History
First incarnation
Formed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne during 1962 and 1963 when Burdon joined the existing Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, the original line-up comprised Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (organ and keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan "Chas" Chandler (bass). The Animals' moderate success in their hometown and a connection with The Yardbirds manager Giorgio Gomelsky motivated them to move to London in 1964, in time to be grouped with the British Invasion. They performed fiery versions of the staple rhythm and blues repertoire (Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, etc). Signed to the Columbia Graphophone subsidiary of EMI, a rocking version of the standard "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" (retitled Baby Let Me Take You Home) was their first UK hit single.
It was followed in June 1964 by the huge transatlantic hit "House of the Rising Sun". Burdon's howling vocals and the dramatic arrangement created arguably the first folk rock hit. Whether the arrangement was inspired by Bob Dylan's version of the song (which in turn was inspired by folk singer Dave Van Ronk) or by blues singer Josh White's (who recorded it twice in 1944 and 1949) or by singer/pianist Nina Simone (who recorded it in 1962 on At The Village Gate, predating Dylan's interpretation) remains a subject of dispute, as does whether all five Animals deserved credit for the arrangement and not just Price.
The Animals' two-year chart career, masterminded by producer Mickie Most, featured singles that were intense, gritty pop covers such as Sam Cooke's Bring It On Home To Me and the Nina Simone number Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. In contrast their album tracks stayed with rhythm and blues, with Hooker's Boom Boom and Ray Charles' I Believe to My Soul being notable examples. Burdon's powerful, deep voice and the use of keyboards as much or more than guitars were two elements that made the Animals' sound stand out.
By May 1965 the group was starting to feel internal pressures. Price left due to personal and musical differences as well as a fear of flying on tour; he went on to a successful career as a solo artist and with the Alan Price Set. Mickey Gallagher filled in for him on keyboards for a spell, until Dave Rowberry replaced him and was on hand for the hit working-class anthems We Gotta Get Out of this Place and It's My Life. Around that time, an Animals Big Band even made a one-time appearance.
Many of The Animals' hits had come from Brill Building songwriters recruited by Most; the group, and Burdon in particular, felt this was too restrictive. As 1965 ended the group switched to Decca Records and producer Tom Wilson, who gave them more artistic freedom. In early 1966 MGM Records, their American label, collected their hits onto The Best of The Animals; it became their best-selling album in the U.S. In February 1966 Steel left and was replaced by Barry Jenkins; a leftover cover of Goffin-King's Don't Bring Me Down and the powerful hard rock tune See See Rider were the last hits as The Animals.
By this time their business affairs "were in a total shambles," according to Chandler (who would go on to manage Jimi Hendrix), and the group disbanded. Even by the standards of the day, when artists tended to be financially naïve, the Animals made very little money from their successes, eventually claiming mismanagement and theft on the part of their manager Mike Jeffery.
Second incarnation
A group with Burdon, Jenkins, and new sidemen John Weider (guitar/violin/bass), Vic Briggs alias Antion (guitar/piano), and Danny McCulloch (bass) was formed under the name Eric Burdon and the New Animals (or sometimes just Eric Burdon & the Animals) in October 1966, and changed direction. The hard-driving blues was transformed into Burdon's version of psychedelia, as the former heavy-drinking Geordie (who later said he could never get used to Newcastle, "where the rain comes at you sideways") relocated to California and became a spokesman for the Love Generation, but also a former heavy metal act and one of the upcoming stars of the genre such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple..
Some of this group's hits included "San Franciscan Nights", "Monterey" (a tribute to the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival), and the anti-war "Sky Pilot". There were further changes to this line-up: George Bruno (a/k/a Zoot Money, keyboards) was added in April 1968, and in July 1968 Andy Summers [sic] (guitar)—later of The Police—replaced Briggs and McCulloch.
By 1969 these Animals had dissolved, and Eric Burdon joined forces with a Latin group from Long Beach, California called War.
The first hit under Eric Burdon & War was the funky/chill-out song Spill the Wine. The Group with 8 members disbanded in July 1971.
Later incarnations
The original Animals line-up of Burdon, Price, Valentine, Chandler, and Steel briefly reunited for a benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968, for an album in 1977 and again for an album and tour (supplemented by Zoot Money on keyboards and Steve Grant on guitar) in 1983. Chandler died in 1996.
In the 2000s Burdon has toured with a new set of musicians under the name "Eric Burdon and the Animals". Periodically during the 1990s and 2000s Valentine, Steel, and Dave Rowberry toured under the name "(Hilton Valentine's) The Animals" and Valentine and Steel under the name "Animals II". Rowberry died in 2003. As of 2005 "Animals & Friends" was also active, consisting of Steel and Mickey Gallagher; this group frequently play gigs on a Color Line ship that travels between Scandinavia and Germany.
Legacy
The original Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Their influence can be heard in artists as varied as The Doors, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Canned Heat, David Johansen, Joe Cocker, Fine Young Cannibals, Iggy Pop, Mando Diao and many, many more.
To Love Somebody
The Animals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You don't know what it's like
It's a light,
Certain kind of light
That never shines on me
And I want my life to be
(To live with you)
There's a way that
Everybody says
I've got to do each and every little thing, yeah,
But what good will it bring
(Iif I ain't got you?)
(If I ain't got you?)
Baby
You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
If I pray,
I see your face again,
And God knows I pray every night
Woman, how could you be so bad?
(Aand I'm sad,)
(So, so sad)
I'm a man, yeah
Can't see what I am
When I'm livin' I'm breathin' you
But what good will breathin' do
(If I ain't got you?)
(If I ain't got you?)
Baby
You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
Yes, I see your face again
Woman, you know I pray every night, yeah
Baby, how could you be so blind?
(And I'm sad,)
(So, so sad)
I'm a full grown man, yeah
Can't you see what I am?
When I'm livin' I breathe with you, yeah,
Yeah, yeah,
But what what good will breathin' do
(If I ain't got you?)
(If I ain't got you?)
God knows, baby (baby)
You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way that I love you
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way that I
Love you
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way that I
Love you, baby
(To love somebody, to love somebody) Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me
(The way that I) Baby, baby, I love, I, I love you
(Love you) I love, I love, I love, I love you
(To love somebody, to love somebody) Give it to me, baby. Don't you leave me
(The way that I)You know I need you by my side
(Love you)You're drivin' me crazy. Baby, don't
(To love somebody, To love somebody) Oh, please
Baby, yeah
You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way that I...
Love...
- Good God -
You..
The Animals' hit song, "To Love Somebody," was written by music legends Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. The meaning of the song is a classic love ballad of unrequited love where the singer, who is deeply in love with someone, is frustrated by the fact that they don't feel the same way. The lyrics convey a desperation to be understood and to be loved back. In the first verse, the singer laments that the love he longs for never seems to reach him, and he wants to live with his love. He states that everyone talks about what they should do, but without his love, what is the point of anything he does?
In the chorus, the singer conveys the message that the recipient of his love doesn't know what it's like to love someone as deeply as he does. The passion and intensity of his feeling is clear from the way he repeats the chorus twice, emphasizing the words "to love somebody" each time. In the second verse, the singer describes how he sees the face of his love when he prays, and it's the only way he can see her. He wonders how she could be so bad to him and reminds her that he's a full-grown man who loves her deeply. He ends the song with a plea to his love to understand him and not leave him because he needs her by his side.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what it's like
The feeling of missing something that nobody around you could ever realize
It's a light,
It's a feeling that is intangible yet radiant
Certain kind of light
It's a specific feeling that is difficult to explain
That never shines on me
It's a feeling that unfortunately never intensifies in me
And I want my life to be
I want to cherish that feeling in my life
(To live with you)
I want to share that experience with you
There's a way that
People often guide me on what to do
Everybody says
The society seems to dictate how people should act
I've got to do each and every little thing, yeah,
I'm expected to follow every societal norm
But what good will it bring
But following these norms won't amount to anything significant
(Iif I ain't got you?)
(If I don't have that feeling with you?)
Baby
Affectionate term used for the person the singer is addressing to
If I pray,
When I pray,
I see your face again,
I vividly imagine your face again,
And God knows I pray every night
I pray every night and God knows that.
Woman, how could you be so bad?
I want to understand why you're not able to feel this same way
(Aand I'm sad,)
(And it makes me sad,)
(So, so sad)
(Very, very sad)
I'm a man, yeah
I'm an adult, yes
Can't see what I am
I'm not able to understand myself completely
When I'm livin' I'm breathin' you
When I'm living, I feel like I'm only alive for you
But what good will breathin' do
What good does breathing do if I can't feel that same feeling with you
(If I ain't got you?)
(If I don't have that feeling with you?)
God knows, baby (baby)
An expression where God knows everything but the referred person is uncertain and confused
To love somebody
To feel that same feeling with somebody
The way I love you
The intensity of feeling that the singer feels with the addressed person
Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me
Please share that feeling with me, give it to me
You don't know what it's like
Nobody else understands this feeling
To love somebody
To feel that same feeling with somebody
The way that I love you
The intensity of feeling that the singer feels with the addressed person
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Written by: Robin Hugh Gibb, Barry Alan Gibb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@martinfolan4864
Eric Burdon has such an amazing voice. Beautiful, bluesy, raw and soulful. Animals so so underrated
@Grendelmonster8u
I don’t think they were underrated, they had several big hits back then and were very popular and they were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. I’m wondering why you think that. Thing is, radio stations suck and classic rock stations don’t play their stuff-you have to listen to oldies stations. I’m pleased that I have over a million views on this and the comments are mostly positive. A lot of foreigners from South America have commented. As with this song post The Animals, perhaps Burdon doesn’t get enough attention for the later music. Thanks for watching.
@ingridthurner3651
Exactly!!!!
@PalomaBo
55 years surprising me with the talent of this iconic band interpreting this great song.
🔥❤
@barbarablonsky7521
I LOVE THIS SONG! I HAVE LOVED THIS VERSION SINCE I WAS 16 YEARS OLD!
@barbarablonsky7521
I lip synch this like a DRAG QUEEN!
@steveabdelkoui5663
These are greats and we will never see them again. True music for the heart and soul. Eric Burdon and The Animals are legends.
@joeyank2451
Indeed
@gustavocarranzalopez6160
Saludos desde la ciudad de México, recordando mi infancia al escuchar a está super banda de rock, y la extraordinaria de voz de Eric B, gracias por existir.
@agg.3966
Orale ése Gustavo. Saludos desde California. Yo escuchaba esta ésta canción en algunas estaciones de Irapuato, Celaya, Leon, Gto. Allá por el 72_73. Tiempos bellos de la hermosa juventud. EB y Los Animales super memorias🎉