I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER

Album version

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Have I told you lately that I love you
Well if I didn't, darling, I'm sorry
Did I reach out and hold you in my loving arms
Oh when you needed me

Now I realize that you need love too
And I'll spend my life making love to you

Oh I forgot to be your lover
And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry

Have I taken the time to share with you
All the burden that love will fare
And have I done the little simplest things to show you
Just how much I care

Oh I've been working for you doing all I can
But working all day don't make me a man

Oh I forgot to be your lover
And I'm sorry, but I'll make it up to you somehow

I forgot to be your lover (I forgot to be your lover)
I forgot to be your lover

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Info

I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER is a 1968 song by William Bell. See the original William Bell version for more details.

Bruce Springsteen released I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER on his 2022 album Only The Strong Survive. The song features a guest appearance by Sam Moore on backing vocals. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER as released on Only The Strong Survive.

Studio Recording

There's no information on when exactly I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER was recorded, but, just like all other songs on Only The Strong Survive, it was likely cut sometime between late 2020 and mid-2022. See the "Only The Strong Survive" section below for more details.

Track credits:

Bruce Springsteen: lead vocal
Sam Moore: harmony vocal
Ron Aniello: drums, bass, guitar, piano, glockenspiel, organ, keyboards
E Street Horns: horns

Only The Strong Survive

Only The Strong Survive is Bruce Springsteen's twenty-first studio album. It was officially released on 11 Nov 2022 on Columbia Records. It consists of 15 tracks, all of which are covers. This marks the second time that Springsteen releases a cover album following We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions in 2006.

The album is "a collection of fifteen soul music greats," as described in the press release. It "celebrates soul music gems from the legendary catalogues of Motown, Gamble and Huff, Stax and many more." Springsteen commented: "I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies? I've taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I've tried to do justice to them all and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music. My goal is for the modern audience to experience its beauty and joy, just as I have since I first heard it. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it."

Only The Strong Survive was tracked at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Colts Neck, NJ, following the sessions for Letter To You, which took place around November 2020. The core recording featured only Bruce Springsteen and producer Ron Aniello. In addition to lead vocals, Springsteen played guitar and keys on some tracks and Aniello played virtually every other instrument. Additional parts, including horns, strings, and background vocals were recorded at Power Station At BerkleeNYC in New York City, NY. Sam Moore makes a guest appearance on the album, singing harmony vocals on two tracks. His parts were recorded at Bullseye Studios in Miami, FL, with Andres Bermudezat engineering. Only The Strong Survive was produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen, executive produced by Jon Landau, engineered by Rob Lebret and Ron Aniello at Thrill Hill Recording, mixed by Rob Lebret with Ron Aniello at Thrill Hill Recording, and mixed by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, ME.

• Bruce Springsteen appears on all of the album's tracks. He sings lead vocal and background vocals and plays guitar, keyboards, and piano.
• Ron Aniello appears on all of the album's tracks. He plays drums, bass, percussion, guitar, vibes, piano, organ, keyboards, glockenspiel, Farfisa, Timpani, and chimes and sings background vocals.
• Rob Lebret plays additional guitar on track 8.
• Sam Moore makes a guest appearance on the album, singing harmony vocal (tracks 2 and 12) and second vocal (track 2).
• Soozie Tyrell sings background vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, and 15.
• Lisa Lowell sings background vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, and 15.
• Michelle Moore sings background vocals on tracks 4 and 6.
• Curtis King Jr. sings background vocals on tracks 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, and 15.
• Fonzi Thornton sings background vocals on tracks 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 14.
• Dennis Colins sings background vocals on tracks 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 14.
• E Street Horns is a horn section consisting of Curt Ramm (trumpet), Barry Danielian (trumpet), Clark Gayton (trombone), Bill Holloman (tenor saxophone), Ed Manion (baritone saxophone), and Toni Timko (baritone saxophone). They appear on all tracks.
• A strings section consisting of Rob Mathes (string arranger and conductor), Lisa Kim (concertmaster), and Sandy Park (string contractor) is listed in the album credits but it's not clear on which tracks it appears.

Only The Strong Survive was officially announced on 29 Sep 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (02:00 p.m. GMT). The announcement was made by Springsteen himself who addressed fans in a pre-recorded video posted online a few minutes earlier.

In anticipation to the announcement, Springsteen dropped hints on his social media accounts over the course of the previous three days. On 26 and 27 September, he shared each morning a photo of a road and of a steering wheel respectively, without any caption or comment.

On 28 September, he posted a 26-second promo clip of a vintage car FM radio dial turning to different stations and listening in for a few seconds, each station playing a different song from the upcoming album.

Only The Strong Survive is available as a single-disc CD and as a two-disc LP set, as well as digital download and streaming. Three editions of the vinyl release were issued: a regular edition on black vinyl, a limited edition on nightshade green vinyl exclusive to Bruce Springsteen's official webstore, and a limited edition on sundance orange or orbit orange vinyl exclusive to independent retailers.

Live History

As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER live.

Request

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Available Versions

List of available versions of I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER on this website:

I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER [Album version]
I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER [Original William Bell version]

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Page last updated: 13 Nov 2022