Few people who knew singer-songwriter John Flynn as a boy would have predic… Read Full Bio ↴Few people who knew singer-songwriter John Flynn as a boy would have predicted the path his life would take. A self-professed "painfully straight" arrow, as a senior at Ridley High in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the former altar boy who once strummed a New Year's Day banjo in the world famous Mummers parade was named president of the National Honor Society and Scholar Athlete of the Year while receiving two congressional nominations to the United States Naval Academy. John was making plans to play lacrosse for Navy when he found out he would not be able to take his guitar with him to Annapolis. Although music had always been an important part of John’s life, he was surprised to realize how much he had come to rely on his beloved Guild twelve-string. The thought of leaving it behind, even for a few months, caused him to begin to admit to himself that he had other dreams.

John abruptly changed course and began writing songs in earnest. He put himself through Temple University playing in bar bands. Though his degree was in political science, he abandoned the idea of studying law when he was offered a staff songwriting position at Combine Music in Nashville, following Billy Swan's Top 40 country recording of John's song "Rainbows and Butterflies".

Swan introduced John to Kris Kristofferson who to this day remains one of John’s biggest supporters. Kris has written liner notes for John, sung on two of Flynn's CDs and even recited the lyrics to John’s song “Without You with Me” at Stephen Bruton's funeral.

Today, John's shows draw from a significant body of work, ranging from his early country offerings to story songs, love songs, songs for kids, funny songs, songs of social justice, and meditations on loss, tolerance, faith and hope. The 54 year-old father of four spurned touring when his children were young, but as the kids grew older superlatives began to welcome their dad's arrival to the national folk stage. In 2005, Arlo Guthrie invited John to join musical legends like Willle Nelson and Ramblin' Jack Elliott on the historic "Train to New Orleans" tour following Hurricane Katrina. And Ticket Magazine wrote that “John Flynn is at the near end of a long line of American poets, thinkers and folk artists stretching from Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, all the way up to Kris Kristofferson”. Ramblin' Jack Elliott himself has called Flynn the undiscovered “John Lennon of the plasma generation"!

John resides in the Brandywine area of Northern Delaware with his wife Beth, his kids, and his running partner, Chief, the world's most exuberant Frisbee-catching German shepherd.

I Want You To Want Me
John Flynn Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.
I'm beggin' you to beg me.
I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.

I'll shine up my old brown shoes.
I'll put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me.
Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin, cryin').
Oh, Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin, cryin')
Feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin' (dyin', dyin').
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin', cryin').

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.
I'm beggin' you to beg me.

I'll shine up my old brown shoes.
I'll put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me.
Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin, cryin').
Oh, Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin, cryin')
Feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin' (dyin', dyin').
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin', cryin').

Feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin' (dyin', dyin').
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin', cryin').
Feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin' (dyin', dyin').
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I,
See you cryin' (cryin', cryin').

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.

I'd love you to love me.
I'm beggin' you to beg me.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to John Flynn's "I Want You To Want Me" express a yearning for love and validation from another person. The repeated lines of "I want you to want me," "I need you to need me," and "I'd love you to love me" express a deep desire for the other person to reciprocate the singer's feelings. The line "I'm beggin' you to beg me" further emphasizes this desire and desperation for the other person's affection.

The following lines in the song talk about the measures the singer is willing to take to win over the other person. By shining up their old brown shoes, putting on a new shirt, and getting home early from work, the singer is essentially saying they will do whatever it takes to make the other person happy and prove their love. The lyrics "Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I, see you cryin'" and "Feelin' all alone without a friend, You know you feel like dyin'" add a sense of sadness and desperation to the song, as the singer is reminding the other person of their vulnerable moments and the pain they have experienced without them.

Overall, "I Want You To Want Me" is a classic love song that expresses a yearning for love and validation from someone special.

Line by Line Meaning

I want you to want me.
I desire and long for you to also desire and long for me.

I need you to need me.
I require and depend on your necessity and dependence on me.

I'd love you to love me.
I would greatly appreciate and enjoy your affection and love for me.

I'm beggin' you to beg me.
I am pleading and imploring you to plead and implore me in return.

I'll shine up my old brown shoes.
I will make an extra effort to look presentable and attractive for you.

I'll put on a brand new shirt
I will go out of my way to wear a new and impressive shirt for you.

I'll get home early from work
I will prioritize and make time for you by coming home early from work.

If you say that you love me.
My actions are dependent on your declaration of love for me.

Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I, See you cryin' (cryin, cryin').
Do you remember when I saw you crying, and how it affected me deeply?

Feelin' all alone without a friend You know you feel like dyin' (dyin', dyin').
I understand the feeling of loneliness and isolation, it can lead to feelings of despair and desperation like dying.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Rick Nielsen

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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