When Grace Slick departed to join Jefferson Airplane, she took this song with her, bringing it to the "Surrealistic Pillow" sessions, along with her own composition "White Rabbit." Subsequently, the Airplane's more ferocious rock and roll version became the band's first and biggest hit; the single by Jefferson Airplane peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Somebody to Love" also appeared as a track on their influential album released in February of 1967, "Surrealistic Pillow". Driven by Slick's forceful vocal, the song's hard-rock sound stood out among the group's more folk-oriented psychedelia that made up most their previous sound and some of the album. The lyrics, unusually, are in the second person, with each two-line verse setting a scene of alienation and despair, and the chorus repeating the title of the song, with slight variations such as: "... / Don't you need somebody to love? / Wouldn't you love somebody to love? / ..." Like the album on which it appeared, this song was instrumental in announcing the existence of the Haight-Ashbury counterculture to the rest of the United States.
The full, vocal version of the song can also be heard on a radio in the beginning of the Paramount film "Four Brothers".
Somebody to Love
Jefferson Airplane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And all the joy within you dies
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
Love, love
Your mind, your mind is so full of red
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
Your eyes, I say your eyes may look like his
Yeah, but in your head, baby
I'm afraid you don't know where it is
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
Tears are running down
They're all running down your breast
And your friends, baby
They treat you like a guest
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
The lyrics of Jefferson Airplane's song "Somebody to Love" are filled with emotion and despair, calling for the need and want for love. The opening lines reflect a feeling of betrayal and disillusionment, where the truth is no longer trustworthy and happiness fades away. The singer pleads for a person to love and care for them, as the lack of passion and enthusiasm is suffocating.
The second verse uses imagery of lifeless plants and a mind full of "red", perhaps indicating anger or confusion, to emphasise the need for someone to love. The singer believes that love can cure even the most twisted and corrupted minds. In the third verse, the singer speaks directly to a person who may physically resemble someone else but may lack the same empathy or feelings. The lyrics call for someone who knows where love is and can offer it unconditionally.
The final verse adds a layer of sadness, where the singer is crying and their friends are treating them poorly. They reiterate the message of the song, emphasising the need for love and a connection to another human being. The song closes with the repetition of the chorus, perhaps suggesting that finding someone to love is the answer to all the troubles and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
When the truth is found to be lies
When what you thought was true turns out to be false
And all the joy within you dies
And it makes you unhappy and unfulfilled
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you want to be loved by someone
Don't you need somebody to love
Don't you need someone to love you
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
Wouldn't it be great if there was someone who loved you
You better find somebody to love
You should try to find someone to love
When the garden flowers, baby are dead, yes and
When the beauty around you fades away
Your mind, your mind is so full of red
Your mind is consumed by negativity
Your eyes, I say your eyes may look like his
Your appearance may resemble someone else's
Yeah, but in your head, baby
But mentally, you're not the same
I'm afraid you don't know where it is
You may not know who you truly are
Tears are running down
You're crying
They're all running down your breast
Your tears are flowing down your chest
And your friends, baby
Even your friends
They treat you like a guest
Treat you like an outsider in their group
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Darby R. Slick
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michelelopez9799
When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
When the garden flowers, baby are dead, yes and
Your mind, your mind is so full of red
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
Your eyes, I say your eyes may look like his
Yeah, but in your head, baby, I'm afraid you don't know where it is
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
Tears are running down and down and down your breast
And your friends, baby they treat you like a guest
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
@orange8167
I swear, Grace's voice could bend steel. The psychedelic album of the 60's !
@briane173
Ya think!? THE most powerful female voice in the rock era by far. She had no equal. When Grace Slick hit the scene folks weren't quite ready for it, and I think that was the appeal. The sheer power of Slick's delivery was a force to be reckoned with. Follows her personality too. Unafraid, unafraid of laughing at herself as well as the Establishment. She was a partyer and probably the life of the party. Almost didn't need drugs when you were around Grace Slick.
@pbrucpaul
@@briane173 She's COOL; that's it in a Nutshell!
@stephenmcguire7801
What a folk band does when they get bored. Very early psychedelia; recorded Nov., '66
@robertsvorinich7959
I like Grace. She started a riot at West German concert by taunting the fans. On alcohol, drugs no doubt.
@tresinforest2904
Janice Joplin
@GermanShepherd1983
Grace Slick, The Voice That Launched A Thousand Trips.
@stonehobson2487
Damn that's funny. I can attest to the fact. I'm sure I'm down for about 40 of those 1000.
@kingofkingsVAR
YUP
@Kid_Charlemagne76
Her voice is great already but when you hear her on shrooms, its something else man