Song Lyric Sunday | “Midnight Blue” – Melissa Manchester

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Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time and author Jim Adams from A Unique Title For Me is our current guest host. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.

This week’s theme is  “Minutes/Hours/Days/Weeks/Months.”

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This week’s theme encompasses time and I chose the time of midnight for this selection.
Melissa Manchester released two hit-less albums on Bell Records before signing a deal with Arista, which issued her third album, Melissa, which contained Midnight Blue. The song went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and established Manchester as both a songwriter and artist.
Co-written with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, Midnight Blue was written in 1973, and released two years later, causing George Harrison to re-title his (totally unrelated) song of the same name. The Manchester song was a big hit, and has become a standard.
The song is about a relationship that has been through the ringer and the singer is looking to give it another try, approaching it from a different angle: “Think of me as your friend.”
FUN FACTS:
 
  • Not to be confused with any song of the same or similar name, this was co-written with Sager, who supplied the lyrics, although the Arista demo version credits it to Manchester and Adrienne Anderson. The official release credits it to Manchester/Bayer Sager.
  • Bayer Sager’s marriage to record producer Andrew Sager was crumbling, and she poured her emotions into the lyrics. “I hoped Andrew would listen to it and make an effort to help us get whatever it was we had back on track,” she wrote in her memoir They’re Playing Our Song. “I guess, like my dummy in a ventriloquist act I had as a kid, I was letting my lyrics do the talking for me.” (The couple divorced in 1978.)
  • Other songs Carole Bayer Sager wrote with Manchester include Just You And I, Come In From The Rain and Home To Myself – lots of confessional songs from a female perspective. Bayer Sager explained: “I think just by writing about the things we were going through, we were able to touch the hearts of women who were also struggling, so I’m very proud of those songs.”
  • Manchester’s later accomplishments include co-writing the Kenny Loggins/Stevie Nicks duet Whenever I Call You “Friend and Top 10 singles as an artist with Don’t Cry Out Loud and You Should Hear How She Talks About You.

The video is a live performance from The Midnight Special.

Enjoy!

See my Song Lyric Sunday selection on Nesie’s Place.

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Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.
 Midnight Blue
by Melissa Manchester
Songwriters: Melissa Manchester & Carole Bayer Sager

 

Whatever it is, it’ll keep till the morning
Haven’t we both got better things to do?
Midnight blue
Even the simple things become rough
Haven’t we had enough?

And I think we can make it
One more time
If we try
One more time for all the old times

For all of the times you told me you need me
Needing me now is something I could use
Midnight blue
Wouldn’t you give your hand to a friend?
Maybe it’s not the end

And I think we can make it
One more time
If we try
One more time for all the old times
Midnight blue

I think we can make it
I think we can make it
Oh, wouldn’t you give your heart to a friend?
Think of me as your friend

And I think we can make it
One more time
If we try
One more time for all of the old, old times

One more time
I think we can make it
If we try
I think we can make it
If we try
Looks like we’re gonna make it
Looks like we’re gonna make it
If we try
I think we can make it

 

12 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday | “Midnight Blue” – Melissa Manchester”

  1. Pingback: Song Lyric Sunday | “99 Years” – Josh Groban & Jennifer Nettles | Nesie's Place

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