Unchained Melody
Sonny Cher Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, oh my love
My darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long and lonely time
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me

Lonely mountain's gaze
At the sea, at the sea
At the lonely open arms of the sea
All one I gaze at the sea, at the sea
All lone I gaze at the sea faithfully

Oh, oh my love
Oh my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long and lonely time
And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine
I need your love




I need your love
God speed your love to me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sonny and Cher's version of "Unchained Melody" speak to the enduring longing and love between two people who are separated by distance and time. The singer, in this case mainly Cher, expresses how she has "hungered" for the touch of her love, who has been away for a long and lonely time. The passing of time is a recurring theme throughout the song, with the lyrics emphasizing how slowly time can go by when one is waiting for someone they love, and how much time can do in such a situation. Despite the separation, the singer asks if their love is still theirs, emphasizing that they need it and that they do not want to lose it.


The imagery used in the lyrics is also symbolic of the vastness of both time and space. The mention of the mountain gazing out at the sea, and the sea's open arms, serve to emphasize how the singer's love is just one small part of the vastness of the natural world. And yet, despite this, the singer remains steadfast in their love and devotion, gazing faithfully at the sea and waiting for their love to return to them. The lyrics overall speak to the power of enduring love that can withstand not only the test of time but also the test of distance and separation.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh, oh my love
My love, my dear


My darling
My beloved, my sweetheart


I've hungered for your touch
I have longed for your embrace and affection


A long and lonely time
For a prolonged period of time, I have been alone and yearning for you


Time goes by so slowly
The passing of time seems prolonged and unbearable without you


And time can do so much
Time has the power to significantly affect us and our relationships


Are you still mine
Do you still belong to me, are we still together


I need your love
I require your affection and devotion


God speed your love to me
May your love come to me quickly and with great force, as if given by a higher power


Lonely mountain's gaze
The view of a solitary mountain, symbolic of my loneliness


At the sea, at the sea
Observing the vastness of the ocean, emphasizing my insignificance and isolation


At the lonely open arms of the sea
The ocean's vastness represents the embrace I desire and seek from my loved one


All one I gaze at the sea, at the sea
I am completely absorbed in contemplating the ocean and its significance


All lone I gaze at the sea faithfully
I am devotedly and loyally focused on my contemplation of the ocean




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, UNCHAINED MELODY PUB LLC
Written by: Alex North, Hyman Zaret

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@wyattlogan2085

This is actually a really good rendition! I listen to the Righteous Brothers version often, but I like this!

@lindakidd9477

Cher's voice has only grown more rich over the years. She's a great entertainer!

@rick8376

Cher's version of "UNCHAINED MELODY" was the first time I ever heard this song. I had nothing else to compare it to . I didn't hear the Righteous Bros version until the movie "GHOST" came out. Its just something about Cher's delivery that pulled me in from the start and it made me feel she was believing in the words she was singing. And so it became a part of the soundtrack to my life.

@davidkemery129

I've always loved 😍 how the song finishes up .the sonny arranged band drops out . All by herself Cher sings the last two words of the song , the band comes back in and finishes out the track.

@user-uk1qo3th6v

Не знала раньше, что это их песня. Потрясающе!!

@BrettMayaAllisonTory

Best cover ever of this heartbreaking melody. Since I heard it first in 1967, it has always
brought tears in my eyes.

@peternemnich2850

The same for me

@peterallum4069

and me.

@ann755

I've loved Cher's version of this song since I first heard it in the early 1970s as a little girl.  Played it 100x on my record player that I just about wore out the grooves.

@imjohnincalif

Ann Marie I agree

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