You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.
“You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” is a song written and produced by Phil Spector. His fingerprints are all over it. The “Wall of Sound” is in full effect. There are no pauses in the music, there are twenty instruments and voices going at once—specifically the orchestration is mixed highly. But somehow it comes out sounding great. The Righteous Brothers don’t really do harmonies in the traditional sense, but their voices blend well to create a nice sound. More often they alternate versus.
The lyrics are simple and fairly standard for pop in the mid-sixties. I’d argue the gap between rock and pop was never greater than the mid-sixties. Compare this to Like a Rolling Stone, which came out at the same time. It is a completely different world, especially lyrically. Nonetheless this song is very satisfying.
I particularly like the outro with the falsetto. The song sounds a little less structured during that part and it suits the lyrics of a man who is frustrated by the change he sees in his woman. He sounds almost frantic as he yells, “please…I need your love.”
You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling Lyrics
You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips
And there’s no tenderness like before in your fingertips
You’re trying hard not to show it
But baby, baby I know it
You lost that lovin’ feelin’
Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’
You lost that lovin’ feelin’
Now it’s gone, gone, gone, whoa-oh
Now there’s no welcome look in your eyes when I reach for you
And now you’re starting to criticize little things I do
It makes me just feel like crying
‘Cause baby, something beautiful’s dyin’
You lost that lovin’ feelin’
Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’
You lost that lovin’ feelin’
Now it’s gone, gone, gone, whoa-oh
Baby, baby, I’d get down on my knees for you
If you would only love me like you used to do, yeah
We had a love, a love, a love you don’t find everyday
So don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t let it slip away
Baby, baby, baby, baby
I beg you please, please, please, please
I need your love, need your love
I need your love, I need your love
So bring it on back, so bring it on back
Bring it on back, bring it on back
Bring back that lovin’ feelin’
Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’
Bring back that lovin’ feelin’
‘Cause it’s gone, gone, gone
And I can’t go on, whoa-oh
Bring back that lovin’ feelin’
Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’
Bring back that lovin’ feelin’
‘Cause it’s gone, gone, gone
Songwriters: Phil Spector / Barry Mann / Cynthia Weil
Great song. I prefer the Hall and Oates version.