Peak
4
Weeks
12
Score
2,472
Chart Year
1971
This acoustic ballad is one of Bread's trademark tunes. The band's keyboardist David Gates said: "I wrote that one night at the dining room table, after my kids and my wife had gone to bed. It took me about an hour and a half, with an extra verse left over. If you look at it, there's a few bizarre lines in there, like 'you and I would simply fly away' - that's kind of an unusual thought. When I was done, I said, 'That's the best song I've ever written and probably will be the best song I'll ever write.' For me it's really held up over time, more than any of the others." >> Dolly Parton covered this on her 2002 bluegrass album, Halos & Horns. Her version was released as a single in Europe and peaked at #73 in the UK. Kojak actor Telly Savalas recorded a spoken-word version that went to #1 in the UK in 1975.
If a picture paints a thousand words Then why can't I paint you? The words will never show the you I've come to know If a face could launch a thousand ships Then where am I to go? There's no one home but you You're all that's left me to And when my love for life is running dry You come and pour yourself on me If a man could be two places at one time I'd be with you Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die I'd spend the end with you And when the world was through Then one by one the stars would all go out Then you and I would simply fly away
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 27, 1971 | 72 | 54 |
| 2 | Apr 3, 1971 | 39 | 87 |
| 3 | Apr 10, 1971 | 28 | 98 |
| 4 | Apr 17, 1971 | 20 | 106 |
| 5 | Apr 24, 1971 | 8 | 118 |
| 6 | May 1, 1971 | 6 | 120 |
| 7 | May 8, 1971 | 5 | 121 |
| 8 | May 15, 1971 | 4 | 122 |
| 9 | May 22, 1971 | 9 | 117 |
| 10 | May 29, 1971 | 13 | 113 |
| 11 | Jun 5, 1971 | 18 | 108 |
| 12 | Jun 12, 1971 | 25 | 101 |