Mike & The Mechanics debuted with their stellar eponymous album in 1985 which highlighted Rutherford's innovative guitar work and the vocal talents of the two Pauls, amongst other guest vocalists. Initially, the group's albums were released between Genesis albums, all three Genesis members having solo projects of their own, most notable in the huge chart success of singer/drummer Phil Collins. This ended with the disbanding of Genesis in 1998.
The classic song "The Living Years" from the album of the same name was to be the height of their critical success to date; the #1 single was written by and about the dissension between singer BA Robertson and his father, a situation that was never rectified prior to his father's death, sung with great passion by Carrack. The album also featured the song "Nobody's Perfect" which received considerable airtime as the music to a successful television advertising campaign for Tennants bitter. Their third album "Word of Mouth" followed in 1991 with less commercial and critical success although the lead single, with vocals by Paul Young, reached the Top 20. The fourth album "Beggar On a Beach of Gold" was a high watermark in the quality of their material, with both the album and first single "Over My Shoulder" charting well with many considering the album the band's best work.
After a hiatus following Young's death from a heart attack on July 17, 2000, the band reformed in 2004 as Mike & the Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack releasing the album "Rewired".
A new Mike & the Mechanics album (titled "The Road") was released in the spring of 2011, supported by a 22-date UK tour. Replacing Carrack and Young as vocalists for the group are Andrew Roachford and Canadian actor/singer Tim Hower.
If Only
Mike & The Mechanics Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've heard you cry in the night And talk in your sleep
Why would you want to,
Keep it all inside?
Now you're alone,
With nothing but your pride.
Cos I still want you now
I don't want to be free
If only you listened to me
Cos I still feel the loss
And it won't let me be
I've tried talking long into the night
But nothing that I tried to say
Ever came out right
There's no point in crying
My tears have run dry
I hope that you're satisfied
If only you'd listen to me
Cos I still want you now
I don't want to be free
If only you listened to me
Cos I still feel the loss
And it won't let me be
The lyrics of "If Only" by Mike & The Mechanics speak about the deep running emotions that the singer's love interest is repressing. The opening lines, "Still waters always run so deep, I've heard you cry in the night and talk in your sleep," suggests that the persona's partner is hiding away their pain, possibly in shame or pride. The persona wonders why their partner is keeping everything inside and hiding behind a facade of stoicism. The verse "Now you're alone with nothing but your pride" stress the consequence of suppressing one's feelings - loneliness.
The chorus "If only you'd listened to me, cos I still want you now, I don't want to be free" is a plea from the persona for their partner to open up to them. They want to help their partner in whatever way they can because they are still in love. The chorus continues, "Cos I still feel the loss and it won't let me be" shows that the persona is struggling to move on from their past relationship because they know there could have been something more if their partner had listened to them.
The second verse talks about the persona's failed attempts to talk things out with their partner, concluding with the rather harsh line, "There's no point in crying, my tears have run dry, I hope that you're satisfied." This line shows that the persona has given up trying to get their partner to open up and is now resigned to their fate of being alone. As a whole, the song speaks about the importance of communication and vulnerability in relationships, and the dangerous consequences of suppressing one's emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Still waters always run so deep
You seem quiet on the surface, but you must have deep emotions.
I've heard you cry in the night And talk in your sleep
I know you're hurting, and you can't even hide it while you're asleep.
Why would you want to, Keep it all inside?
What's the point in keeping your feelings hidden and suffering alone?
Now you're alone, With nothing but your pride.
You've pushed everyone away and now you're left with nothing but your stubbornness.
If only you'd listened to me Cos I still want you now I don't want to be free
I wish you had taken my advice and stayed with me, because I still love you and don't want to be without you.
If only you listened to me Cos I still feel the loss And it won't let me be
If only you had paid attention to my feelings, because I still feel the pain of losing you and it's not going away.
I've tried talking long into the night But nothing that I tried to say Ever came out right
I've tried to communicate with you and express my feelings, but I just can't seem to say the right thing.
There's no point in crying My tears have run dry I hope that you're satisfied
I've shed all the tears I can, and I hope you're happy now that you've caused me so much pain.
Contributed by Madelyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@macbeavers6938
Still waters always run so deep
I've heard you cry in the night And talk in your sleep
Why would you want to
Keep it all inside?
Now you're alone
With nothing but your pride
If only you'd listened to me
Cos I still want you now
I don't want to be free
If only you listened to me
Cos I still feel the loss
And it won't let me be
I've tried talking long into the night
But nothing that I tried to say
Ever came out right
There's no point in crying
My tears have run dry
I hope that you're satisfied
If only you'd listen to me
Cos I still want you now
I don't want to be free
If only you listened to me
Cos I still feel the loss
And it won't let me be
@josephlogue9160
Fantastic song Fantastic voice Mike and the Mechanics
@medindom
Desde luego, Mike and The Mechanics es un grupo infravalorado, no me cabe la menor duda. Tengo todos sus discos y tienen una enorme cantidad de temas buenísimos. Es de lo mejor que he escuchado.
@medindom
Mike and the Mechanics - If Only. ¡Qué grandes recuerdos me trae esta canción! Me encanta.
@macbeavers6938
Still waters always run so deep
I've heard you cry in the night And talk in your sleep
Why would you want to
Keep it all inside?
Now you're alone
With nothing but your pride
If only you'd listened to me
Cos I still want you now
I don't want to be free
If only you listened to me
Cos I still feel the loss
And it won't let me be
I've tried talking long into the night
But nothing that I tried to say
Ever came out right
There's no point in crying
My tears have run dry
I hope that you're satisfied
If only you'd listen to me
Cos I still want you now
I don't want to be free
If only you listened to me
Cos I still feel the loss
And it won't let me be
@lynnebrisco5342
Wonderful song
@jorgeraulcarrillo5865
La voz de Paul carrack es una poesía se echa de menos a youngy
@mweiford
What a beautiful song. Thanks for posting. This wasn't released in the U.S.
@SuperMB600
the 80's, my best, and the end of an era
@alhuggins3646
i guess this could be anybody (but sometimes our pride is the only thing that keeps us strong). very few are taught how to express ourselves openly without others judging us as thinking it's ego when in fact "pride" in who we are is just the opposite. it's called "loving ourselves" because if we can't do that, we have no sense of self worth and we'll look at others the same way. this is the first things we should teach our children well because pride is what drives us to always be better...
@laureljune7561
I'm going to listen to this again! The words are powerful, however at the end of the day I would rather have my pride and be alone then settle for anything less!