John I Love You

Album: Universal Mother (1994)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The John in this song is John Stokes, who was Sinéad O'Connor's piano teacher. She sings his praises, letting him know she loves him and thinks the world of her.

    Although Sinéad was madly in love with him, he resisted her advances. "He wasn't interested in me at all because he was quite sensible and knew that I was completely out of my mind," she wrote in her memoir Rememberings. "Still, we were friends and I was really fond of him, loved him very, very much."
  • Many fans thought this song was about O'Connor's brother John, or her first husband, John Reynolds, who played drums on the track.
  • The piano that lead the song is by Phil Coulter. There's also a cello in the mix, played by John O'Kane.
  • The song is part of O'Connor's Universal Mother album, released in 1994 four years after her breakthrough I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. She had a much lower profile by this time, especially in America where she accumulated some bad press for tearing up a photo of the Pope on live TV.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.