"If You Know What I Mean" is a song written and recorded by

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 List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

. It is a track from Diamond's 1976 album, '' Beautiful Noise'', and was his third number 1 on the

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

chart, where it spent two weeks. "If You Know What I Mean" went to number 1 for two nonconsecutive weeks and peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In Canada, the song reached number 19 on the pop singles chart and hit number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Background

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 advertis ...

'' described "If You Know What I Mean" as a "powerful ballad", stating that Diamond sings with more emotion than he had in the recent past, and also praised

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

's production. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song "has a couple of diverse, yet distinct musical moods" and that "the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, underscored by a first class

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

section, builds the song up to an emotional peak." Diamond has stated that the song is a "tender recollection" of a relationship in his teens, in which he successfully seduced a significantly older woman.Bream, Jon (2009). ''Neil Diamond Is Forever: The Illustrated Story of the Man and His Music'' (Voyageur Press), page 89.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links