As if heвЂ™s slightly embarrassed by all that romantic talk вЂ“ вЂlook, canвЂ™t we just not talk about all that lovey-dovey stuff? Just stay around and, you know, sort of live together.вЂ™вЂќ вЂњOur publishers refused to make a deal on the song royalties with Elvis, but he did it anyway,вЂќ Napier-Bell says. Napier-Bell and Wickham had to deal with PresleyвЂ™s management, who infamously would insist on portions of the royalties for songs that the King recorded. Other musicians also took notice of the beauty of the song, including the biggest star of them all: Elvis Presley. This was a path that she would continue to traverse when she made the masterpiece album Dusty In Memphis a few years later. You can also argue that вЂњYou DonвЂ™t Have To Say You Love MeвЂќ presented a more mature side of her than some of the bubblier pop songs she had recorded had managed to do. The end result was a #1 hit for Springfield (her first) in the UK and a top 5 spot in the US upon the songвЂ™s 1966 release. вЂњDusty had imbued the lyrics with a feeling and pain that was beyond us to have conceived when we wrote them.вЂќ вЂњThe end result was indeed magnificent,вЂќ he says.

As a matter of fact, when Napier-Bell heard the finished performance, he couldnвЂ™t believe what she had done with his and WickhamвЂ™s words. SpringfieldвЂ™s performance manages to evoke pain and pride, hurt and hope, resignation and resilience. She just needs his presence in her life, if only temporarily. She doesnвЂ™t need any of the sentimentality.

But she rallies in the chorus for a courageous if heartbreaking plea. That sends her into a spiral of loneliness and despair.

вЂњIt wasnвЂ™t me who changed but you/And now youвЂ™ve gone away,вЂќ the narrator laments, suggesting that sheвЂ™s been the victim of a subtle deception. And, aided by the drama of the melody, she found something else in Wickham and Napier-BellвЂ™s words, which, despite their relative inexperience as songwriters, turned out to be potent pop poetry. LetвЂ™s just go home and have a good shag.вЂ™вЂќД«ut then Springfield got a hold of the song. вЂYou donвЂ™t have to say you love meвЂ™ was quite a good pick-up line in those days, meaning: вЂWe donвЂ™t have to pretend about all that love stuff. вЂњA typical night out was to get drunk, dance, and find someone to take home and have sex with. вЂњIn fact, in those days of swinging London and the early days of the pill, most of us were not too romantic,вЂќ Napier-Bell says. Napier-Bell told American Songwriter in a recent interview that he thought the lyrics that he and Wickham had written were actual a kind of clinical look at a one-sided affair. Hence, they added the words вЂњto sayвЂќ to the phrase and that opened up the whole song.

They had settled upon the phrase вЂњYou donвЂ™t have to love meвЂќ when they realized that it didnвЂ™t fit the melody. She thus reached out to Vicki Wickham, who booked music acts on Ready Steady Go, and Simon Napier-Bell, who did television production but had recently been convinced by Wickham to try out the music business.ДЄs Napier-Bell explained in his wonderful memoir about British music in the 60s, entitled, fittingly enough, You DonвЂ™t Have To Say You Love Me, the lyrics came quickly once the pair struck the right tone. It was there that she heard a song by Italian songwriters Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini called вЂњlo che non vivo (senza te)вЂќ, and was so touched by the melody that she came up with the idea to do an English version of it.Д«ut she needed English lyrics. The story goes that Springfield, who was in the midst of a successful solo career but hadnвЂ™t yet found her signature song, was witness to an Italian music festival in 1965 which gave awards to the best unreleased songs. Unlikely, that is, until you consider the staggeringly brilliant performance of the song by Dusty Springfield. That it combined the music of an Italian pop song and lyrics from a pair of songwriting novices also makes it one of the unlikeliest ones. It is considered one of the greatest songs of heartbreak in the pop music canon.

I love you you love me poem lyrics