Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself

"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Trafalgar
B-side"Walking Back to Waterloo"
ReleasedOctober 1971
Recorded7 April 1971
IBC Studios, London
GenrePop[1]
Length5:24
LabelPolydor (United Kingdom)
Atco (United States)
SongwriterBarry Gibb
ProducersRobert Stigwood, Bee Gees
Bee Gees singles chronology
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
(1971) 		"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself"
(1971) 		"My World"
(1972)
Audio sample
"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself"
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"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" is a ballad written and sung by Barry Gibb, and released on the Bee Gees' album Trafalgar in 1971, and the second single release taken from the album.

Recording and release

"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was the last song recorded for the album. "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was recorded on April 7, the same day when they finished the tracks "Israel", "It's Just the Way" and "Engines, Aeroplanes".[2] Barry Gibb said of it "I don't know if it reflects me or not. Maybe I was in a bad mood when I write it.[3]

The single was released in October 1971, two months after the number 1 hit "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". Considering that "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" was a number 1, it was surprising that this did not even make the top fifty in the US.[3] It was also released as a single in Canada, Japan, Portugal, Spain and the Netheerlands and had its best chart performance in the Netherlands, peaking at number 29.[3]

Reception

Cash Box said of it that it was "another classic outing from the Brothers Gibb certain to trigger off a mighty sales explosion" and repeat the chart success of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.[4] Record World said that "there's no reason to believe [that Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself'] won't do as well" as previous Bee Gees' hit singles.[5] Billboard called it "another powerful ballad performance loaded with the same sales and chart potency" as "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart".[6] With the success of "...Broken Heart", Atco Records was choosing ballads exclusively for Bee Gees singles during this time. This song along with "Walking Back to Waterloo" was released as a double A-side in Spain, Canada, Japan and the US. The album version of the song was faded at 5:24.

Lubbock Avalanche Journal critic Jon Clemens criticized the song for sounding better than it really is due to some obscure lyrics.[7] As an example. the gave the lines "Don't wanna live inside myself/I'm much better off alone/But then you must believe in the falling rain", saying that "It starts out like a typical Bee Gee's lost-love number, but then what's this about falling rain?"[7] Capital Journal critic Steve Gettinger criticized the song for being "self-pitying".[8] Evening Dispatch critic June Hawdon similarly felt that the song is "very slow and over-sad."[9] On the other hand, The Buffalo News critic Charles Schrieber praised it for using the "slow, deliberate pace" of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" "without actually sounding like a repeat."[10] Winston-Salem Journal critic Jim Shertzer said that it is "equally affecting [to 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart'], and the utterly lonesome quality of the vocal comes close to being too painful to take."[11] In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Dave Nichols complained that the song "pays too much homage to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.'"[12]

A promotional single issued by Atco in the US, featured the song in its mono and stereo versions on its respective sides.[13]

"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myeslf" was released on the Bee Gees' compilation albums Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 in 1973 and Tales from the Brothers Gibb in 1990.[14][15]

Personnel

Chart positions

Chart (1971) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] 34
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 29
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 53
US Cash Box[19] 39
US Record World[17] 30

References

  1. ^ Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Revised and Updated ed.). Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  2. ^ Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1971".
  3. ^ a b c Hughes, Andrew Mon; Croham, Mark; Walters, Grant (2023). The Bee Gees in the 70s. Sonicbond. ISBN 9781789521795.
  4. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 16, 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 16 October 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  6. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 16 October 1971. p. 54. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  7. ^ a b Clemens, Jon (16 September 1971). "Bee Gees' album thin and spotty". Lubbock Avalanche Journal. p. 7-B. Retrieved 2026-02-18 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Gettinger, Steve (23 October 1971). "The Wax Museum". Capital Journal. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-02-18 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Hawdon, June (2 August 1973). "Bee Gees in good form". Evening Dispatch. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-02-18 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Schrieber, Charles (23 October 1971). "Osmonds Yo-Yo to the Top". Buffalo News. p. 31. Retrieved 2026-02-18 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Shertzer, Jim (31 October 1971). "Restored Bee Gees Better Than Ever". Winston-Salem Journal. p. D7. Retrieved 2026-02-18 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Nichols, Dave (2006). Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Rizzoli. ISBN 9780789313713.
  13. ^ Discogs.com (1971). "Bee Gees - Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself (US promo single)". Discogs.
  14. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Best of the Bee Gees, Vol. 2". Allmusic. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  15. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Tales from the Brothers Gibb". Allmusic. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  16. ^ "RPM 100 Singles - Volume 16, No. 14". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 2" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Bee Gees Charted Songs". musicvf.com. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  19. ^ "Cashbox Top 100". Cashbox Magazine. November 20, 1971. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
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