The original lineup included three lead vocalists — Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells — along with Michael Allsup on guitar, Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards Floyd Sneed on drums and Joe Schermie (from the Cory Wells Blues Band) on bass.
Three Dog Night recorded some tracks with Beach Boys producer, composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist Brian Wilson before signing with Dunhill Records and at the time went under the name Redwood. The band changed their name based on an article describing how Australian Aborigines slept with their dogs for warmth on cold nights, the coldest being a "three-dog night."
Nobody
Three Dog Night Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They just don't know that you're an angel
Oh oh
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
Gotta way we look and the way we're done
May make some people frown
They don't understand the bag
They just don't know that you're an angel
Oh oh
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
All the squares keep talkin' 'bout you baby
Don't you know that talk's cheap, Yeah
Our love will last even we're square
We're gonna carry on
They just don't know that you're an angel
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
The lyrics to Three Dog Night's song "Nobody" are about a couple who are in love but face judgment and criticism from others who don't understand their relationship. The singer is saying that nobody can tell him that his partner doesn't love him because they don't know her like he does. He sees her as an "angel" and is confident in their love, despite the disapproval of others.
The second verse addresses the criticism directly, with the singer saying that people may judge their appearance or actions, but they don't understand their love for each other. He tells these judgmental people to "put us down" and stop talking about them behind their backs. The chorus repeats the message that nobody can come between the couple's love and that the singer knows his partner loves him, even if others don't see it that way.
Overall, the song is about the strong bond between two people in love and the resilience they have against outside judgment. The lyrics express a sense of confidence and defiance in the face of criticism, with the repeated "nobody" emphasizing the singer's belief that no one can tell him what to do or how to feel.
Line by Line Meaning
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
I refuse to believe anyone who tells me that you don't love me, because they don't know you like I do - as an angel.
They just don't know that you're an angel
Oh oh
The people who doubt our love don't understand that you are an angel in my eyes, and I will always love you.
Gotta way we look and the way we're done
May make some people frown
They don't understand the bag
Stop! Put us down
Some people disapprove of our appearance and lifestyle, but they don't understand the love we share. We should ignore their judgment and continue to be true to ourselves.
All the squares keep talkin' 'bout you baby
Don't you know that talk's cheap, Yeah
Our love will last even we're square
We're gonna carry on
People who criticize us are just wasting their breath - our love is strong enough to endure any challenges, even if we conform to societal norms. We will continue to love each other no matter what.
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
Nobody will make me doubt our love, as I will always believe in us - no matter what anyone else thinks or says.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Missing Link Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT HUGGAR, ROBERT LE VALLE HUGGAR, CHRIS JENNINGS, ERIC JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
johnny zell
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
They just don't know that you're an angel
Oh oh
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
Gotta way we look and the way we're done
May make some people frown
They don't understand the bag
Stop! Put us down
They just don't know that you're an angel
Oh oh
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
All the squares keep talkin' 'bout you baby
Don't you know that talk's cheap, Yeah
Our love will last even we're square
We're gonna carry on
They just don't know that you're an angel
Nobody tell me you don't love me babe
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
No, nobody
mmckinnissable
This, for me, is one of the iconic late sixties songs, performed by a band that still sounded fresh and exciting, before they started singing about bullfrogs and how Mama told them not to come. This was a great song on a great album and really brings back a unique time in music and in American history. I love it.
uromaniac
Saw them perform this live at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the exhibit hall (a dance concert, no seating and the stage riser about 3 feet high...you could have reached out and touched the musicians). This was in probably in middle of 1968 or so, before they hit it BIG. Full San Francisco style light show, strobe lights, the psychedelic oil pots, and op art film clips projected on the walls. I also saw the Doors, Steppenwolf, Canned Heat in the same venue. I think tickets were about $3.50. Man those were the days!
uromaniac
@Stephen Casagrande Yep same on the show in Pasadena. The drummer was tearing it up under the strobe lights. I forgot to mention Iron Butterfly also at the Civic, with 12 minute drum solo lol on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Stephen Casagrande
Our band The Peace of Mind opened for them in Bakersfield in 68 right after that and they were billed as the newest band out of LA . I thought the name was really cool and could not believe they had three lead singers. They came out and did One and Nobody. Nobody lasted for what I swear was thirty minutes and was the most unbelievable performance ever.
Ricky F
TDN were all very talented musicians, but Floyd Sneed’s amazing drumming skills really stand out here. He was instrumental in the huge success of the band, who sounded like “Nobody” before them.
J Leo
Finally, another who recognizes this!
ChihuahuaboyDH
A great song!!! TDN's first crack at a singles release, which bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 @ #116. TDN's version of this Kim Weston single hit the top ten in southern California.
Bravo, Three Dog Night!!! R.I.P., Cory Wells, Jimmy Greenspoon & Joe Schermie. There are just four original "Dogs" left since the group's heyday: Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron (the original two singers, of which Hutton's a current member), Mike Allsup (the original & current guitarist) & Floyd Sneed (the original percussionist/drummer). Only Hutton & Allsup are the two original members who are still performing in the current incarnation of TDN. Chuck Negron currently performs solo with his own band - which has featured both Sneed & Schermie on occasion in the past as well.
Mr22thou
I wonder why they switched from a really good hard rock band to pop top 40. Eventually, I lost interest. But their first couple of albums and the live one still hold up for me. Love this song!
PC No
"bullfrogs" ;-)) I didn't really dislike that song, but I thought it was way more popular than it deserved to be. That said, this record is just a boring jam that doesn't really go anywhere; I can see why is didn't chart. "One Man Band" was also a jam with equally forgettable lyrics, but it was musically much more interesting. TDN developed a talent for taking songs that would otherwise be a little too odd, or too trite to be hits and embellishing them with enough layers of instrumentation to make them irresistible. They turned "Black and White" from a jingle of banalities into an intriguing contrast between the happy lyrics and the menacing backing arrangement. I think they found their forte and made the most of it.
brainsareus
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