Marcia Hines (born July 20, 1953) is an American-born singer who achieved g… Read Full Bio ↴Marcia Hines (born July 20, 1953) is an American-born singer who achieved great success in her adopted homeland of Australia. She is best known for her hit singles in the 1970s, and as a judge on Australian Idol since 2003.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she moved to Australia to play a featured role in the Australian production of Hair. Hines was then approached to play Mary Magdalene in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Hines became the first black woman to play Mary Magdalene, and achieved a second major success.

A record contract followed and her first single released in 1974 was a cover version of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain". Most of her hit singles were released between 1976 and 1979, and included her cover versions of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", and The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and "What I Did For Love" (from A Chorus Line). Her biggest hit was the single that made number 2 in the charts in Australia: "You"; an up-tempo dance song, later covered in the United States by Rita Coolidge.

She continued to record and achieved a few more hits including the dance track "Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees" in the eighties. "Flashdance, What A Feeling" (originally recorded by Irene Cara), and "Time of Our Lives" were both hits for Hines in 1999.

What I Did for Love
Marcia Hines Lyrics

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Kiss today good bye
The sweetness and the sorrow
Wish me luck, the same to you
But I can't regret what I did for love
What I did for love
Look, my eyes are dry
The gift was ours to borrow
It's as if we always knew

And I won't forget what I did for love
What I did for love
Gone
Love is never gone
As we travel on
Love's what we'll remember
Kiss today goodbye
And point me towards tomorrow
We did what we had to do
Won't forget can't regret
what I did for love
We did what we had to do
Won't forget can't regret

What I did for love
What I did for love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Marcia Hines's song 'What I Did for Love' express the sentiments of someone who has just had a relationship come to an end. The song starts by bidding farewell to the present and acknowledging both the sweet and the sorrowful moments that occurred during the relationship. The singer then wishes good luck to the ex-partner, but is resolved not to regret any of the decisions made during the relationship. The lyrics are optimistic that even though the relationship has ended, the memories of the love and the experience will continue to exist.

The second verse shifts the focus to the gift that the now-former couple had, which could have been their shared dreams or aspirations. It's said that it feels like they already knew it wouldn't last, but they still went ahead anyways. Even though things didn't work out according to their plans, there is no bitterness or anger conveyed in the lyrics, just an acceptance of what happened.

The chorus repeats that the love may be gone, but their memories will remain. They bid farewell to the present and look forward to tomorrow with positivity. The lyrics' mood is reflective, looking back without resentment, just acknowledging that sometimes things don't work out as planned, but that doesn't mean it's not worth having tried.

Line by Line Meaning

Kiss today good bye
Bid farewell to this day

The sweetness and the sorrow
The good and bad experiences that we encountered

Wish me luck, the same to you
Hope for good fortune for us both

But I can't regret what I did for love
I will not repent what I have done for love

What I did for love
All the actions that I did out of love

Look, my eyes are dry
I am not crying anymore

The gift was ours to borrow
The love we had was never truly ours to keep

It's as if we always knew
It feels like we had known this all along

And I won't forget what I did for love
I will always remember what I did for love

Gone
It's over

Love is never gone
The love we had will remain