After graduating from high school in 1967, she worked as a secretary and performed part-time as a singer for a local folk band called Sweet Rain. Her singing caught the attention of Russ Regan (then head of 20th Century Records) in 1972 when he heard a demo she had recorded. At the time, Regan was searching for a singer to record "The Morning After" (the theme from The Poseidon Adventure) for release as a record. He hired McGovern sight unseen to record the song, which led to her signing with 20th Century Records. After it won an Oscar for Best Original Song, "The Morning After" quickly climbed the pop charts, reaching #1 in 1973.
In 1974, she recorded two movie themes: "We May Never Love Like This Again" (from the disaster film The Towering Inferno, in which she made a short appearance when she is seen singing the song as the evening's entertainment) and "Wherever Love Takes Me" (from the British disaster film Gold). The former won an Oscar (though it was only a minor pop hit), and the latter received an Oscar nomination. These two songs (along with "The Morning After") led the media to call McGovern "the Disaster Theme Queen."
McGovern's contract with 20th Century ended in 1976. By this time, her career went downhill and she ended up broke, due to being cheated out of her earnings by her managers and producers. To begin her life over again, she moved to Marina del Rey and took a secretarial job under an assumed name. However, she was still in demand occasionally for international live concerts. Her career made a turn for the better when she was asked to record a version of "Can You Read My Mind," the love theme from 1978's Superman, which was not recorded for the film. The single achieved minor success on the Pop charts. Toward the end of the decade, she recorded "Different Worlds," the theme from a short-lived TV sitcom entitled Angie. The song was her only other Top 40 single aside from "The Morning After," reaching #18 on the Pop charts in 1979 and also spending two weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In 1980, she made a cameo appearance as the singing nun, Sister Angelina, in the comedy-disaster movie Airplane!.
At the beginning of the 1980s, McGovern gave up movie themes to begin a career on Broadway, despite having no acting experience. In 1981, she made her Broadway debut as Mabel in a revival of Gilbert & Sullivan's musical The Pirates of Penzance. She then performed in two productions with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera: The Sound of Music (1981; as Maria) and South Pacific (1982; as Nellie Forbush). She continued her theatrical career throughout the eighties and originated the role of Mary in the Off-Broadway production of Brownstone in 1985.
In 2005, McGovern returned to the Broadway stage as Marmee opposite Sutton Foster's Jo in the musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Plagued by negative reviews, it quickly closed, but McGovern reprised her role for the successful subsequent national tour.
She slowly returned to music in the mid-eighties, contributing songs to musical soundtracks and recording for various-artist compilations. She also returned to touring and performing in concerts and began establishing herself as a classy, jazzy nightclub and cabaret performer. Starting in 1987, she released three albums for CBS in three years - Another Woman in Love (a voice/piano album), State of the Heart (a fully orchestrated album), and Naughty Baby (a live album).
In 1989, she performed her debut concert in Carnegie Hall, singing a collection of songs by George Gershwin. The concert was recorded live and released that year as an album entitled Naughty Baby; it features a very first recording of a lost Gershwin song "A Corner of Heaven With You" (written ca. 1917).
From the nineties into the 21st century, McGovern continued her careers in musical theatre, performing in concerts, and recording albums, and she occasionally made guest appearances on television. Other recordings include Baby I'm Yours (1992), a collection of her favorite songs from 1955 to 1970, and Out of This World (1996), a collection of songs by Harold Arlen. She was twice nominated for a Grammy, for her albums The Music Never Ends (1997), a collection of songs by Alan & Marilyn Bergman, and The Pleasure of His Company (1998), another voice/piano album.
In 2003, Out of This World and The Music Never Ends were rereleased by Fynsworth Alley Records; both albums included bonus tracks, the former two, and the latter three.
Somebody Loves Me
Maureen McGovern Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You said you would always stay
It wasn't me who changed but you and now you've gone away
Don't you see that now you've gone
And I'm left here on my own
That I have to follow you and beg you to come home
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
Believe me, believe me I can't help but love you
But believe me I'll never tie you down
Left alone with just a memory
Life seems dead and quite unreal
All that's left is loneliness there's nothing left to feel
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand believe me, believe me
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand, believe me, believe me
Maureen McGovern's song "Somebody Love Me" revolves around the emotions of a person who is trying to deal with the aftermath of a breakup. The song is about how one person loved the other deeply, but suddenly the other person changed their minds and left. The singer is struggling to come to terms with the fact that their lover is gone and the loneliness and emptiness they feel after a relationship is over.
The lyrics "When I said I needed you, you said you would always stay. It wasn't me who changed but you, and now you've gone away" express the idea that the singer was committed to their relationship and tried to work things out, but their partner gave up on them. As a result, the singer is left feeling lost and helpless. They realize that they need to bring their love back and try to convince them to come back, even if it means begging.
In the chorus, the singer begs their lover not to leave them alone. The line "You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand. You don't have to stay forever, I will understand" is a poignant plea for their lover to stay around, even if they can't reciprocate the love. The singer acknowledges that their lover may need their space and assures them that they won't try to tie them down if they do choose to stay.
Line by Line Meaning
When I said I needed you
When I expressed my need for you
You said you would always stay
You promised that you would always be there for me
It wasn't me who changed but you and now you've gone away
It wasn't my attitude that changed, it was yours and now you left me alone
Don't you see that now you've gone
Can't you realize that now you've departed
And I'm left here on my own
I'm deserted here all alone
That I have to follow you and beg you to come home
I must trail you and exhort for you to return home
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
It doesn't matter if you say you love me, just stay near me
You don't have to stay forever I will understand
You don't have to stay eternal, I'll comprehend
Believe me, believe me I can't help but love you
Trust me, I can't assist falling for you
But believe me I'll never tie you down
But rest assured, I'll never constrain you
Left alone with just a memory
Deserted alone with only a recollection
Life seems dead and quite unreal
Life appears dead and incredibly unrealistic
All that's left is loneliness there's nothing left to feel
Only solitude endures, there is nothing left to sense
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
It makes no difference if you declare your love, just be by my side
You don't have to stay forever
I understand that you don't have to be here for eternity
I will understand believe me, believe me
You can trust me that I'll understand your departure
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
It doesn't matter if you say you love me, just stay near me
You don't have to stay forever
You don't have to be present for all time
I will understand, believe me, believe me
I will truly comprehend and accept it, trust me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Giuseppe Donaggio, Simon Napier-Bell, Vito Pallavicini, Vicki Heather Wickham
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind