page_title: I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter
section_title: Composition
hierarchical_section_title: I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter / Composition
context_page_description: I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter is the third studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, originally released by MAM Records in September 1973. After becoming one of the most successful performers worldwide in 1972, O'Sullivan pursued new directions with the album, taking influence from rock music and funk and incorporating an array of then-new electric keyboards, as well as emphasizing a new rhythmical focus. The album was recorded "on and off" with producer Gordon Mills at the latter's studio, and although several overdubs were recorded in the United States, O'Sullivan referred to the album as an ultimately "very ad hock home based" project.
  Released months ahead of the album, "Get Down" was a number one single in the United Kingdom and also reached the top ten in the United States. In the ensuing months, O'Sullivan toured internationally for the first time. The release of the album in September coincided with a new rock-influenced image for the singer.
context_section_description: I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter was influenced by rock music, and updates O'Sullivan's sound by incorporating a selection of electronic keyboards played by himself and Mills, reflecting the emergence of such instruments at the time, although the album also features the singer's signature acoustic piano playing. O'Sullivan explained: "It was the early days of synths and clavinets, these instruments were emerging, much to any keyboard players' pleasure led in no small part by Stevie Wonder, so me and Gordon had some of these and just played around with them." Contemporary keyboard trends reflected on the album include the use of the electric piano and at one point a sound resembling a pipe organ. The album also features more ambitious rhythms, with an emphasis on percussion and incorporation of instruments like the bongoes, maracas and tambourine, while O'Sullivan's singing is more robust than on previous albums, the result of his voice improving over his live performances.
  The album breaks with an O'Sullivan tradition by not featuring a short, meta intro song, instead opening with the album's title track, which fuses blues and soul music, and features funk-styled guitar, reflecting the influence of Stevie Wonder. In the opinion of Tony Stewart, the following song "A Friend of Mine" returns O'Sullivan to the "gossipy writing" of Himself. The song's eccentric narrative plots the singer greeting women and offering them advice and his friendship. "They've Only Themselves to Blame" is one of several ballads on the album, detailing a couple thwarting their young son's attempt to romance, while "Who Knows, Perhaps, Maybe" features a bluesy electric piano and a four on the floor bass drum, again highlighting the album's Stevie Wonder influence. Side one closer "Where the Peaceful Water Flows" is another ballad which alternates between  and  time, and features a gospel-style ending.
  Similarly to the title track, "Ooh Baby" features a funk-inflected sound, and is defined by a muscular rhythm and diminished chords, while "I Have never Loved You as Much as I Love You Today" sees the singer assume the position of a serviceman stationed abroad writing home to his partner. "Not in a Million Years" is one of the album's experiments with different rhythms, fusing reggae with rhumba, and has been described as a "left-field musical gem" with harmonic and melodic surprises. "If You Love Me Like You Love Me" is loosely based on the theme of Dusty Springfield's hit "I Only Want to Be with You", while the hit single "Get Down" is built on a chugging pop rock groove and features chiming piano hits during the chorus. O'Sullivan explained the song's lyrics to Paul Gambaccini of Rolling Stone:
  "I didn't know what 'get down' means in America, nor 'dog' for that matter, until Gordon came back from the States and told me.  My lyrics are very British, and to me the girl in 'Get Down' is behaving like a dog - she's jumping up on him, so 'get down!' That's all. [...] If 'Get Down' really is interpreted as Gordon thought it might, we should sell ten million and put it on the soundtrack of Deep Throat. The whole point of it is to be a good disco record, just a nice rhyme, a simple story. I used to play it was a warm-up on the piano, then I heard the Faces' 'Cindy Incidentally' and that made me think of extending it into a song."
caption: The album reflects the emergence of electric keyboards (clavinet pictured).
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