Nothing Rhymed

About Nothing Rhymed

"Nothing Rhymed" is a song by the Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, written and recorded in 1970. It was released in October 1970. It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, number 2 in Ireland, and number 1 in the Netherlands. It was his debut hit single in the UK. "Nothing Rhymed" subsequently appeared on his 1971 album, Himself. O'Sullivan has said seeing film of starving children in Africa on television for the first time prompted him to write the song. Renowned session bassist Herbie Flowers features on the original recording. Pop historian Paul Gambaccini described it as "one of the great songs of all time" in the 2007 BBC documentary Kings of 70s Romance. In 2012, Paul Weller declared "Nothing Rhymed" and "Alone Again (Naturally)" as "two of my favourite songs, great lyrics, great tunes". The song is among O'Sullivan's most covered. Tom Jones who, like O'Sullivan, was managed by Gordon Mills, 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 covered it on her 1972 debut album. It was also covered by The Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings on his self-titled first solo album released in 1976. Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner covered the song on her 2005 album Songs of Love and Death. Since 2002, Morrissey 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. more »