"You and Me Against the World" is a song written by

Kenny Ascher Kenneth Lee Ascher (born October 26, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema production ...

and Paul Williams, recorded by

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

for her 1974 album ''

Love Song for Jeffrey ''Love Song for Jeffrey'' is the fifth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on March 25, 1974, by Capitol Records. The album focused on her family, giving special attention to those who had died within the past ye ...

''. "You and Me Against the World" was the first written by Williams teaming up with Ascher, a member of his band. It began as a gag song. Williams and Ascher had a discussion about their favorite songwriters which led to the spontaneous composition on the subject whose tune, Ascher then realized, had real hit potential. The song is sentimental in its lyrics, discussing "all the times we cried" and "when one of us is gone and one is left to carry on." Williams himself debuted "You and Me Against the World" on his 1974 album ''

Here Comes Inspiration ''Here Comes Inspiration'' is a studio album by Paul Williams, released in 1974. Notable songs from the album include " Rainy Days & Mondays", "You & Me Against the World" and "If We Could Still Be Friends". Kenny Ascher was credited for the pro ...

'', singing it as a traditional love ballad. Helen Reddy considered the lyrics too "paternalistic" to be convincing as a woman's declaration of love for a man. Instead, she interpreted it as a mother singing to a child, which her version clarified by her young daughter Traci's speaking to "Mommy" at the start and end. Williams’s version includes additional lyrics pertaining to circus: “Life can be circus/They underpay and overwork us/Though we seldom get our due/And when each day is through/I bring my tired body home/And look around for you...” Released as the second single from ''Love Song For Jeffrey'', "You and Me Against the World" reached Number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in September 1974 and became the fourth of Reddy's six consecutive

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

Number Ones. The song did equally well in Canada.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

"You and Me Against the World" had also been recorded by Ann Burton,

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Canad ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, Matt Monro, and

Matt Monro Jr Matthew Frederick Monro (born 21 February 1964) is a British singer. The son of Matt Monro, he often performs his father's work. In 1977, when Monro junior was 13, he was invited by his father to join him on stage to perform a duet. When he s ...

. A Swedish rendering, "Du Och Jag Emot En Värld", was recorded by

Lill-Babs Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers. ...

References

External links