"Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was recorded in 1972 at the same time as his album '' Back to Front'' and was a worldwide hit. The single spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

's''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

between late July and early September 1972 in America. It ranked number two in the year-end chart (behind

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", " W ...

's " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") and sold more than two million copies. The song was involved in a 1991 court case which held that sampling of music can constitute copyright infringement.

Lyrics

"Alone Again (Naturally)" is a melancholy, introspective

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. In the first verse, the singer contemplates suicide after having been left "in the lurch at a church"; in the second, he wonders if there is a God; finally, he laments the death of his parents. O'Sullivan has said the song is not autobiographical: for example, his mother was alive during its composition, and he was not close to his father, who was cruel to his mother and died when the singer was 11 years old.

Reception

The song received extensive radio airplay in the months after its release, and was critically praised. O'Sullivan commented that “

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

covered 'Alone Again (Naturally)' and said he couldn't believe a 21-year-old wrote it, but for me it was just one song I had written.” Neil Sedaka stating when he covered the song in 2020 that he wished that he himself had written the song, because its complexity was more typical of someone much older than 21.

Chart performance

Between late July and early September 1972 in America the single spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on ''

's''

– interrupted by Three Dog Night's "

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

" – and ranked no. 2 in the year-end chart (behind

's " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"). Both O'Sullivan's and Flack's singles spent six weeks at number one, 11 weeks in the Top Ten, 15 weeks in the Top 40 and 18 weeks on the Hot 100. In a decade-end survey as counted down on syndicated radio show Casey Kasem's

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Sea ...

, using ''Billboard'' statistics, "Alone Again (Naturally)" ranked five, with Debby Boone's " You Light Up My Life" at number one. It also spent six weeks at number one on ''Billboards

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart. In April 1972 "Alone Again" peaked at no. 3 on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Copyright lawsuit

Grand Upright Music, Ltd v. Warner Bros. Records Inc. was a

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

case heard in 1991 by the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

. The case pitted O'Sullivan against Biz Markie after the rapper sampled O'Sullivan's song "Alone Again (Naturally)". The court ruled that sampling without permission can be copyright infringement. The judgment changed the hip hop music industry, requiring that music sampling be preapproved by the original copyright owners to avoid a lawsuit.

Notable cover versions

Several artists have covered the song. * A recording by

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

was the title track for the U.S. release of his album of cover songs later in 1972. * Nina Simone, included as a bonus track on the 1988 digital reissue of her 1982 album '' Fodder on My Wings.'' Simone's version has rewritten lyrics, and refer to her troubled relationship with her late father * Lazlo Bane's frontman

Chad Fischer Chad Fischer is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer from Santa Monica, California, also known as the frontman of the band Lazlo Bane. Early years Chad Fischer's early work was being a drummer for the ban ...

, from the 2009 animated film '' Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs''. Fischer's rewritten lyrics humorously explores the desire of an acorn for the fictional prehistoric squirrel who once chased it. * Diana Krall released a duet version with

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

on her 2015 album ''Wallflower''. * Vulfmon (Jack Stratton, of

Vulfpeck Vulfpeck is an American funk band founded in 2011 by Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss and Joe Dart. The band has released four extended plays, five studio albums and a live album, having released all of their music independently. The band ...

) released a version, with vocals by Monica Martin and flute by Hailey Niswanger, for his 2022 album ''Here We Go Jack''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alone Again (Naturally) 1972 singles Songs written by Gilbert O'Sullivan Gilbert O'Sullivan songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Brazil Number-one singles in France Songs about death Songs about loneliness Songs about suicide MAM Records singles 1970s ballads 1971 songs