The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Ka… Read Full Bio ↴The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply Carpenters without the definite article. During a period in the 1970s when louder and wilder rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

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.

Ordinary Fool
The Carpenters Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Only a fool like fools before me
I always think with my heart
Only a fool, that same old story
Seems I was born for the part

It's a lesson to be learned
And a page I should have turned
I shouldn't cry but I do, like an ordinary fool

When his ordinary dreams fall through

How many times have I mistaken
Good looks and laughs for bad news?
And how many times have I mistaken
Good looks and laughs for the blues?

When a road I walked before
Ends alone at my front door
I shouldn't cry but I do, like an ordinary fool
When his ordinary dreams fall through

When a road I walked before
Ends alone at my front door

I shouldn't cry but I do, like an ordinary fool
When his ordinary dreams fall through

Overall Meaning

The Carpenters’ song “Ordinary Fool” is a poignant reflection on the pain of unrequited love and the pitfalls of mistaking surface-level qualities for true compatibility. The lyrics express regret for being a “fool” who always thinks with their heart and falls for the same old story time and time again. The singer laments their tendency to mistake good looks and laughs for love, and the resulting disappointment and heartbreak when their ordinary dreams fall through.

Despite the singer’s awareness of their own foolishness, they cannot help but feel the sting of rejection and the pain of unfulfilled aspirations. The repetition of the line “I shouldn’t cry but I do, like an ordinary fool” underscores the idea that, despite our best intentions, we are often unable to control our emotions and reactions when our dreams are shattered. The final lines of the song, which describe walking a road that ends alone at one’s front door, further emphasize the idea of loneliness and disappointment.

Line by Line Meaning

Only a fool like fools before me
I am foolish like others who came before me

I always think with my heart
I tend to make decisions based on emotions rather than logic

Only a fool, that same old story
A recurring situation for people like me who are foolish

Seems I was born for the part
I am naturally inclined to play this part

It's a lesson to be learned
This experience is something I can learn from

And a page I should have turned
I should have moved on from this situation before it caused me pain

I shouldn't cry but I do, like an ordinary fool
I know it's not rational to cry, but I can't help it

When his ordinary dreams fall through
When things don't go as planned and my hopes are shattered

How many times have I mistaken
I have made this mistake multiple times

Good looks and laughs for bad news?
I have misjudged people based on appearances or first impressions

And how many times have I mistaken
I keep making the same mistake