All I Want Is You by Carly Simon

Album: Coming Around Again (1987)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

In this song, Simon has found the man of her dreams and no one else interests her. We have it to thank for the phrase "sexy hurricane," which she uses to describe their passion.

The song paints a pretty clear picture of what Simon wants in a man. He can't be the kind of guy who tiptoes up the stairs or says "good morning, dear." No, she's looking for a freight train to whistle over her track.

At this point, Simon had been divorced from James Taylor - a sensitive but rugged Martha's Vineyard man - for several years. After the Coming Around Again album was released in 1987, she met an insurance broker named James Hart, whom she married later that year. They divorced in 2006.
"All I Want Is You" was the fourth single from Simon's 13th album, Coming Around Again, following the title track, "Give Me All Night," and "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of." It marked a resurgence for Simon, her first Platinum album since Boys In The Trees in 1978. Simon was on the leading edge of the singer-songwriter movement in the early '70s, but the '80s were a tough decade for this genre - you didn't see the likes of Simon, James Taylor and Carole King on MTV. Simon was also at a disadvantage because her debilitating stage fright kept her from touring. She promoted the album by recording an HBO special called Carly Simon – Coming Around Again.
Simon wrote the lyrics with Jacob Brackman, who is among the ranks of journalists who worked on popular songs (Patti Smith is another - she contributed to some Blue Öyster Cult songs when she was a music writer). Brackman also co-wrote Simon's "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and "Haven't Got Time For the Pain."

The music was written by Andy Goldmark, who also played keyboards and programmed the drums on the track. He's the only guy we know of who's written chart hits for both Michael Bolton ("Soul Provider") and Alice Cooper ("Only My Heart Talkin'").
That's Roberta Flack on backing vocals. Like Simon, Flack was a star in the early '70s, landing a huge hit with "Killing Me Softly With His Song."

Comments: 3

Torque from StockholmI like Carly's sassy and charismatic lyrics. The last line of the song eludes my understanding tho. The one with "your Mack truck jumping...". Can anyone explain this line for me? Thanks in advance.
Robbie from Elizabethtown, KyI've always imagined this to be about an older couple who have been together for quite a while that bicker and argue but have developed a very strong bond and are still very passionate and romantic.
Martyn from Preston, Englandone of my favourite carly simon songs

see more comments

More Songfacts:

...Baby One More TimeBritney Spears

Britney Spears was just 16 when her first single, "Baby One More Time," was released. She quickly became a top search term on something called The Internet.

I Write The SongsBarry Manilow

Barry Manilow didn't write his #1 hit "I Write The Songs." Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys wrote it.

Walking On Thin IceYoko Ono

John Lennon's lead guitar work on Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice" proved to be his final creative act. It was upon their return home after completing laying down the track that Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman.

Kickstart My HeartMötley Crüe

"Kickstart My Heart" is about all the ways Motley Crue gets their blood flowing without drugs. It was inspired by their bass player Nikki Sixx, who claimed he had to be revived with a shot of adrenaline to the heart after an overdose.

Don't SpeakNo Doubt

No Doubt's hit "Don't Speak" is about Gwen Stefani's breakup with the band's bass player, Tony Kanal, after seven years together.

Looking For A New LoveJody Watley

The phrase "Hasta la vista, baby" was popularized in the 1987 Jody Watley song "Looking For A New Love," four years before Arnold Schwarzenegger said it in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.