"Nothing Rhymed" is a song written and recorded by the Irish singer-songwriter

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s, with hits including " Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair" and "Get Down". His songs are of ...

. It was released in 1970. The song was O'Sullivan's first hit single in the UK. It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, number 2 in Ireland, and number 1 in the Netherlands. "Nothing Rhymed" subsequently appeared on his 1971 album, ''

Himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its Antecedent (grammar), antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and ref ...

''.

Background

According to O'Sullivan, he wrote the song after seeing film footage of starving children in Africa (during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

) on television for the first time. Later, after being signed by manager

Gordon Mills Gordon William Mills (15 May 1935 – 29 July 1986) was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter. He was born in Madras, British India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. During the 1960s and 1970s, ...

, the song was then recorded and released. Renowned session bassist

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. ...

features on the original recording. Pop historian

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and ...

described it as "one of the great songs of all time" in the 2007 BBC documentary ''Kings of 70s Romance''. In 2012,

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

declared "Nothing Rhymed" and "

Alone Again (Naturally) "Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. Recorded in 1971, it became a worldwide hit. The song did not originally appear on his 1972 studio album '' Back to Front'', but has been included in reissues ...

" as "two of my favourite songs, great lyrics, great tunes".

Cover versions

The song is among O'Sullivan's most covered.

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

who, like O'Sullivan, was managed by

, covered it on his 1971 album ''She's a Lady''. That same year, a faithful rendering of the song but with new Italian lyrics was released by I Profeti as the title track of their second album ''Era Bella''.

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

covered it on her 1972 self-titled debut album. It was also covered by

the Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

frontman

Burton Cummings Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is best known for leading the Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career. Cummings has been induc ...

on his self-titled first solo album released in 1976. Canadian singer-songwriter

Emm Gryner Emm Gryner (born in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfield. Early life Gryn ...

covered the song on her 2005 album '' Songs of Love and Death''. Since 2002,

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

has occasionally covered "Nothing Rhymed" in concert. It has been noted that Morrissey's song " Yes I Am Blind" bears a musical resemblance to the song.

Charts

References

External links

Gilbert O Sullivan - Nothing Rhymed
at

TopPop ''TopPop'' was a Dutch television programme. It was the first regular dedicated pop music television series in the Dutch language area. The Netherlands broadcaster AVRO aired the programme weekly from 22 September 1970 to 27 June 1988. Presenter ...

, 26 October 1980 {{authority control 1970 songs 1970 singles Gilbert O'Sullivan songs Songs written by Gilbert O'Sullivan Number-one singles in the Netherlands MAM Records singles 1970s in Irish music