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.
I'll Be Yours
The Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'd be the one to cure my loneliness
And so every night I pray,
Pray that some day you will say
I see you everyday you say "hello"
But I can't say a word
I love you so
And so every night I pray,
Pray that some day you will say
Pray that you'll say you love me and then I'll be yours
I love you so, but you will never know
You think I'm just a friend, that all I'll ever be, I know
I just a dreamer, it's nothing new
But still I hope someday they'll all come true
And so every night I pray,
Pray that some day you will say
Pray that you'll say you love me and then I'll be yours
Say you'll love me and then I'll be yours
The Carpenters' song "I'll Be Yours" is a classic example of unrequited love portrayed through music. The lyrics speak of a person who is deeply in love with someone but is too afraid to confess their feelings in fear of being rejected. The song starts off with the singer feeling an instant attraction to the person they've just laid eyes on. They feel that this person will cure their loneliness, and they pray every night that this person will say "I love you" so that they can finally be together.
The singer watches this person every day and hopes that one day they will muster up the courage to confess their feelings. They can't bear to tell them how they feel because they are afraid of being rejected and losing that person altogether. They have resigned themselves to the fact that the person they love only sees them as a friend and nothing more. The singer dreams of a day when their feelings will be reciprocated, and every night they pray that the person they love will one day love them back.
"I'll Be Yours" is a beautiful yet poignant song that captures the essence of unrequited love. The lyrics resonate with anyone who has ever been in love with someone who didn't love them back. The song takes the listener on a journey of unfulfilled desires and hopes that one day, against all odds, the love they feel will be returned.
Line by Line Meaning
When I first saw you my heart said, "yes"
From the very first moment I laid eyes on you, my heart knew that you were the one who could make me happy and fill the void in my life
You'd be the one to cure my loneliness
I feel lonely and incomplete without you, and I believe that if we were together, you could make all of that emptiness go away
And so every night I pray,
I spend every night, before I go to sleep, in deep contemplation and prayer about how much I want to be with you
Pray that some day you will say
I plead with the universe to make it so that someday you'll open up and tell me how you truly feel about me
Pray that you'll say you love me and then I'll be yours
If only you'd confess your love for me, and let me know how you feel, that would be all it would take for me to commit myself to you completely and unconditionally
I see you everyday you say "hello"
I've grown accustomed to seeing you every day, and our daily pleasantries are a small glimmer of hope that maybe you feel more for me than you let on
But I can't say a word
Though I am dying to tell you how I feel, I am paralyzed by the fear that you won't return my affections, and so I keep my feelings to myself
I love you so
I am deeply and truly in love with you, and my love for you only grows stronger by the day
You think I'm just a friend, that all I'll ever be, I know
I'm painfully aware that you don't see me as anything more than a friend, and it kills me inside to know that that's all I'll ever be in your eyes
I just a dreamer, it's nothing new
My love for you is a lofty dream and a hopeless fantasy, and though it's nothing new, it's still as vivid and real to me as the day I first laid eyes on you
But still I hope someday they'll all come true
Despite how improbable it may be, I still cling to the hope that someday, somehow, my dreams of being with you will finally come to fruition
Say you'll love me and then I'll be yours
All I need from you is to hear you say that you love me, and I will be yours in every way possible, forever and always
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALBERT HAMMOND, JOHN BETTIS, RICHARD CARPENTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nicky Naime
I love this stuff. Definately an early mid 60s sound.
Peggy McMillin
Unbelievably, this song not only never made it to an lp, but it was side b on the single that was released.
My opinion…..it’s one of their best songs of their early music.
rkmugen
There is simply no way for me to have known about this song without having watched the made-for-TV film. No way at all. And, despite how so many people didn't (and probably still don't) like that film, thank GOD it was made - I LOVE this song! It's just too bad Karen never re-sang it like she did with "Ticket to Ride" in 1973.
Verla Schupbach
rkmugen me too!
Christi Brown
rkmugen J
I was 10 when the movie aired and I have never understood the anti feelings about it and you are absolutely right, I wouldnt have known this song without either.
Mad MCG
That song came to me in the shower this morning. I remember it from the film. I haven't heard it for 30 years and with the magic of the internet there it is.
Bru Schmidt
Why should she have resung it? Perfecting it in any way would've been a take-away. It was superb as her youthful 16 year old voice delivered it.
Carlos Carpinteyro
What a melodious song! My older brother would wait on Richard Carpenter when he worked at a music store in Lakewood, Ca. in the early 1970's, where Richard frequently came in.
Jared Jacob
Man, how I wish I was born at that time. I live in Lakewood!
Nicky Naime
@Jared Jacob Yeh...the 50s and 60s were a great to be a kid growing up. That I can attest to.