Aretha Franklin

Songwriter: Carole Bayer Sager Burt Bacharach Bruce Roberts

Producer: Burt Bacharach Carole Bayer Sager Bruce Roberts

[Verse 1]
This is my life, and it's my right to live
The way I want to live each day
That's what I want to say
And this is my song
And for too long I sang someone else's melody
It wasn't really me
Somehow I took myself for granted
In someone else's eyes

[Chorus]
I saw reflections of a girl I was who caught me by surprise
Seeing a woman who's defined by you, I never realized
I can't love you, I can't love me through someone else's eyes

[Verse 2]
You were the sun, I was the one who just
Revolved around you day and night
You were my only life, but if I were free
Baby, I'd take control of everything inside of me
Find who I want to be
I'd never take myself for granted
In someone else's eyes

[Chorus]
I saw reflections of a girl I was who caught me by surprise
Seeing a woman who's defined by you, I never realized
I can't love you, I can't love me through someone else's eyes

[Bridge]
I got to show myself I can still exist without a man
Got to finally take control, got to see myself as whole with you
Though you're not the one to blame, I was lost inside your name
And I'll never be the same 'til I find a way back home again
In someone else's eyes

[Chorus]
I saw reflections of a girl I was who caught me by surprise
Seeing a woman who's defined by you, I never realized
I can't love you, I can't love me through someone else's eyes

[Bridge]
Got to find my way back home again
Through someone else's eyes

[Chorus]
I saw reflections of a girl I was who caught me by surprise
Seeing a woman who's defined by you, I never realized
I can't love you, I can't love me through someone else's eyes

[Outro]
Ooh, someone, someone else's eyes, no baby, ooh
Someone else's eyes, can't do it, I can't do it
I, I love you, sweet baby, I want to be with you, baby
Through someone else's eyes, ooh
Someone else's eyes, oh baby
Ooh, oh yeah, someone else's eyes
I want to be by your side
Oh, but you hurt this lady's pride

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.

more tracks from the album

What You See Is What You Sweat

From the album

What You See Is What You Sweat (1991)

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What You See Is What You Sweat