Remarks:
This was on his “Let’s Stay Together” (1972) album. The song never charted. It is, in fact, a cover of a Bee Gees song from the year before. Not that you would ever know – he sings it like the song was written just for him. It is even on his greatest hits album – even though it was never a hit for him. But man, it seems for all the world like it was. I like it way better than the Bee Gees version.
See also:
Lyrics:
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart by Al Green
I can think of younger days when living for my life
Was everything a man could want to do
I could never see tomorrow, but I was never told about the sorrow
And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend a this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again
I can still feel the breeze that rustles through the trees
And misty memories of days gone by
We could never see tomorrow, no one said a word about the sorrow
And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again
Was it ever released as a single?
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Every time I see this song on the internet somewhere it always has the tagline “From Notting Hill” – like the song was of no significance until white people put it in a movie (a second rate Julia Roberts movie with no black people in it whatsoever to boot). Like all those stupid Bridget Jones movies (and more tv commercials than I can count) that are whiter than white with an all black soundtrack. Sorry for the mini-rant, but it took me a long time to like this song again when I realized that white folks only knew it from this one movie. And my mini-rant is only perpetuating their recognition. I can’t even help participating in my own oppression even in a mini-rant. Damn. Just damn.
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Soulful and sexy. I like the BeeGee version as well but this one is sensual.
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This song played in the Denzel Washington movie, “The Book of Eli.” Honestly, it gives the Bee Gees a run for their money! Excellent, excellent cover! It is what a cover song should sound like. Not a rehash of the original. Al Green made I his own. If I wanted a clone of the original, I’d just listen to the Bee Gees’ version and cut out the middle man.
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I love the Bee Gees’ version as well.
I was just listening to the Bee Gees’ version last night although I like Al Green’s version as well. I think Al Green’s version has a more sensual sound to it though both version are amazing.
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@ That DeborahGirl….. I concur. Co-signing all the way on that comment.
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His ‘Best of’ album is surely one of the best ‘best of’ albums ever put together. I keep trying to find the album ‘Call Me’ but it’s quite hard to find nowadays because, perversely, his career is reduced to his ‘Best of’ album due to it’s quality.
He’s one of the greatest.
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@ThatDeborahGirl,
I sort of know where you’re coming from, but not the racial aspect of it. It also annoys me when a great song turn up in a silly film and suddenly youtube is full of people who love both the great music and the shit film. It feels like it cheapens the music.
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@ThatDeborahGirl
I see where you are coming from.
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ThatDeborahGirl,
It cheapens it even more when songs like this are used for jingles in commercials.
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^ Ha, sadly I thought the Bee Gees version was the original until being disabused of the idea by Bulanik’s post of this version. My fault for never having looking it up.
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Huh? The Bee Gees version is the original. The Bee Gees WROTE the song and performed it first. Al Green’s version is the cover, though I thought it WAS the original till I looked it up.
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OOOps! Sorry A., funny how you can read something too quickly and totally miss it. But for all the world it SOUNDS like it should be the original! I guess I’m so used to White artists finding success covering Black artists.
I’ll put on my reading glasses, net time 🙂
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“…I stumbled across the Al Green cover-version and practically fell to my knees with the emotion of it.”
*******
Yes Ma’am!!!
THAT’S the Al Green old school SOUL *mojo*!
(It’s a Spiritual thing, not to be confused with Scientific, peer reviewed, proven, blah, blah, blah … It is only for folks that possess it or those who can grasp it, it’s much like how Melanin is described in some of the comments in a concurrent thread!
lol-lol-lol
: )))
@ Anyone
Can peer review science prove that which comes from Spirit?
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I grew up listening to Al Green, Bobby Womack and others because it was the only music my mother allowed in the house. Also, she had the only record player. So There!
The album cover for Let’s Stay together is one of my earliest memories of paying any attention to album covers at all. it’s the one where he’s in all white, sitting in a white chair on a white background. My all-time favorite Al Green song is “For the Good Times”.
Everytime I hear any song of his, I jump in the Wayback Machine to the early 70’s. I never saw Notting Hill so this song hasn’t been spoiled for me
ThatDeborahGirl: I hope you get your love back.
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True. But it works both ways. You also can’t establish anything scientifically (factually) based on personal feelings and/or experience. The best we can say in such cases is “this was MY experience.”
Ha! but I may make a small exception for Al Green.
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“You also can’t establish anything scientifically (factually) based on personal feelings and/or experience. The best we can say in such cases is “this was MY experience.””
**************
I disagree. Because part of the principles and methods used to confirm science is – IF enough people (scientists) have the same personal or otherwise experience, AND feelings/observations (on the matter at hand), then that is considered factual, peer reviewed, established science.
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^ Sorry Matari, but that’s just not true. Science is not conducted by polling scientists (or anyone else) about their personal experiences. Science is based on a method in which results must be:
1. Observable
2. Measurable and
3. Repeatable
There are other parameters. Science must follow a long agreed upon process for developing and vetting scientific theories.
1. Observation of phenomenon
2. Research the phenomenon
3. Construct a hypothesis based upon the research
4. Test the hypothesis by experimentation
5. Analyze the data developed by the experiment
6. Publish the results for other scientists to examine & critique (Peer Review)
7. Theory is accepted or rejected based on collective examination.
There is a difference between that rigorous method and asking for the group for personal feelings. However, I’m not saying that this is the only way to know or experience a thing. It’s just the only way that you can do so scientifically.
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King,
re semantics …
The lowest common denominator of all “experiences” is PERSONAL.
That being the individual layman, or the scientist’s experience whether it be:
testing hypotheses/theories
analyzing data
publishing results
observation
experiment
experience
research
etc
Each individual scientist’s input/participation and final conclusion of the above process/procedure is indeed personal… with the end result being some established conclusions/feelings on the subject matter. In this case the *feeling* (or belief/faith/understanding) of this so-called scientific process yields scientific fact.
However, we know that facts aren’t always written in stone. They are often not absolute, even when arrived at through a thorough so-called scientific peer review procedure.
History is rife with PERSONAL experiences/feelings/beliefs/ideas/ that underwent some accepted rigorous process which were eventually passed off as SCIENCE/SCIENTIFIC which later proved to be anything but. In fact, much of this so-called “science” has been presented and argued to death on this very blog!
We may agree to disagree. I think semantics is at the heart of this discussion, and we’re both coming at the use of *personal* in regard to science from different POVs.
Semantics, paradigms & (un)definitive boxes .. lol
: )
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Very well, my good Matari, not worth arguing any further. I will simply agree to disagree with you on this point, but different opinions make life interesting.
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Well, let me add that I think you make a good point that the personal almost always finds its way into science on some level, but the scientific method seeks no mitigate that as much as possible.
That’s not to say that I think science always gets it righ either. In some cases, they get it totally wrong for centuries… So Im not enshrining science, I just think applying the method is more accurate than not applying it.
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Haha! On iTunes The Al Green version is outselling the Bee Gees version even though its the cover version!
don’t ask me what I was just doing on iTunes 😉
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“Well, let me add that I think you make a good point that the personal almost always finds its way into science on some level, but the scientific method seeks no mitigate that as much as possible.
That’s not to say that I think science always gets it righ either. In some cases, they get it totally wrong for centuries… So Im not enshrining science, I just think applying the method is more accurate than not applying it.”
***************
Agreed!!! More or less.
So King..
What were you doing on ITunes??
: D
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This song has real significance for me. So much so that I am trying to find real meaning in it. It was the song my cousin sang at my father’s funeral. Apparently it was his favorite song. I was estranged from my father and at the time hadn’t spoken to him for almost 20 years. I researched the lyrics and it just broke my heart. In a way I know a little more about my father through this song. It’s real life and it touches you with deep emotion.
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[…] Al Green: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart | Abagond – How Can You Mend a Broken Heart by Al Green … Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again. … It also annoys me when a great song turn up in a silly film and suddenly youtube is full of people who love both the great music and the shit film. […]
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Love both versions. We have to give the B geez credit it is a beautiful song and they did write it. But Al Green made it his own.
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Thank you… So that I could listen to such beautiful music
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