on this matter because you already know.


Who am I telling you?
I'm acknowledging that you're already aware of your own appeal, so there's no need for me to explain it to you.


But you don't got yourself together
You're not in a stable state of mind or emotional balance.


And you can bet within you
You have an intuition about your issues.


I just realised
I suddenly became aware of something important.


You never lose, you are a winner
You possess a quality that attracts positivity and success which means you never seem to lose.


It's a simple thing for you
It's effortless for you to maintain your winning streak.


If I'm standing at a crossroad
If I find myself in a dilemma or tough situation where I have to make a choice.


You know exactly what to do
You have a clear understanding of what action to take in difficult situations.


From this moment on I loved you
I fell in love with you from this very moment and I still love you now.


Somewhere in between I learned
At some point during our time together, I gained important insight or knowledge.


I'm just reaching out to touch you
I'm making an emotional or physical attempt to connect with you in a deeper way.


It's the point of no return
This moment signifies a pivotal and irreversible change in our relationship.


Who am I, who am I, who am I telling you?
I'm questioning myself because I realize that you already know everything I'm telling you.




Contributed by Gabriel G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Carlo


on Last Will and Testament

To exclude the less significant individuals

Why? (interpretation/"deeper" meaning, e. g for these little people his stuff couldn't be helpful?)

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