“I can’t live if I have to live without you,” sings in the song Without You by the rock band Badfinger. Based on the personal experience of the authors, the song is often called prophetic, because Pete Ham and Tom Evans committed suicide. However, their decisions to leave the world were related to financial problems, and not to love relationships.
Let us recall the history of the creation of the legendary ballad, which conquered the charts performed by various musicians.
The history of creation and the meaning of the song Without You – Badfinger
Once Pete Ham (Pete Ham) was going to take a walk with his girlfriend Beverly Tucker. When they were already at the door, Tom Evans said that he had an idea for a song. Pete didn’t want to change plans, but Beverly convinced him to take the job.
That day, Pete wrote the lyrics to the song, originally called If It’s Love. In the words of the song, he refers to the girl. She leaves with a smile on her lips and sadness in her eyes, leaving him heartbroken.
Difficulties arose with the chorus, and then Evans remembered the previously written song I Can’t Live, dedicated to his wife Marianne. The lines “I can’t live, if living is without you, I can’t live, I can’t give any more” fit Ham’s verses perfectly. So the future hit was born.
The authors did not believe in the success of the track. They put the track on the last line of the first side of the album No Dice (1970) and did not want to release it as a single. But it was this song that became the biggest hit in the history of Badfinger.
Cover versions of Without You
The original did not chart, but nearly two hundred covers of Without You were subsequently recorded.
In October 1971, the song was performed by Harry Nilsson. His version topped the pop charts for several weeks on both sides of the Atlantic.
Mariah Carey’s Without You enjoyed incredible success. The pop diva released the song in 1994. Her track climbed to the top of a dozen charts around the world.
Interesting Facts
- Ruined Pete Ham hanged himself three days before his twenty-eighth birthday, leaving his pregnant wife behind. Tom Evans followed a few years later. The cause is said to have been a violent altercation with guitarist Joey Molland over royalties from Without You. Friends claim that Evans was unable to recover from Ham’s death.
- When Harry Nilsson first heard Without You, he mistook it for a Beatles song.
- The British Academy honored the authors of the composition with the Ivor Novello Award.
- The song appears on the soundtracks of many films, including “Casino” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary”.
Without You Lyrics
No I can’t forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving,
But I guess that’s just the way the story goes
You always smile, but in your eyes,
Your sorrow shows, yes it shows
No I can’t forget tomorrow
When I think of all my sorrow,
How I had you there, but then I let you go
And now it’s only fair
That I should let you know what you should know
I can’t live if living is without you
I can’t live, I can’t live any more
I can’t live if living is without you
I can’t give, I can’t give anymore
Without You Lyrics
No, I can’t forget that evening
Your face when you say goodbye
But I think that’s how life goes
The smile does not leave your lips, but in your eyes
Sorrow is visible, it is visible
I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow
As soon as I remember the sorrows,
That you were with me until I lost you
And now it’s only fair
Let you know what you need to know
I can’t live if I have to live without you
I can’t live, I can’t live anymore
I can’t live if I have to live without you
I can’t live I can’t help it
Song quote
…the killer song of all time.
Paul McCartney
