Solitary Singles

A recent study of lifestyles determined the eight healthy habits that can add the most years to a human life. It’s a list of what to do (four) and what not to do (another four) to live longer. All eight are fairly commonsense, but one in particular stood out to me: Surround yourself with positive social relationships.  You’ll increase your chances of a longer life by five percent, and you won’t be able to claim COVID-y words like “lonely” and “isolated”.

Let’s not make this a sad blog post, okay?  I could spend the rest of my paragraphs talking about loneliness and isolation, but why bother when so many musicians have already done so before me?  “Lonely” songs go back decades.  In 1960, one of the biggest solitary singles was Roy Orbison’s Only The Lonely.  The same year, Elvis released Are You Lonesome Tonight?  And anybody who remembers the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby (1966) knows Eleanor’s story is all about loneliness.

The 1960s is a little too far back for my purposes.  I’d rather focus on two more recent songs you know (from popular re-recordings) and another one you might know.  One thing’s for sure; all three play in my brain now and again, but especially when I’m “Alone” or “All by Myself”.

Alone

The power ballad made famous by Heart (and then Celine Dion) is not so much about being alone but about wanting to be with a particular someone else… but not being able to.  “Alone’s” lyrics voice the frustration of a romantic longing.  It’s more about how do I get you alone than actually being alone.  There’s even this suggestion of before versus after: Till now I always got by on my own.  But the song’s final lines – nothing but repeating, wailing, unsatisfied “alones” – gets me every time.  Heart’s version of “Alone” spent three weeks at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and still makes an occasional appearance on the radio.

All by Myself

Even though this was another Celine Dion’s hit (what’s with all the loneliness, Celine?), no one who lived through the 1970s would ever take “All by Myself” away from Eric Carmen.  The song hit #2 on Billboard’s Top 100 and sold more than a million copies (back when listeners actually purchased music).  “All by Myself” is also categorized as a power ballad; “a style of music that often deals with romantic or intimate relationships… usually in a solemn but poignant manner”.  The second verse is a good example:

Livin’ alone
I think of all the friends I’ve known
But when I dial the telephone
Nobody’s home

Like “Alone”, there’s no happy ending to “All by Myself”. In fact, the lyrics are disconsolate from start to finish (yet somehow they work).  Also, trivia buffs, you’ll hear the song’s melody in the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s classical Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, which is odd but intentional.

Alone Again (Naturally)

I find it fascinating when a song sounds happy but really isn’t.  Maybe that’s why Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” has stayed with me all these years.  It’s easily the “loneliest” song of the three I cover today, and seems to take pride in being so from start to finish.  “Alone Again” manages to pack suicide, being left at the altar, wondering if there’s a God, and losing one’s parents into a single set of lyrics, layered on top of a merry duet of piano and guitar.  The song spent six weeks at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 and was re-recorded by several others, including two American Neils (Diamond and Sedaka).  But it’s Irishman O’Sullivan’s rendition I’ll always hear in my head.

Regarding those healthy habits I mentioned earlier, I think my report card’s looking pretty good.  So good in fact, I can enjoy these chart-topping “lonely” songs without getting down.  I hope you can do the same.

Some content sourced from the CNN article, “These 8 habits could add up to 24 years to your life, study says”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

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Author: Dave

Five hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

21 thoughts on “Solitary Singles”

  1. I remember Alone Again [Naturally] and being a teen who found is so sad. Clapton had one too, Lonely Stranger that used to pull at my heart strings. Now I listen to songs about loneliness and enjoy them for what they are, a glimpse into how life doesn’t always go your way. Don’t know if that’s because I surround myself with positive social relationships– or because I just got older and wiser.

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    1. Good perspective, Ally. I imagine the age I was when I first heard these songs and wonder, why did I like them at all? Maybe I didn’t really listen to the lyrics. Today, older and wiser, I realize they’re refreshingly honest takes on life.

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  2. There’s nothing like a good old, “I’m so alone” song. I think I manage to do most healthy life style stuff, but exercise and me don’t really get along that well. I do exercise, sometimes, often, most weeks … I know I do it because my body complains every time I do.

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    1. Exercise always tops these kind of lists so I think more of us need to get the hint. And yes, it’s annoying the body doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to.

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  3. Dave, I always felt “Alone Again (Naturally)” was a first-class “downer” song. The sad lyrics don’t sync with the music which seems so upbeat. You mention the two Neils. Back in the day I nearly wore down the grooves in my Neil Diamond albums and 45s. The first song I remember hearing by him was “Solitary Man” which was a sad song about being alone after a few women “did him wrong” and it was the first 45 record that I bought with my allowance. I can still picture the yellow label on that record with its yellow plastic insert spinning around on the turntable of my portable record player. Google tells me that the song debuted in 1966, but I may have bought the 45 a year or two later. I really liked Neil Diamond and saw him in concert several times. I also liked Linda Ronstadt and the sad strains of “I Never Will Marry” from her “Simple Dreams” album (my favorite album) – the epitome of going it alone and “manless” – what a heartbreaking song. She never did marry in real life either.

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    1. My brother had a mad teenage crush on Linda Ronstadt so by association I know all of her music. Didn’t know she never married. Solitary Man is a great song, though I’m thinking of the music more than the lyrics. And your comments make me realize just about every singer probably covers an “alone” song at some point in their career.

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      1. Your brother had good taste Dave. Linda Ronstadt is my all-time favorite female vocalist – her “Simple Dreams” album was my favorite album. She had relationships with J.D. Souther and also her manager, but that was it – she never married. I think “alone” sells records and I”ll bet there are a lot of “alone” country tunes out there as well.

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  5. Celine is the queen of the power ballads! Your mention of the Elvis song reminds me of childhood, my mom LOVES Elvis. So much so that she would somehow convince us to rent his movies when we would go to Blockbuster for movie nights. What other 7 year old would pick Elvis movies out of the whole store ha!

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  6. Your post got me thinking about the components of songs – the instruments and the voice. For me, the lyrics are less about the meaning of the words and more about the sound of the voice in conjunction with the instruments.
    For that reason, I probably couldn’t make a list of ‘lonely’ songs! Some songs, though, make me very sad – they are the ones I hear for the first time on a sad occasion. The Piano Guys video,’ Beethoven’s 5 Secrets’ is one of those.

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    1. I’ve never heard of The Piano Guys, Margy, but it was an interesting read on Wikipedia. Just a group of ordinary guys hired to promote a music store, and given their popularity I’m surprised I’m not familiar with them. Beethoven’s 5 Secrets is a beautiful, haunting melody.

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      2. I love “march songs” like this one, and the video must’ve been fun to make. Celtic Thunder performed a similar one for Ireland as the closing number for its concerts.

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    1. If there’s such a thing as a “Sophisticated Solitary Single”, Sound of Silence is a great example. The lyrics are more introspective than those of the three songs I presented. Might be my favorite S&G song. Hang on, I take that back. How can you beat “Feelin’ Groovy”? 🙂

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  8. Excellent examples of songs about loneliness! Sinatra made a lot of money off that state in the 50s, with whole albums, including Only The Lonely and Where Are You..

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    1. I knew you’d have a thought or two here, J P. Didn’t know Sinatra covered those songs! Then again, I’m probably more familiar with more recent versions.

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