The song begins and ends with a spoken narrator remarking on how he was once happy with a woman; however, she left him, so he passes the days by partaking in leisure activities, such as going to the movies, or to the park, where he tries to get relief by telling jokes to the children. Much to his dismay, the woman does not return or attempt to communicate with him as he had hoped. The narrator ends the song, in a spoken voice, musing on how foolish he was for believing the woman of his dreams would always be around, thinking that he had her in the palm of his hand. Some radio edits have omitted the spoken dialogue. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top of the BillboardR&B Singles chart in November 1971.[1] It also reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1972, and was a UK hit again in 1975 when reissued as a double A-side with "Oh Girl", this time peaking at No. 5.[2]
The song was included in the 2001 list of songs that Clear Channel Communications warned its radio stations that they "might not want to play" after 9/11 - presumably because family members and loved ones of the victims and those missing would find the lyrics unsettling.
References[]
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 117.
^ Jump up to: abRoberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 103. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.