# Carole King

Carole King (born Carol Joan Klein 9 February 1942) is an American composer and singer-songwriter.

## Quotes

* I'm a songwriter first, have always been, and probably always will be. Making the demo is a natural product of writing a song; after that, I'm happy to hear other people do it in other ways.
** As quoted in "Will you still love me tomorrow?" by Rachel Louis Snyder in Salon (19 June 1999)
* The song is the center; the song is the key. If you don't have a good song you don't have anything by my value.
** As quoted in "The King is Still Alive" in The Birmingham Post [England] (6 November 2001)

## Song lyrics

All songs written by Carole King, except as noted.

### Singles

* Tonight you're mine completely, You give your love so sweetly Tonight the light of love is in your eyes, But will you love me tomorrow?
** Will You Love Me Tomorrow (1960), Co-written with Gerry Goffin, first recorded by The Shirelles, later by Carole King
* I'd like to know that your love Is love I can be sure of, So tell me now and I won't ask again, Will you still love me tomorrow?
** Will You Love Me Tomorrow (1960), Co-written with Gerry Goffin
* All you have to do is touch my hand To show me you understand And something happens to me. That's some kind of wonderful.
** Some Kind of Wonderful (1961), Co-written with Gerry Goffin, first recorded by The Drifters
* I want to be your lover But your friend is all I've stayed. I'm only halfway to paradise, So near, yet so far away.
** Halfway to Paradise (1961), co-written with Gerry Goffin, first recorded by Tony Orlando, later by Billy Fury
* My tears are fallin' 'Cause you've taken her away. And though it really hurts me so, There's something that I've gotta say.Take good care of my baby. Please don't ever make her blue. Just tell her that you love her. Make sure you're thinking of her In everything you say and do.
** Take Good Care of My Baby (1961), co-written with Gerry Goffin, first performed by Bobby Vee
* Everybody's doin' a brand new dance now. Come on baby, do the locomotion. I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now. Come on baby, do the locomotion.My little baby sister can do it with ease; It's easier than learning your ABC's. So come on, come on do the locomotion with me.
** The Loco-Motion (1962), Co-written with Gerry Goffin, recorded by Little Eva, Grand Funk Railroad, and Kylie Minogue
* Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains And they ain't the kind that you can see Woh these chains of love got a hold on me yeah.
** Chains (1962), Co-written with Gerry Goffin, first performed by The Cookies
* I'll never let you see The way my broken heart is hurting me. I've got my pride and I know how to hide All my sorrow and pain. I'll do my crying in the rain.
** Crying in the Rain (1962), Co-written with Howard Greenfield, first recorded by The Everly Brothers
* What should I write? What can I say? How can I tell you how much I miss you? The weather here has been as nice as it can be, Although it doesn't really matter much to me. For all the fun I'll have while you're so far away, It might as well rain until September.
** It Might as Well Rain Until September (1962), co-written with Gerry Goffin, recorded by King and Bobby Vee
* When this old world starts getting me down And people are just too much for me to face, I climb way up to the top of the stairs And all my cares just drift right into space. On the roof, it's peaceful as can be And there the world below can't bother me. Let me tell you now.
** Up on the Roof (1962), co-written with Gerry Goffin, performed by The Drifters
* One fine day, you'll look at me And you will know our love was, meant to be. One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl.
** One Fine Day (1963), Co-written with Gerry Goffin, recorded by The Chiffons
* Hey girl I want you to know I'm gonna miss you so much if you go. And hey girl I tell you no lie, Something deep inside of me's going to die If you say so long, if this is goodbye.
** Hey Girl (1963), Co-written with Freddie Scott and Gerry Goffin, recorded by Freddie Scott and Donny Osmond
* He gets up each morning and he goes downtown Where everyone's his boss, And he's lost in an angry land. He's a little man. But then he comes uptown Each evening to my tenement. Uptown where folks don't have to pay much rent. And when he's there with me. He can see that he's everything. The man is tall, he don't crawl. He's a king.
** Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby) (1963), co-written with Gerry Goffin, recorded by The Cookies
* When my friends told me you had someone new I didn't believe a single word was true. I showed them all I had a faith in you I just kept on sayingOh, no, not my baby Oh, no, not my sweet baby You're not like those other guys Who lead you on and tell you lies.
** Oh No Not My Baby (1964), Co-written with Gerry Goffin
* There's alot of things I want, a lot of things that I'd like to be. But girl, I don't foresee a rags-to-riches story for me. There's just one little dream I've got to come true; There's just one round I've gotta win, I can't be a loser with you. Baby, baby, once in my life, let me get what I want, Girl, don't let me down! Just once in my life, let me hold on to one good thing I found!
** Just Once in My Life (1965), co-written with Gerry Goffin and Phil Spector, first recorded by The Righteous Brothers
* I think I'm going back To the things I learned so well In my youth. I think I'm returning to The days when I was young enough To know the truth.
** Goin' Back (1966), Co-written with Gerry Goffin
* In the midst of all my darkness, baby You came along to guide me. You took pity on a lonely man When you said you'd stand beside me. I'll never forget you Or what you've done. I'll never turn my back on you for anyone.I've got so much love to give you. Baby, I've got so much love to give you. Girl, there's more than enough to last a whole life through, And it's all for you.
** So Much Love (1966), co-written with Gerry Goffin, first recorded by Ben E. King
* Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel so uninspired. And when I knew I had to face another day, Lord, it made me feel so tired. Before the day I met you, life was so unkind. Your love was the key to my peace of mind.'Cause you make me feel. You make me feel, You make me feel like A natural woman (woman).
** (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (1967), Co-written with Gerry Goffin and Jerry Wexler
* When my soul was in the lost and found, You came along to claim it. I didn't know just what was wrong with me Till your kiss helped me name it. Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for, Cause if I make you happy I don't need to do more.
** (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (1967), Co-written with Gerry Goffin and Jerry Wexler, first recorded by Aretha Franklin
* The local rock group down the street Is trying hard to learn their song. They serenade the weekend squire Who just came out to mow his lawn. Another pleasant valley Sunday. Charcoal burning everywhere. Rows of houses that are all the same. And no one seems to care.
** Pleasant Valley Sunday (1967), co-written with Gerry Goffin, recorded by The Monkees
* Gotta make you love me the way you used to do Gotta get back the feeling and put wind in my sails And chart a course that gets me back to you, back to you. Oh, the lonely days, the lonely nights lookin' back in time. Time, don't run out on me.
** Time Don't Run Out on Me (1985), co-written with Gerry Goffin, performed by Anne Murray

### Tapestry (1971)

* I feel the earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumbling down — tumbling down I feel my heart start to trembling Whenever you're around.
** I Feel the Earth Move · performance on YouTube
* So far away Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore? It would be so fine to see your face at my door. Doesn't help to know you're so far away.
** So Far Away
* You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face And show the world all the love in your heart The people gonna treat you better, You're gonna find, yes you will, That you're beautiful as you feel.
** Beautiful
* If there's any answer, maybe love can end the madness Maybe not, oh, but we can only try.
** Beautiful
* Way over yonder is a place I have seen In a garden of wisdom from some long ago dream.
** Way Over Yonder
* Way over yonder, that's where I'm bound.
** Way Over Yonder
* When you're down and troubled And you need some loving care And nothing, nothing is going right. Close your eyes and think of me And soon I will be there To brighten up even your darkest nights.
** You've Got a Friend · performance with James Taylor · performance by James Taylor (1971) · performance with Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan & Shania Twain · Boston Strong performance with James Taylor (30 May 2013)
* You just call out my name And you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall All you have to do is call And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. You've got a friend.
** You've Got a Friend
* Now ain't it good to know That you've got a friend When People can be so cold. They'll hurt you, kiss and desert you. And take your soul if you let them. Oh, but don't you let them.
** You've Got a Friend
* If you're out on the road, Feeling lonely, and so cold, All you have to do is call my name And I'll be there on the next train.Where you lead, I will follow Anywhere that you tell me to. If you need, you need me to be with you, I will follow where you lead.
** Where You Lead, co-written with Toni Stern
* You can't talk to a man, with a shotgun in his hand.
** Smackwater Jack, co-written with Gerry Goffin
* My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue An everlasting vision of the everchanging view A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold.
** Tapestry · 1981 performance
* He moved with some uncertainty, as if he didn't know Just what he was there for, or where he ought to go Once he reached for something golden hanging from a tree And his hand come down empty...
** Tapestry
* It seemed that he had fallen into someone's wicked spell And I wept to see him suffer, though I didn't know him well.
** Tapestry

### Music (1971)

* It's going to take some time this time To get myself in shape. I really fell out of line this time, I really missed the gate. The birds on the telephone line, (next time) Are cryin' out to me, (next time) And I won't be so blind next time And I'll find some harmony.
** It's Going to Take Some Time, co-written with Toni Stern
* Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, And sometimes the blues just get a hold of you. Just when you thought you had made it, All around the block people will talk. But I want to give it all that I've got. I just don't want, I don't want to waste it.
** Sweet Seasons, co-written with Toni Stern

### Rhymes & Reasons (1972)

* Green fields and rolling hills, Room enough to do what we will. Sweet dreams of yestertime Are running though my mind Of a place I left behind. Been so long, I can't remember when, I've been to Canaan and I wanna go back again.
** Been to Canaan

### Thoroughbred (1976)

* Only love is real. Everything else illusion Adding to the confusion of the way we connive At being alive. Tracing a line till we can define The thing that allows us to feel. Only love is real.
** Only Love Is Real

### Soundtrack to A League of Their Own (1992)

* Now and forever, you are a part of me And the memory cuts like a knife. Didn't we find the ecstasy, didn't we share the daylight When you walked into my life?Now and forever, I'll remember All the promises still unbroken. And think about all the words between us That never needed to be spoken.
** Now and Forever

## Misattributed

* And it's too late, baby, now it's too late Though we really did try to make it Somethin' inside has died and I can't hide And I just can't fake it.
** Though King wrote the music for "It's Too Late", the lyrics were entirely written by Toni Stern.

## External links

* Official website
* Profile at Songwriters Hall of Fame
* Carole King at IMDb
* "Will you still love me tomorrow?" by Rachel Louis Snyder at Salon, (19 June 1999)
* Review of Tapestry at All Music
National Public Radio reports
* The Timeless Reign of Carole King (19 June 1989)
* Tapestry on the NPR 100 (24 August 2000)
* Carole King's New Rhythm (21 October 2001)
* Carole King Invites Fans into the 'Living Room' (9 July 2005)