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I (Who Have Nothing) Lyrics
(with Donny Hathaway)
I, I who have nothing
And I
I who have no one
Adore you, and want you so
I'm just a no one
With nothing to give you
But, oh
I love you
He, he buys you diamonds
Bright, sparkling diamonds
But believe me, dear
Believe me when I say
He can give you the world
But he'll never love you
The way
I love you
You can go any place you want
To fancy clubs and restaurants
But I can only watch you
With my nose pressed
Up against the window pane
Oh, I
I who have nothing
And I
I who have no one
Must watch you go
Passing by
Wrapped in the arms
Of someone else
When, darling
It is I
Who loves you
Oh...
And I
I who have no one
Adore you, and want you so
I'm just a no one
With nothing to give you
But, oh
I love you
Bright, sparkling diamonds
But believe me, dear
Believe me when I say
He can give you the world
But he'll never love you
The way
I love you
To fancy clubs and restaurants
But I can only watch you
With my nose pressed
Up against the window pane
I who have nothing
And I
I who have no one
Must watch you go
Passing by
Wrapped in the arms
Of someone else
When, darling
It is I
Who loves you
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
unrequited love.... that's all it is.
Actually it's a bit more nuanced than that.
"I (Who Have Nothing)" is a cover of Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti" (English: "One of Many"), with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti.[1] "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The English lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who also produced the Ben E. King record using the backing track from Joe Sentieri's record (orchestra conducted by Luis Enriquez Bacalov).
While the song IS about unrequited love, there is an unmistakable class dimension in the lyrics that you can't escape.
While the original English-language version and lyrics were recorded by Ben E. King, the most commercially successful version was recorded by Dame Shirley Bassey (produced by George Martin) in September 1963, where it reached #6 on UK charts. She performs the song at almost every live concert she gives. Fair or not, the song has always been closely identified with Dame Bassey, so much so that many people are unaware that Ben E. King originally recorded the English language version.
The most popular version in the United States was by Tom Jones, peaking at #11 in Cashbox and at #14 in Billboard in the fall of 1970.