The Carpenters' melodic pop charted a record-breaking score of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. The Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary Chart (see The Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, The Carpenters' album and single sales total more than 100 million units.
During their fourteen-year career, The Carpenters recorded eleven albums, five of which contained top 10 singles (Close to You, Carpenters, A Song for You, Now & Then and Horizon), thirty-one singles, five television specials, and one short-lived television series. They toured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. Their recording career ended with Karen's death on February 4, 1983. Karen passed away after cardiac arrest due to complications of anorexia nervosa. Extensive news coverage of the circumstances surrounding her death increased public awareness of the consequences of eating disorders.
Their first recordings were not successful, and the recording studio that was recording them, dropped them. That's when their 'savior' came in. Herb Alpert of A&M records heard a couple of their songs and said that he felt that they had good potential. Thanks to him, and his ability to see/hear quality when it appears, we had the GREAT performers of The Carpenters.
End Of The World
The Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?
Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does!
Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
"Ah, what memories, what memories
From Nineteenhundred and Sixty-Three
Well, later that same year
This golden goodie blast from the past
Was introduced by The Chrystals"
The Carpenters' song "End of the World" is a melancholic exploration of heartbreak and loss. The song's lyrics speak directly to the singer's disbelief that the world continues to move along without skipping a beat, even though their life has been shattered by the ending of a romance. The opening lines of the song pose a series of rhetorical questions that amplify the singer's sense of disbelief - why does the sun shine, the sea rush to shore, the birds go on singing, and the stars continue to glow, when the love that once gave life meaning is gone?
The song's chorus repeats the central message of the song - "Don't they know it's the end of the world?" - and spells out what the singer has lost: "It ended when I lost your love." The final verse adds one more question to the mix, with the singer wondering why their heart and eyes continue to function even though they're consumed with sorrow. The song's final lines drive home the central contradiction at the heart of the song - that while the singer can't comprehend how the world keeps spinning, they know that their personal world has come to a grinding halt because of the loss of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Why does the sun go on shining?
I wonder why the sun is still shining when my world is ending due to your departure.
Why does the sea rush to shore?
I can't help but wonder why the sea continues to rush to the shore when everything in my life has come to a standstill.
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?
I feel like the entire world should know that it's the end of the world because you don't love me anymore.
Why do the birds go on singing?
Despite the fact that my heart is broken, the birds continue to sing and it makes me wonder why things are continuing as usual.
Why do the stars glow above?
I can't help but wonder why the stars in the sky are still shining above me when my world has come to an end.
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love
It feels like the rest of the world doesn't understand that my world came to an end the moment I lost your love.
I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
Every morning when I wake up, I can't help but wonder how everything is still the same when my life has changed so much.
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does!
I don't understand how life can continue normally when my world has been turned upside down by losing you.
Why does my heart go on beating?
I can't wrap my head around why my heart continues to beat even though it feels so broken and shattered.
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Every day I wonder why my eyes continue to cry even though I know deep down that you're not coming back.
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
Everyone should know that my world ended the moment you said goodbye, and yet everything just keeps moving forward.
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
Everyone should know that my world ended the moment you said goodbye, and yet everything just keeps moving forward.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lavoxii
"End Of The World"
(originally by Skeeter Davis)
Why does the sun go on shining
Why does the sea rush to shore
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'cause you don't love me anymore,Yes
Why do the birds go on singing
Why do the stars glow above
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love
I wake up in the mornin' and I wonder
Why everythings the same as it was
I can't understand, no
I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does
Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
[spoken]
Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
[sung]
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
Goodbye
@mftepera
Hands down the best female voice I’ve ever heard. Caught my attention as 5 year old boy and I’m still amazed almost 50 years later.
@jawtek82
Has it been difficult going through life as a gay man?
@maxamahnken7325
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
@umbertocalvini7429
I wish Karen loved herself, as much as we all loved her! 🥰
@greyhound785
So true..
@user-rf8xc4vu2i
Beautiful...
@waynedunn1108
What a waste of life carol was so beautiful and talented
@Eva7998
same here
@TheMrmartind40
Well put
@Mikeschmidt61
I started writing Karen on a bet from some fellow marines when I was in Vietnam in 1970, they bet me she wouldn't respond back. About 3 weeks later I received a handwritten letter that was very heartwarming and we continued to correspond until I was gravely wounded twice in April 71. I was sent to Yokosuka Naval Hospital, my mail caught up to me the last of may and was able to tell Karen what happened, she actually sent a get well card I was 17 and definitely had a crush on her. We corresponded a couple more times but then drifted apart. I will always treasure the memories that got me through a difficult time. 1st Marine Div. 2/11 Foward Observer. Sgt. Michael Schmidt