Alone Again (Naturally)

"Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by the Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was released in 1972, and in total spent six weeks at No.1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In Casey Kasem's American 'Top 40 of the 1970s', "Alone Again (Naturally)" was #5 (Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" was #1). The track reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart.cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 411
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]

It is a poignant ballad, starting with the singer telling of his plans to commit suicide after being left at the altar, and then telling about the death of his parents. O'Sullivan has said that the song is not autobiographical, as he did not know his father (who died when O'Sullivan was 11) very well, and that his father had mistreated his mother. [ [http://www.superseventies.com/1972_2singles.html "Alone Again (Naturally)" ] ] "Alone Again (Naturally)" is included on O'Sullivan's "The Berry Vest of Gilbert O'Sullivan" album (2004) on the EMI record label. Big Jim Sullivan plays the guitar break in the original recorded version of the song.

The landmark 1991 copyright case "Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc." centered on the unauthorized use of a sample from "Alone Again (Naturally)" by rapper Biz Markie.

The song has been featured in a handful of movies, including "Summer Time Machine Blues", "Stuart Little 2", and "The Virgin Suicides".

References