# Gilbert O'Sullivan

(not to be confused with the opera-writing duo of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan)
Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter.

## Song lyrics

Playlist on YouTube of some of the tracks listed below
* Do what you want to within reason but remember, take your time: nothing stops for those who can't afford to wait. The best advice that I can give you is to hold on to your head and as long as you are good and kind you'll always be a friend of mine. And it's true to say that a good friend is hard to find But I'd like to think that you are a friend of mine.
** "A Friend of Mine" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "A Friend of Mine" (song on YouTube)
* I don't know what makes a man or a woman even think that terror isn't evil. How could anyone have plans that would guarantee the death of thousands of people? And yet as I look back now on what happened, like the calls from those in planes they were trapped in, whatever they felt that day, "I love you": that was all they wanted to say.
** "All They Wanted to Say" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "All They Wanted to Say" (song on YouTube)
* It seems to me that there are more hearts broken in the world that can't be mended, left unattended. What do we do? What do we do?
** "Alone Again (Naturally)" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Alone Again (Naturally)" (song on YouTube)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, Live performance with orchestra, February 2016 (on YouTube)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, Live street performance outside Rough Trade West, April 2017 (on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Brush Arbor on YouTube) (banjo)
** (+ Cover version by Shirley Bassey on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by David Bayu, Vega Antares, Erikson Jayanto on YouTube)
** (+ Acoustic cover version by Sammy Copley on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Neil Diamond on YouTube)
** (+ Jazz cover version by Gautier Geoffroy, Khalil Chahine and others on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Fujii Kaze on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Ryan Lerman, Larry Goldings, Aaron Sterling on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Laura Oakes on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by the Pet Shop Boys (feat. Elton John) on YouTube) / (Alternative version (longer))
** (+ Cover version by Esther Phillips on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Ardhito Pramono on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Vonda Shepard on YouTube (with pictures and lyrics))
** (+ Cover version by Soffee on YouTube (includes lyrics))
** (+ Cover version by Suthipongse Thatphithakkul on YouTube (includes lyrics and guitar chords))
** (+ Cover version by Trang Tooc, Duy Khang, Khoa Le on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Diane Trask on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Joe Turone on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Sarah Vaughan on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Andy Williams on YouTube)
** (+ A substituted version by Nina Simone on YouTube)
** (+ Piano instrumental by Ed Baum (on State Street, Oct. 2017) on YouTube) / (Oct. 2018)
** (+ Trumpet instrumental by Don Ellis on YouTube)
** (+ Guitar instrumental by Daniel Estrem on YouTube)
** (+ Guitar instrumental by Sungha Jung on YouTube)
** (+ Orchestral instrumental, David Rose & Orchestra on YouTube)
* You say you got a big house out in the country with a ruddy great swimming pool. You say you got a lot of things I never had. That's true. But are you happy? Are you happy? Are you happy? When you get right down to the nitty-gritty, are you happy? You?
** "Are You Happy?" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Are You Happy?" (song on YouTube)
* At the very mention of your name I get shivers down my back and in my brain. The parts that used to function normally are now, as you can see, acting very strange. Oh, at the very mention of your name I don't know why but if I were tied up in chains I would somehow be released all problems too would cease my heart would never feel no pain. At the very mention of your name.
** "At The Very Mention Of Your Name" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "At The Very Mention Of Your Name" (song on YouTube. (Live performance in Japan, 1993.))
* I know that you've enjoyed all the good things money's given to you and that to have to live without them is not an easy thing to do. You take great pride in your appearance, all of which is second-to-none, and I can understand how you're feeling when you see yourself growing old, the man you love is never there to hold. But bear with me just a little bit longer. Honey, won't you bear with me, and I guarantee you that our love will grow stronger. Bear with me just a little bit longer. Honey, won't you bear with me?
** "Bear With Me" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Bear With Me" (song on YouTube)
* There's nothing in the world that I'd like more than to be left standing outside your door, where perhaps I might be asked to come in. There I could very easily demonstrate of what now appears to be my fate, you see I'm hooked on something and it's not heroin. Oh, I just can't get enough of you. No, I can't get enough. What am I gonna do? I've tried every trick in the book that's going, now I've decided that they're not worth knowing, my predicament is as simple as this: I'm not satisfied, and the reason is I just can't get enough of you.
** "Can't Get Enough of You" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Can't Get Enough of You" (song on YouTube)
* Clair, the moment I met you I swear, I felt as if something somewhere had happened to me which I couldn't see And then, the moment I met you again, I knew in my heart that we were friends, it had to be so it couldn't be no But try as hard as I might do, I don't know why you get to me in a way I can't describe. Words mean so little when you look up and smile.
** "Clair" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Clair" (song on YouTube.))
** (+ Live performance in Japan, 1993. On YouTube)
* Sometimes I think I don't know what I'm doing but I always end up doing what I know. And what I know may not, I know, be a great deal but what I know nobody can take, nobody can take, nobody can take away from me, no, no, no. Away from me, no, no, no. I do what I know. Doing what I know. Sometimes I think I don't know what I'm doing but I always end up doing what I know. Away we go, doing what I know.
** "Doing What I Know" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Doing What I Know" (song on YouTube)
* Once upon a time I drank a little wine, was as happy as could be, happy as could be, Now I'm just like a cat on a hot tin roof, Baby, what do you think you're doing to me? Told you once before and I won't tell you no more, so get down, get down, get down You're a bad dog, Baby but I still want you around, around I still want you around Hey hey hey
** "Get Down" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Get Down" (song on YouTube)
** (+ Duet with Lulu. On YouTube)
* When the evening is over, put your head upon my shoulder and I'll tell you something I believe is true: happiness is me and you. In a world so distorted, where the worst is best reported love may be something that will see us through Happiness is me and you.
** "Happiness is Me and You" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Happiness is Me and You" (song on YouTube)
* I've been over and I've been under, I've been through all kinds of hell. Trouble was not only my middle name, It was my first as well. Through the years, all I've encountered, I've just one thing to say: "Hold on to what you got and don't let it slip away." I've been taken for far more rides to places I've never been, stabbed so many times in the back I no longer feel a thing. Oh, ask me what all this has taught me and I'll tell you what I'll say: "Hold on to what you got and don't let it slip away. Save it for a rainy day."
** "Hold On To What You Got" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Hold On To What You Got" (song on YouTube)
** (+ Live performance in Japan, 1992. On YouTube)
* "I guess I'll always love you... I guess I'll always care. I guess I'll always love you... I guess I'll always care." "I guess I'll always love you... I guess I'll always care. I guess I'll always love you... I guess I'll always care."
** "I Guess I'll Always Love You" (song, duet)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "I Guess I'll Always Love You" (song on YouTube)
* Where to begin? The pain I am in, hard to know when to stop. Out of the blue a dream came true, only to see it drop. I'm no genius where love's concerned, more fool me to pretend. Whatever it takes, while my heart aches I'll never love again.
** "I'll Never Love Again" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "I'll Never Love Again" (song on YouTube)
* "I love it, but it doesn't knock me out. I think it's great, but it could be better. I like it a lot, it's just not my cup of tea, yet if you were to change the melody, take out a part that you think should be here, put in a part that wouldn't otherwise appear? Well, it's only an idea." "I hate it, but that doesn't mean it's bad. In other words, I quite enjoyed it. Apart from which, it's the best you've ever done yet if you were to change the words it would be superb... with perhaps a different melody...?"
** "I Love It But..." (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "I Love It But..." (song on YouTube)
* I have not a girl that's mine I have not a friend I have not got a place to live Indeed it seems the end But it ain't, for me as I've got myself, which matters most throughout the life I lead. I have not a penny in my pocket, and if soon I should be found just as badly broken I won't gloom cos it ain't, for me as I've got myself which matters most throughout the life I lead
** "It Ain't For Me" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "It Ain't For Me" (song on YouTube)
* I've never known a girl lovelier than you If I did I would be lying - that I wouldn't do Come on, have fun, mmm, make my day tonight Nothing really matters when you are in love It's the only institution I'm not weary of Don't be lonely, mmm, make my day tonight
** "Make My Day" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Make My Day" (song on YouTube)
* You'd never think, to look at you'd never think to look at that building there, is where there used to be trees. You'd never think it, would you? You'd never think it, would you? That building there is where there used to be trees. That building there is where there... That building there is where there.. That building there is where there... used to be fields.
** "Me (reprise)" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Me (reprise)" (song on YouTube)
* Miss my love today as I miss the stars that shine above telling me one day my love will come to me again. Miss my love, I'd say, is the only thing that I can do. I just can't live with someone new reminding me of her.
** "Miss My Love Today" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Miss My Love Today" (song on YouTube)
* I have just one regret in life: that chance I wasted when you said goodbye. And to be honest, at the time, though I could see, I must have been blind. Oh what I'd give to have you back, relive those moments once again, I'd take your hand and we would fly, Just you and me, my love and I.
** "My Love and I" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "My Love and I" (song on YouTube)
* Once I was hailed as a prodigal son. In other words, loved by everyone. Now it's so different: wherever I go, nobody wants to know. Tried having meetings. Running about. Same as I did when I started out. Now though, it's different: wherever I go, nobody wants to know.
** "Nobody Wants To Know" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Nobody Wants To Know" (song on YouTube)
* No matter how I try I just can't say goodbye. No matter what you say looks like I'm here to stay. No matter where I go I don't know if you know but everywhere we've been I'm kept in quarantine.
** "No Matter How I Try" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "No Matter How I Try" (song on YouTube)
** (+ Live performance on Top of the Pops. On YouTube)
** (+ Live performance in Japan, 1993. On YouTube)
* When I'm drinking my Bonaparte shandy eating more than enough apple pies will I glance at my screen and see real human beings starve to death right in front of my eyes? Nothing old, nothing new, nothing ventured, nothing gained, nothing stillborn or lost, nothing further than proof, nothing wilder than youth, nothing older than time, nothing sweeter than wine, nothing physically recklessly hopelessly blind, nothing I couldn't say Nothing. Why? 'Cos today nothing rhymed
** "Nothing Rhymed" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Nothing Rhymed" (song on YouTube)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan. A live performance. On YouTube
** Gilbert O'Sullivan. A performance with orchestra, c.2017. On YouTube
** Gilbert O'Sullivan. Observations about "Nothing Rhymed", fifty years on. (On YouTube)
** (+ A cover version by Franklin Brown on YouTube)
** (+ A cover version by Colleen Coughlan on YouTube)
** (+ A cover version by Conor McCauley on YouTube)
** (+ A cover version by The Ocelots on YouTube)
** (+ Guitar instrumental by Phil McGarrick)
* From the looks you're giving me I can tell, as well see if I've done something you think's wrong: no words need be conveyed. Then again, when we embrace, from the look that's on your face if heaven is a place on earth right here is where it's been.
** "No Way" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "No Way" (song on YouTube)
* Ooh, baby, your love is so bad You, baby, you're driving me mad Ooh, baby, your kiss is so sweet You, baby, knock me off my feet Ooh, baby, I wish you were mine Ooh, baby, we'd have a good time Ooh, what can I do?
** "Ooh, Baby" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Ooh, Baby" (song on YouTube)
* One minute you say you will and the next you won't, One minute you want me and the next you don't, You're turning me upside down, Giving me the runaround, Don't think that I don't know - I do, Don't think that I won't go. You watch me: It isn't out of question
** "Out of the Question" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Out of the Question" (song on YouTube)
** (+ Performed live, 2017.On YouTube)
* Say it is. Say it isn't. Say it's someone else instead. Say it's good when you don't like fishing. You just knock it on the head. You just knock it on the head. Say goodbye. Say good morning. Say good evening and good noon. Say "Hello, tell me how you're feeling." "Very well thanks and how are you?"
** "Say Goodbye" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Say Goodbye" (song on YouTube)
* I never thought I'd see the day when murder would become so commonplace. Hardly a minute ever goes by without a murder taking place. And why? Well, for a start, the punishment's not hard: they sentence you to life but you're out in no time.
** "Talking of Murder" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Talking of Murder" (song on YouTube)
* Once in a while, out of the blue, I might appear somewhat rude, but don't be alarmed or get upset. Just say to yourself "This I'll forget". When I come home after being away it might do me good just to hear you say: "Darlin' don't move an inch, keep perfectly still, now do with me what you will."
** "That's Love" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "That's Love" (song on YouTube)
* That's the kind of love I... That's the kind of love I... That's the kind of love I need
** "That's The Kind Of Love I Need" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "That's The Kind Of Love I Need" (song on YouTube)
* When I'm alone with you it seems all my dreams come true It makes me feel so good I just can't help loving you Cos you're everything I could hope for: that's why I love you Sometimes I tell myself this girl don't love you no more and that some day with someone new she'll walk from your door But if you did, my world would break in two, that's why I love you And any time I see your face something very unusual takes place: all my inhibitions disappear now that you are here
** "That's Why I Love You" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "That's Why I Love You" (song on YouTube)
* You were the best fun I ever had You gave me a love that couldn't be bad You taught me things that I thought were rude Oh, ohhh, you were the best girl I ever knew (You were the best girl I ever knew) We were a couple so much in love We gave to each other over and above You made my life and I'm glad Oh, ohhh, you were the best fun I ever had You were the best fun I ever had
** "The Best Fun I Ever Had" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "The Best Fun I Ever Had" (song on YouTube)
* Somebody told me once money does not grow on trees. Well, if that's true, then how do you explain apples oranges and lemons, not forgetting melons?
** "The Golden Rule" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "The Golden Rule" (song on YouTube)
* It's the same the whole world over. Every year we get a little bit older. No matter what you say, no matter what you do Rich or poor, you know it's gonna happen to you.
** "The Same the Whole World Over" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "The Same the Whole World Over" (song on YouTube)
* The way things used to be not so long ago when we were young and free. The way things used to be not so long ago you were loving me every night and every day, strong in every way passion glowing like a fire, burning with desire. Whatever happened?
** "The Way Things Used To Be" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "The Way Things Used To Be" (song on YouTube)
* You seem to be wanting everything yesterday. Always the impossible. That's what you seem to portray. Give me one good reason why even if I stay, you won't walk away from me tomorrow. Today.
** "Tomorrow, Today" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Tomorrow, Today" (song on YouTube)
* There is too much attention paid to him who shot at he and to how he got away but didn't quite. Yes there's too much attention So much so that we'll believe he's not guilty of the crime which he's being tried So forgive me when I tell you I ain't got no place to go I ain't got no one to talk to got no one left to say hello
** "Too Much Attention" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Too Much Attention" (song on YouTube)
* What a way to show I love you Other than below or above you What a way to kiss each other goodbye What a way to start tomorrow Knowing that there'll be no sorrow What a way to keep each other alive
** "What a Way (To Show I Love You)" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "What a Way (To Show I Love You)" (song on YouTube)
* What's in a kiss? Have you ever wondered just what it is? More perhaps than just a moment of bliss? Tell me what's in a kiss. What's in a dream? Is it all the things you'd like to have been? All the places that you haven't yet seen? Tell me what's in a dream.
** "What's in a Kiss?" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "What's in a Kiss?" (song on YouTube)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "What's in a Kiss?" (A 1981 live performance, with other material. On YouTube)
* So where did you go to, who did you see? How did you know I’d be there? Oh, and did you remember not to forget? Tell me cos I don’t... Tell me cos I don’t care Don’t care.
** "Where Did You Go To?" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Where Did You Go To?" (song on YouTube. As audio.)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Where Did You Go To?" (Official video, on YouTube)
* When the world you live in really gets you down, when you feel a pain inside you starting to pound, and the girl you love, she doesn't want to know, let an old friend, as a godsend, lead you to where peaceful waters flow
** "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" (song on YouTube)
* Who was it that came to see you when there was no one else in sight? And who was it that stayed over an hour (and not as I'd expected, overnight)? It was me, and I'll tell you why: Oh, I did it because of my pure unabashed devotion to loving (pure unabashed devotion to loving) you, you, you, you. Who was it that caught you falling?
** "Who Was It?" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Who Was It?" (song on YouTube)
** (+ Cover version by Davy Jones on YouTube)
* Why after all these years we've been together must you behave as if we'd hardly ever spoken, let alone met? It seems that you're happy as long as I'm upset. Oh why, oh why, oh why? Is it that you don't love me? Oh why? Have you just had enough of me? Oh why do I always have cry myself to sleep seven days a week?
** "Why, Oh Why, Oh Why?" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Why, Oh Why, Oh Why?" (song on YouTube)
* Sat for hours in front of a screen Mouse will tell you what you are seeing When you get home, how to relax Another screen for you to look at Welcome to the world of work It's a kind of living where you give more than you'll ever receive Welcome to the world of work Only place a loyal servant can be kicked in the teeth
** "World of Work" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "World of Work" (song on YouTube)
* You may have given me the breaks, amended all my life's mistakes, ooh, but wait a minute, you don't own me. You may be more than just a friend on whose assistance I depend ooh, but wait a minute, you don't own me.
** "You Don't Own Me"/"If I Know You" (song)
** Gilbert O'Sullivan, "You Don't Own Me"/"If I Know You" (song combination on YouTube)

## External links

Some websites:
* Gilbert O'Sullivan - Official website
* Gilbert O'Sullivan - YouTube website
On YouTube:
* "The Story Behind the Songs". Working as a songwriter. - Interview, 2013 (9 mins)
* Interview with Marco Gandolfi, editor of Music News Ltd. - May 2015 (17 mins)
* Interview for Neil McCormick's 'Needle Time' - 2015 (48 mins)
* Interview with Danny Baker on BBC Radio 5 - February 2016 (24 mins)
* Interview with Studio 10, celebrating 50 years in showbiz - 2018 (7 mins)
* Telephone interview by Caswell Cooke - 2020 (26 mins)
* Interview on This Morning - 29 January 2021 (7 mins)
* "Just Gilbert" (making music; having fun) - 2020 (3 mins)