Born in the Isle of Man to English parents, the family later moved to Manchester before settling in Brisbane, Australia. Gibb began his career as part of the family trio and when the group found their first success they returned to the United Kingdom where they achieved worldwide fame. In 2004, the Bee Gees received their CBEs from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace for their "contribution to music". With record sales estimated in excess of 200 million units, the Bee Gees became one of the most successful pop groups of all time.
After a career spanning six decades, Gibb last performed on stage in February 2012 supporting injured British servicemen and women at a charity concert at the London Palladium. On 20 May 2012, Gibb died after a lengthy battle with colorectal cancer.
Solo career
Traditionally, Robin's role in the group has been one of singer, for which he vied constantly with his elder brother Barry Gibb during the group's first period of British success in the late 1960s. This eventually resulted in Robin leaving the group to begin a solo career. Meanwhile, there were rumours of drug problems, and his parents threatened to have him made a ward of court (the UK age of consent at that time being 21, and Robin only 19).
Although initially successful, with a number 2 hit, Saved by the Bell, his album, "Robin's Reign", was less successful and he found that being a solo artist was less than satisfying. He returned to the group and mended the breach with his family. During the 1980s, he released three further solo albums ("How Old Are You", "Secret Agent", and "Walls Have Eyes") which were more successful in Continental Europe than in the UK or USA. However, his 1984 single "Boys Do Fall in Love" did reach the Billboard top 40
Robin's next solo album, Magnet, was released in Germany on January 27, 2003 (Label: SPV), and worldwide shortly afterwards. It features the old Bee Gees classic Wish You Were Here in a new acoustic version.
In August 2003, Robin announced that he would be releasing a new single of My Lover's Prayer, a song first recorded by the Bee Gees in 1997, with vocals by Robin, Wanya Morris, and Lance Bass. This was played on radio, but was never actually released. In October 2003 another version was recorded as a duet with Alistair Griffin, runner-up in the UK television program Fame Academy, on which Robin had appeared as a judge.
My Lover's Prayer, credited as "Alistair Griffin feat. Robin Gibb", was eventually released in the UK in January 2004 as a double A side single, together with Griffin's solo recording of Bring It On. It reached number 5 in the UK charts. The duet was also on Griffin's debut album Bring It On which charted at number 12.
In late 2004, Robin embarked on a solo tour of Germany, Russia and Asia, with Alistair Griffin as the opening act. On his return he released a CD and DVD of live recordings from the German leg of the tour, backed by the Frankfurt Neue Philharmonic Orchestra. A further solo tour of Latin America followed in 2005.
In June 2005 he joined X Factor runners up G4 at a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, singing the Bee Gees song First of May . A recording of this performance was released in December 2005 as part of a double A side single, credited as "G4 feat. Robin Gibb" together with G4's own cover of Johnny Mathis' When a Child is Born. This track was also included on the platinum selling album G4 & Friends which reached number 6 in the UK album charts.
In March 2006 he announced plans for more solo concerts in Shanghai and Portugal. On May 20th. 2006, Robin took part in the Prince's Trust 30th Birthday Concert at the Tower of London along with his brother Barry. They sang 3 songs; Jive Talkin', To Love Somebody and You Should be Dancing.
These Walls Have Eyes
Robin Gibb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Better not to try
It's better not to start
Someone making love to you
It shows under the skin
Anyone can win
Someone like me can win
Whatever, whatever
In for the love
That hungers me for the starts of things
Someone else's body
All your lovin' brings
There must be somethin' more
Somethin' more
These walls have eyes
These walls have ears
The see the lies
That hide the fears
They watch us live
They watch us grow
What lies ahead
What lies below
When that magnificent woman lays back
Behind the beat
Better not to sleep
Someone making love to you
Perform that magical skill
Go in for the kill
You move in for the kill
Kill for the money
Whatever it takes
Kill for the love
Waiting until the hunger breaks
Someone else's body
Your destiny
And even all that is sacred
Is sacred , is the secret , is mine
These walls have eyes
These walls have ears
The see the lies
That hide the fears
Each baby's cry
Each song is sung
These walls have heard
Each bell that's rung
If spiders crawl
These walls within
There's room for all
When fate steps in
We celebrate
All things we crave
What life is lost
What love we save
One for the money
Oh the planet shakes whenever we burn
I want my love all over you
It's all the love was meant to be
We keep the secret with me
These walls have eyes
These walls have ears
They see the mask
That hides the years
One spark of joy
One voice to laugh
Those days foretold
In photograph
They watch us live
They watch us grow
What lies ahead
What lies below
These walls have eyes
These walls have ears
These walls have eyes
These walls have ears
They won't survive
For all the tears
The lyrics of Robin Gibb's song These Walls Have Eyes depict the struggle between love and materialistic possessions. The song presents a dilemma where the singer is torn between the disparity of physical pleasure and emotional gratification. The opening lines of the song, “How can you decide what's better from inside your heart, Better not to try, It's better not to start” suggest that the singer is confused about making the right decisions. The theme of love is explored through the lyrics, “Someone making love to you, It shows under the skin, Anyone can win, Someone like me can win.” Here, the singer expresses their desire for love and how it can make anyone feel like a winner.
The lyrics then show the conflict between chasing money and love, “In it for the money, Whatever, whatever, In for the love, That hungers me for the starts of things, Someone else's body, All your lovin' brings.” The singer seems to be questioning the importance of materialistic desires and advocating for the need for genuine emotional connections. The lyrics continue to explore the idea of losing oneself in someone else’s physical pleasure, “Kill for the love, Waiting until the hunger breaks, Someone else's body, Your destiny, And even all that is sacred, Is sacred, is the secret, is mine.” The idea of wanting to be with someone intimately for money is juxtaposed with the idea of having a true emotional connection.
The chorus of the song involves the repetition of the line, “These walls have eyes, These walls have ears” suggesting that the walls around us observe everything we do and serve as a silent witness to our life experiences. The lyrics then go on to say, “What lies ahead, What lies below, They won't survive, For all the tears” perhaps implying that no matter what happens in our lives, we must push forward.
Line by Line Meaning
How can you decide what's better from inside your heart
It's hard to make a decision based on emotions you feel inside
Better not to try
It's probably best not to attempt something
It's better not to start
Not beginning something is the better option
Someone making love to you
A person having an intimate relationship with you
It shows under the skin
It's apparent on the outside when someone experiences intimacy
Anyone can win
Anybody is capable of succeeding
Someone like me can win
Even somebody like me has the potential to succeed
In it for the money
Doing something only for financial gain
Whatever, whatever
Regardless of anything else
In for the love
Doing something for the sake of passion
That hungers me for the starts of things
The desire to experience the beginning moments of something is what I yearn for
Someone else's body
The physical structure of another person
All your lovin' brings
The affection you show brings about change
There must be somethin' more
There must exist something beyond the current situation
These walls have eyes
The surrounding structure is conscious of what transpires within it
These walls have ears
The walls are listening to our every sound
The see the lies
They are able to detect deceit
That hide the fears
Which conceal what you're really afraid of
They watch us live
The walls observe us as we carry on with life
They watch us grow
The walls observe and record our growth
What lies ahead
What awaits us in the future
What lies below
What is hidden beneath the surface
When that magnificent woman lays back
When that impressive woman reclines
Behind the beat
Not according to the rhythm of life
Better not to sleep
It's probably best not to take a rest
Perform that magical skill
Utilize that exceptional talent
Go in for the kill
Go in for the final move
Kill for the money
Take a life for financial reasons
Whatever it takes
No matter how difficult the pursuit is
Kill for the love
Take a life for the sake of passion
Waiting until the hunger breaks
Holding out until the desire is too strong to resist
Your destiny
Your fate or purpose in life
And even all that is sacred
Even the things that are held dear or holy
Is sacred , is the secret , is mine
They are a secret that only I know about
They won't survive
The walls won't last
For all the tears
Due to the many sorrows
The see the mask
The walls can detect the façade
That hides the years
That conceals the effects of time
One spark of joy
One moment of happiness
One voice to laugh
One sound of laughter
Those days foretold
The future that was predicted
In photograph
Are captured in pictures
Each baby's cry
The cry of every newborn
Each song is sung
Every sung melody
These walls have heard
The walls have been listening
Each bell that's rung
Every rung bell
If spiders crawl
Even if spiders are present
These walls within
Inside these walls
There's room for all
There is sufficient space for everyone
When fate steps in
When destiny takes over
We celebrate
We honor or acknowledge
All things we crave
All things we desire
What life is lost
What has been taken away
What love we save
What passion we safeguard
Oh the planet shakes whenever we burn
Our actions have a huge impact on the planet
I want my love all over you
I want to shower you with my affection
It's all the love was meant to be
This is what true love is all about
We keep the secret with me
We will keep this a secret between us
Contributed by Elena I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.