Jeff Barry
Home | Jeff Barry's Career Chronology | Photo Gallery | The Hits | Disc&Dat Interview | The Music of Jeff Barry | Music Videos | The Jeff Barry Song Database | The Steed Singles | Jeff Barry Album List | The Jeff Barry Story, Part I | The Jeff Barry Story, Part II | Open Letter to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | Walkin' in the Sun | In Memoriam | The Many Colors of Jeff Barry | The Jeff Barry Lyrics Pages | Ray Peterson | Knight Life | Baby Songs | Chapel of Love | MUSIC and MORE | Laura Speaks | Links
I Honestly Love You

Having drawn much of his musical inspiration from the country and western tunes he heard on the radio growing up, Jeff Barry's primary goal in songwriting has always been simplicity ... or at least the appearance of simplicity.  He believes that lyrics should never sound stiff, forced or phony.  They should flow naturally, like a casual conversation between two people.  Starting in the late '60s , his songs began to reflect this conversational style more and more.  Jeff feels his best effort at writing simply was this tender piano ballad, a massive hit for Olivia Newton-John in 1974.  It topped both Billboard's Hot 100 and Adult-Contemporary charts.  It was an international smash.   It became a Country best-seller (much to Jeff's delight), and it even scored on the R & B charts in a cover version by The Staple Singers.  For Olivia Newton-John alone, "I Honestly Love You" has charted three different times (and she's recorded it at least that many times).  It's her signature tune, and recently she's gotten into the habit of ending concerts with it.  The gentle melody and plain-spoken lyric are as compelling in their simplicity as a fifty-piece orchestra would be in its grandeur; the combination brings audiences to their feet.  Today, more likely than not, they are theatre audiences.  "I Honestly Love You" is now the showstopping number in The Boy From Oz, a hit Broadway musical based on the life of the late Peter Allen.  All this exposure has made it Jeff Barry's most lucrative copyright ever.

I Honestly Love You
Words and Music by Peter Allen and Jeff Barry
 
Maybe I hang around here a little more than I should
We both know I got somewhere else to go
But I got somethin' to tell you that I never thought I would
And I believe you really ought to know

I love you
I honestly love you

You don't have to answer, I see it in your eyes
Maybe it was better left unsaid
But this is pure and simple and you must realize
That it's comin' from my heart and not my head

I love you
I honestly love you
 
I'm not tryin' to make you feel uncomfortable
I'm not tryin' to make you anything at all
But this feeling doesn't come along every day
And you shouldn't blow the chance when you got the chance to say

I love you
I honestly love you

If we both were born in another place and time
This moment might be ending in a kiss
But there you are with yours and here I am with mine
So I guess we'll just be leavin' it at this

I love you
I honestly love you
I honestly love you
 
 
 
 
 
Broadside Music/Irving Music/Woolnough Music - BMI

Return to the Lyrics Page

Please visit Laura's Oldies Sites for a list of other sites I run, including those for The Dixie Cups and Ron Dante of The Archies.
 
 

Note:  Jeff Barry: The Man and His Music is a fan site owned and maintained by Laura Pinto.  Laura is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.