♫ I Need You ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music, music history

Typically, the week starts on Monday, though some (most) calendars seem to start it on Sunday.  But you know … time is a manmade construct.  Only humans seem to need to divvy up life into years/months/weeks/days/hours/minutes and even seconds!  So, if I want to start the week on Wednesday … who’s gonna stop me, eh?  I was planning another ‘band week’ sometime soon, but hadn’t decided on the band yet, so I was just meandering along, playing whatever song struck my fancy.  Wednesday, I played a song, A Horse With No Name, by the band America. Then in a comment, Pete mentioned Ventura Highway by the same band, so I played that.  And then Keith and Clive rang in with notes about other songs by America, I listened, I liked, and so I decided to make this “America (the band) Week”!

Tonight, I opted for one of Keith’s suggestions that I did not recognize by the title, but as soon as I heard the opening notes, I remembered the song and remembered liking it a lot!

According to SongFacts …

This tender piano ballad finds Gerry Beckley singing about how he is ready to carry on now that his girl has left him. It seems he might wither in his quest, however, as he sings in the chorus, “I need you like the flower needs the rain.”

Beckley was just 16 when he wrote the song; at the time, he was in a band called Daze with Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek, who later became his bandmates in America. The trio, who were all the sons of American military personnel stationed in England, attended London Central High School, which served the children of those stationed at the nearby Air Force base.

This was included on America’s debut album and slated to be the first single. The band reconsidered, however, and decided to record a new song to release as a single instead. That single was “A Horse With No Name,” which shot to #1 in the US and #3 in the UK. “I Need You” was then released as the follow-up. Subsequent releases of the album included “Horse.”

In addition to singing lead on this track, Beckley also played piano and bass. Dewey Bunnell was on 6-string acoustic guitar, and Dan Peek played 12-string electric. Session man Dave Atwood played drums.

This charted in Canada at #5, the U.S. at #9, and didn’t seem to make it across the pond at all.

I Need You

America

We used to laugh, we used to cry
We used to bow our heads then, wonder why
And now you’re gone, I guess I’ll carry on
And make the best of what you’ve left to me
Left to me, left to me

I need you like the flower needs the rain
You know I need you, guess I’ll start it all again
You know I need you like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you, I need you

And every day, I’d laugh the hours away
Just knowing you were thinking of me
And then it came that I was put to blame
For every story told about me
About me, about me

I need you like the flower needs the rain
You know I need you, guess I’ll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you
I need you like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you, guess I’ll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you

I need you like the flower needs the rain
You know I need you, guess I’ll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you
I need you like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you, guess I’ll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you …

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38 thoughts on “♫ I Need You ♫”

  2. Sorry, Jill, but you just broke my heart! When I saw the title I thought, finally Jill is plsying a Kinks song. You never play The Kinks, I’m not sure why (or The Who either for thst matter!). One of my favourite British bsnds in the 60s, they had hit after hit after hit. Ray Davies was a terrific songwriter. I Need You may not have been one of his best, it was only a “B” side to Set Me Free, but it was still good enough to make the top ten on its own in Winnipeg, where we always made hits out of songs no one else cared about.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Play “Muskrat Love”. I retired 13 years ago, changing the clocks is a reminder that time is still important to some people. I like Sundays, it’s the only day I don’t have to go to church. Do nothing today, give yourself a break, let your imagination run away.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I have a sentimental attachment to this moody ballad. It came out when I was in HS. Then I graduated, joined the military, married, and ended up a remote assignment without my wife in the Philippines by 1976. “I Need You” was good background music when I was back in my barracks room thinking about my wife.

    Thanks for the memory. Hugs ‘n cheers

    Liked by 2 people

  5. I remember this one. I liked it OK when I first heard it, though I wasn’t aware of whose song it was, and just sort of guessed Bread. I found out later it was America, and respected them more for it, even as I enjoy/ed each of the bands. Just how it struck me. Thanks, Jill!

    Liked by 3 people

  7. Pingback: ♫ I Need You ♫ | Filosofa’s Word | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  9. America were a great band.

    As a teen I once owned the single Horse With No Name but for a reason that now escapes me swapped it for Jethro Tull’s Life’s a Long Song with the sister of one of my mates in my old garage band.
    Ah yes ..when we woz young.
    🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    • Hmmm … sounds like you got the short end of the stick in that bargain! Glad you enjoyed the song … I did play “Horse With No Name” a few days ago, and am planning a few more of their songs in the coming days, so stay tuned!

      Liked by 3 people

  10. Thanks for the mention. I always liked this one but it never felt right as a single. Apart from their debuts they have done very little in either chart here, which I’ve always felt was undervaluing a band I really like.

    Liked by 4 people

  11. Whenever possible, I buy calendars that have Monday as the first day of the week. The ones published by Taschen, which is based in Germany, usually do so. It’s been a long time since I attached any special importance to Sundays.

    Liked by 3 people

    • I’ll have to check into that … like you, I have little use for Sundays and in my mind the week begins on Monday. Sunday is just a day to wind down, maybe catch up on sleeping or reading, let somebody else do the cooking …

      Liked by 2 people

  13. Thanks for the shout out Jill. Interesting he wrote the song when he was only 16. It is a simple song, but their harmonies lift it to more prominence. It is one of my America favorites.

    Liked by 3 people

  15. Pingback: ♫ I Need You ♫ | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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