I thought you’d always be there/
I almost believed you…

Genesis’ “In Too Deep” can be interpreted several ways and you couldn’t be faulted for any number of different reads. Essentially, the song is about a romantic relationship that is coming to a head. There are actually two narrators: let’s call them the guy and the girl. The guy seems to be uncertain about making a commitment—though he does make promises with his words. The woman is just starting to realize that his actions are not matching up.

The guy wants to stay together; he thinks they have a good thing going. However, the woman has come to a realization: she loves him, but she can’t take his lack of commitment anymore. She knows what she wants now. She loves him and needs him, but she’s in too deep. It is time to let go.

He is not ready to let go as he pleads, and admits things are his fault. He is getting concerned because she is no longer looking at him lovingly…she is looking right through him. But she has made up her mind. They both feel disappointment about the promises they made to each other. She believed him, but not anymore.

The song’s vocal and sound are filled with sadness and desperation, followed by resignation. It is quite a journey. The melody of the verse and chorus don’t feel like the most natural fit, but sound so great together. Note the excellent use of synthesizer– used as a background instrument to add depth of sound. A lot of 80s songs get that wrong: “In Too Deep” does it right.

Phil Collins voice is distinct and quite beautiful here. He uses falsetto sparingly for emphasis, and he transitions into it quite nicely. He has one of the most recognizable male voices in rock. The irregular fills of the drums add great color.

In Too Deep Lyrics

All that time I was searching with nowhere to run to
It started me thinking
Wondering what I could make of my life
And who’d be waiting
Asking all kinds of questions to myself
But never finding the answers

Crying at the top of my voice
And no one listening
All this time, I still remember everything you said, oho
There’s so much you promised, how could I ever forget

Listen, you know I love you, but I just can’t take this
You know I love you, but I’m playing for keeps
Although I need you, I’m not gonna make this
You know I want to, but I’m in too deep

So listen, listen to me
Ooh, you must believe me
I can feel your eyes go through me
But I don’t know why

Ooh, I know you’re going but I can’t believe
It’s the way that you’re leaving
It’s like we never knew each other at all
It may be my fault
I gave you too many reasons, being alone
When I didn’t want to

I thought you’d always be there
I almost believed you
All this time, I still remember everything you said, oho oh
Ooh there’s so much you promised, how could I ever forget

Listen, you know I love you, but I just can’t take this
You know I love you, but I’m playing for keeps
Although I need you, I’m not gonna make this
You know I want to, but I’m in too deep
So listen, listen to me
I can feel your eyes go through me

It seems I’ve spent too long
Only thinking about myself, oho
Now I want to spend my life
Just caring ’bout somebody else

Listen, you know I love you, but I just can’t take this
You know I love you, but I’m playing for keeps
Although I need you, I’m not gonna make this
You know I want to, but I’m in too deep
You know I love you, but I just can’t take this
You know I love you, but I’m playing for keeps
Although I need you, I’m not gonna make this
You know I want to, but I’m in too deep
You know I love you, but I just can’t take this
You know I love you, but I’m playing for keeps (you know I love you)
Although I need you, I’m not gonna make this (you know I love you)
You know I want to, but I’m in too deep
You know I love you, but I just can’t take this (I can’t take this)
You know I love you, but I’m playing for keeps.

written by Genesis: Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Phil Rutherford

Someone, they should have warned you/
When things start splitting at the seams and now
The whole thing’s tumbling down…

Check out the “Live on Spotify” version of “No One’s Gonna Love You” by Band of Horses. Here, I list a specific recording. I will do that several times throughout this list. That can mean everything from the original is horrible to this version is slightly better. In this case, Band of Horses did a stripped-down acoustic set with one guitar and just lead singer Ben Bridwell singing. It is perfect. I feel it captures the song perfectly…and allowed me to ‘get it’. I didn’t hear greatness in the original.

Another couple famous examples of this are the live/secondary versions of Imagine Dragon’s “Shots” and Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”. I think there is about 15 similar examples on this list. Also, stripped-down is not always better, as Peter Frampton will show us later.

The lyrics of “No One’s Gonna Love You” are somewhat obscure. It is about some type of relationship, probably a romantic one, that is a ghost of what it once was. It appears the other person still has hope things will go back to the way they were before, but the author says, “I never want to hear you say/That you’d be better off or you liked it that way.” The relationship has split at the seams and the “whole thing’s tumbling down.”

The refrain: “no one is gonna love you more than I do,” feels somewhat final. This is not a relationship that will be revived. This line brings us sadness, whereas in another context the same words might bring us happiness. Part of that is the tone of the song and the accompanying lyrics but mostly due to Bridwell’s voice, which helps convey the sadness of the tune.

No One’s Gonna Love You Lyrics

It’s looking like a limb torn off
Or all together just taken apart
We’re reeling through an endless fall
We are the ever-living ghost of what once was

But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
No one’s gonna love you more than I do

And anything to make you smile
It is a better side of you to admire
But they should never take so long
Just to be over there, then back to another one

And no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
No one’s gonna love you more than I do

But someone, they could have warned you
When things start splitting at the seams and now
The whole thing’s tumbling down
Things start splitting at the seams and now
When things start splitting at the seams and now
It’s tumbling down hard

And anything to make you smile
You are the ever-living ghost of what once was
I never want to hear you say
That you’d be better off or you liked it that way

And no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
No one’s gonna love you more than I do

But someone, they should have warned you
When things start splitting at the seams and now
The whole thing’s tumbling down
Things start splitting at the seams and now
When things start splitting at the seams and now
It’s tumbling down, hard

Songwriters: Benjamin Bridwell / Creighton Barrett / James Hampton

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