Jim Adam’s challenge on Song Lyric Sunday: Last week we had Attention Grabbers where the theme was to find a song with a great intro. This week the theme is to find a song related to weather conditions of sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, or stormy suggested by Nancy of the Elephant’s Trunk aka The Sicilian Storyteller.

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Bill Withers was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Slab Fork, West Virginia in 1938, was raised in Beckley, West Virginia and was known to have many hits during his 18 year career. This song was one of his first hits, released in 1971. Bill Withers’ life was the subject of a documentary, Still Bill, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 and the National Rhythm and Blue Hall of Fame in 2025. Two of his songs, “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the beautiful “Lean On Me” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Withers enlisted in the Navy at age and 17 and served 9 years. He left the Navy in 1965 and moved to Los Angeles to attempt to begin a music career. He worked as a mechanical assembler for several different companies while he recorded demo tapes with his own money, shopped them around, and performed at clubs in the evenings. Even when this song became a hit in 1971, he still refused to stop working, not trusting the music industry to provide any financial stability. On the cover of this, his first album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch box. After the release of his first album, Just As I Am, in October of 1971, Withers received two letters in the same day. The first was an offer from Weber Aircraft to return to his job (he had been laid off) as a mechanic at $3.50 an hour. The second was a letter from Johnny Carson of The Tonight Show, asking him to perform this song on his show on NBC.

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
It’s not warm when she’s away
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And she’s always gone too long
Anytime she’s goes away

Wonder this time where she’s gone
Wonder if she’s gone to stay
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And this house just ain’t no home
Anytime she goes away

And I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know

Hey, I ought to leave young thing alone
But ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, whoa-whoa

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
Only darkness every day
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And this house just ain’t no home
Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bill Withers

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