Ain't No Sunshine

One of my favorite love songs isn't really a classic love song, but its still a classic, in my humble opinion. It is a simple little ditty titled "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. The lyrics are:

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

It's not warm when she's away

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

She always gone too long anytime she goes away

Wonder this time where she's gone

Wonder if she's gone to stay

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

This house just ain't no home anytime she goes away

I know

I know

I know

Hey, I oughta leave the young thing alone

But ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Only darkness everyday

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

This house just ain't no home

Anytime she goes away

I know

I know

I know

Hey, I oughta leave the young thing alone

But ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Only darkness everyday

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

This house just ain't no home

Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away

If you listen to the song, and let the silky smooth vocals of Mr. Withers glaze over your entire body, you will realize that this is an incredibly short and simple one. He says all he needs to say in under 3 minutes.

First of all, Withers alludes to light and dark, as many romantic love poems do. He says that there is "no sunshine when she's gone" and that it's "Only darkness everyday". She, this mysterious love of his, brings the light into his world and his heart. Without her, he is lost, lost in the endless darkness.

The woman is "always gone too long", and Bill wonders "this time where she's gone" and if she's ever coming back. With the violins in the background of the song, it's even more tragic.

In addition to the light and dark references, Withers chooses to repeat much of the song. In this way it's different than a classic love poem. Some poems use refrains, but this is more; the repetition of the lines that show Withers' sadness that the girl is away emphasizes his pain, or his longing for the woman he misses.

Also, Withers writes "This house just ain't no home anytime she goes away", which compares himself to a house. Without her, he is no more than a building, a couple of walls and a roof haphazardly thrown together. But with her, he is a home. A home that has feeling and emotion and is so much more alive and meaningful than a house could ever be. To me, that comparison is so simple, yet so deep.

If you haven't listened to this song before, then go do it now. It'll change your life. It's so simple, but so powerful in showing the longing and sadness and desire that love can spawn.