Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and song… Read Full Bio ↴Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had one of the longest careers of any British entertainer, spanning more than eight decades. Clark's professional career began during the Second World War as a child entertainer on BBC Radio. In 1954 she charted with "The Little Shoemaker", the first of her big UK hits, and within two years she began recording in French. Her international successes have included "Prends mon cœur", "Sailor" (a UK number one), "Romeo", and "Chariot". Hits in German, Italian, and Spanish followed. In late 1964 Clark's success extended to the United States with a four-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. These include her signature song "Downtown" (US number one), "I Know a Place", "My Love" (US number one), "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Who Am I", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" (by Charlie Chaplin) (a UK number one), "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". Between January 1965 and April 1968 Clark charted with nine US Top 20 hits in the US, where she was sometimes called "the First Lady of the British Invasion".

Clark has sold more than 68 million records. She has also enjoyed success in the musical film Finian's Rainbow and in the stage musicals The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard, and Mary Poppins.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petula_Clark

Discography
Petula Clark Sings (1956)
A Date with Pet (1956)
You Are My Lucky Star (1957)
À Musicorama (1958)
Petula Clark in Hollywood / Pet Clark (1959)
Prends mon coeur (1959)
Tête à tête avec Petula Clark (1961)
Rendez-vous avec Petula Clark (1962)
In Other Words (1962)
Petula (1962)
Le soleil dans les yeux (1963)
Ceux qui ont un coeur (1964)
Hello Paris (1964)
Petula au Canada (1964)
Downtown (1965)
I Know a Place (1965)
The World's Greatest International Hits (1965)
Petula '65 (1965)
My Love (1966)
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love (1966)
Petula Clark '66 (1966)
Colour My World (1967)
These Are My Songs (1967)
C'est ma chanson (1967)
Petula Italiana (1967)
The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (1968)
Petula (1968)
Portrait of Petula (1969)
Just Pet (1969)
Memphis (1970)
Warm and Tender / The Song of My Life (1971)
Comme une prière (1972)
La chanson de Marie-Madeleine (1972)
Now (1972)
Come On Home (1974)
I'm The Woman You Need (1975)
Je reviens (1977)
Destiny (1978)
Where The Heart Is (1998)
Here For You (1998)
Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs of Rod McKuen (2007)
Lost in You (2013)
From Now On (2016)
Living For Today (2017)
Vu d'ici (2018)

I Want To Hold Your Hand
Petula Clark Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh yeah I tell you somethin'
I think you'll understand
When I say that somethin'
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

Oh please say to me

You'll let me be your man
And please say to me
You'll let me hold your hand
Now, let me hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It's such a feelin' that my love
I can't hide
I can't hide
I can't hide

Yeah, you got that somethin'
I think you'll understand
When I say that somethin'
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It's such a feelin' that my love
I can't hide
I can't hide
I can't hide

Yeah, you got that somethin'
I think you'll understand
When I feel that somethin'
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by Petula Clark depict the yearning of a person to hold the hand of their beloved. The first verse conveys the message that the person is about to say something to their lover, which they hope they will understand. The next line reveals that the person wants to hold their lover's hand, which they repeat for emphasis. In the following verse, the singer implores their lover to let them be their partner and hold their hand. The desire is fervent and heartfelt, repeated, and reinforced throughout the song.

The chorus of the song repeats the lyrics, "And when I touch you, I feel happy inside. It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide." It is self-explanatory as it relates to the emotion of love and being close to the one they love. The last verse echoes the first, with the person reassuring their lover that they "have that something." Thus, the singer longs for affection and a deeper emotional connection with their lover.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh yeah I tell you somethin'
I have something important to express

I think you'll understand
I believe you'll comprehend my message

When I say that somethin'
When I convey that important message

I want to hold your hand
I desire to physically hold your hand

Oh please say to me
Please respond to me

You'll let me be your man
You will allow me to be your romantic partner

And please say to me
Additionally, please tell me

You'll let me hold your hand
You will allow me to physically hold your hand

Now, let me hold your hand
Allow me to physically hold your hand at this moment

And when I touch you
When I make physical contact with you

I feel happy inside
I experience joy in my emotional state

It's such a feelin' that my love
It produces strong emotions of affection

I can't hide
I cannot conceal my emotions

Yeah, you got that somethin'
You possess a certain quality or attribute

When I feel that somethin'
When I experience that quality within you

I want to hold your hand
I have a desire to hold your hand

I want to hold your hand
Again, I desire to physically hold your hand

I want to hold your hand
Once more, I desire to physically hold your hand

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Winston Lennon, Paul James McCartney

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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01Downtown3:01

02I Couldn't Live Without Your Love3:01

03A Sign Of The Times2:54

04I Want To Hold Your Hand2:54

PT2M54S

Petula Clark

05Don't Sleep In The Subway3:07

06Colour My World3:51

07Kiss Me Goodbye4:09

08Games People Play2:35

09This Is My Song3:35

10My Love2:50

11I Know A Place2:52

12Downtown 2004 (Remix)3:48

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Comments from YouTube:

@BleedBNG

3y↑30

Wow... never realized how beautiful that song could be.

@RB-ye4ri

3y↑4

Relaxed Range, Resonance, and Warmth !!!

@AtlantaGymFan

3y↑1

Try the carpenters version of ticket to ride – it’s really different and beautiful.

@darrenplumpton1203

2y↑1

Like this version of The Beatles classic "I Want To Hold Your ✋ Hand" by the Ultra-Brilliant Petula Clark is different to The Beatles version.
If you like a slower and more subtle version of this song then Petula is the first one you go to.
The Carpenters did the same with Ticket To Ride.
There is always room for alternative versions of any song.
This goes for the amazing and INCREDIBLE version of The Beatles classic "Fool On The Hill" by MEGA-BRILLIANT Petula Clark.

@BleedBNG

@Darren Plumpton I like Brazil '66 version of Fool On The Hill.

@darrenplumpton9737

2y↑2

@BleedBNG It will ALWAYS have to be Petula's unmatchable version for me.

@Dragondave1000

24w↑1

How did I miss this?? !!!

@tiffaniaporchiazzo1791

2y↑5

I Love Petula Clark Singing This Beatles Cover
I Love Her So Much ♥️🤩♥️🤩♥️🤩♥️

@MrRichiekaye

3y↑13

She can deliver any song, any style, even something like this and sell it beautifully. What a singer!

@darrenplumpton9737

2y↑1

Petula Clark is THE GREATEST FEMALE VOCALIST/ENTERTAINER OF ALL TIME.

@ericdurand103

44w↑1

Wonderfull!

@114flaxton2

1y↑2

Splendid! Perfectly Petula! 😊

@jeanpierrebressler8518

31w↑1

Petula est une très grande interprète et délivré beaucoup de tendresse dans ses interprétations

@HeleneMasiko

2y↑3

Only Petula Clark could do this and do it so well. xoxo

@darrenplumpton9737

2y↑1

Petula Clark is THE GREATEST FEMALE VOCALIST OF ALL TIME.

@cordaje

Beautiful, wonderful... Petula and The Beatles together!...❤️

@user-ns6gm2fr9s

3y↑4

brilliant🎶🎶♥️

@hnc52

3y↑10

In addition to this lovely inyerpretation, check out Petula's phenomenal reworking of Fool On the Hill on the Ed Sullivan show on 11/2/69. Petula also has covered We Can Work It Out, Rain, Here There and Everywhere, Hey Jude and withinthe last few years...Imagine and Blackbird.

@darrenplumpton3551

hnc52: Yes indeed you are right by 💯 per cent when you say Petula's re-working of Fool On The Hill is a PHENOMENON.
Petula has the scintillating musical magic of being able to take ANY well known song and give it a subtle twist and then make the song her own.
You can hear lots of Petula's incredible interpretations on You Tube.
I recommend My Guy, Homeward Bound, If Your Going To San Francisco and Groovy Kind Of Love.
ALL OUTSTANDING AND BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES.

@michaelrochester48

3y↑13

She also did a version of the Beatles’ Rain that’s on one of her albums that’s really cool

@robertdoherty2001

3y↑5

She also does a decent version of ‘’We Can Work It Out” from her ‘’My Love’’ album.

@rosu5726

3y↑2

Awesome!

@punkifinster5393

Isn't it though? She says so much with her eyes.....

@Andy1962-in-Kinross

3y↑13

Great interpretation of The Beatles classic. If you get the opportunity check out her version of Rain. Pet was a great admirer of The Beatles and especially John on whose Give Peace A Chance single she sang.

@shaunwakefield9793

Also listen to the live recording of Here there and everywhere.

@lucianofigueiredo7220

3y↑1

Amo essa canção ❤💙💚💛

@rosu5726

Hard to believe how beautiful things were in the 60s

@davegibbs6423

3y↑1

❤️

@johnparkyn2151

3y↑5

I saw her sing this song at the London Paladium I feel in love with her version and went out to buy the album with it on

@robertseamangaknight7734

2y↑1

Me too! It's on Sailor

@robertseamangaknight7734

2y↑1

Oh, I almost forgot, I saw her in concert in 1965 in the US.

@rslitman

3y↑1

May 16 will be a Sunday again this year. I suggest for your 8 pm premiere that night something from her May 16, 1965, appearance. I had looked forward to seeing her on that show, but a thunderstorm came through just as the show started, and my mother turned off the TV. It was thought to be unsafe to watch TV when a lightning strike was possible. I still don't know if that's true.

@roybean7166

3y↑5

She was already a child star in late 30s And 40s.

@mikeyenfield

3y↑3

First performance on BBC Radio was 1942

@johnszczybor4509

3y↑2

She also did a version of please please me in French. She can sing in at least two other languages besides English

@chrisnorton4382

3y↑2

There are Youtube videos with her singing in French, German, Italian and Spanish. She sang a lot of foreign language covers of English language songs besides having a specifically French repertoire for her work in France and Belgium.

@lunes-1

3y↑4

What's up with Petula Clark?

@hnc52

3y↑5

She is still performing at the age of 88!

@injunmick8498

What year was was this? Why don't you state that?

@punkifinster5393

3y↑5

It is stated in the drop down info. 1966

@whoreshoe

3y↑1

Do y’all know if she ever did a version of “rain” by the Beatles 😂🤣

@raybrown3667

3y↑3

Her cover of "Rain" is on the 1966 LP "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love."

@jackwynnemusic2367

3y↑4

First

@josephconsoli4128

It's a little bit "forced" to make it sound sweet, but Petula did as good of job as possible.

@guymichel101

You gotta be kidding. Was she stayin at Streisand's apartment when she did this? Whelp, maybe that;'s why I didn't really notice her during the Liverpool Invasion. How about a grunge-metal version of "Downtown"?