Nobody Knows

Album: Living Years (1988)
Charted: 81
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Songfacts®:

  • This poignant track from the second Mike + The Mechanics album was written by group leader Mike Rutherford and his co-producer, Christopher Neil. The song finds a man deconstructing a relationship following a breakup. What's killing him is what they've invested in their union; even though it wasn't perfect, they have a history together. At the end of the song, he delivers a line that really tears at the heart: "It hurts just knowing your children won't be mine."
  • Paul Carrack, who split vocal duties with Paul Young, took the lead on this track. Carrack also sang the album's title track.
  • This is one of Rutherford's favorite Mike + The Mechanics tracks, but it didn't go over like he'd hoped. "It sounded great, but the crowd didn't get it," he said in a Songfacts interview. "It's one of my favorite songs, actually, from the early days. Just a lovely example of what I do with chords and weird bass notes and the way Paul Carrack sings it. The middle eight's a bit sharp and it's probably got the wrong drums, but I think it has a lovely, warm sound. When I hear it, it relaxes me."

Comments: 1

  • Edward Benson from Woodland Hills CaGreat album
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