Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Hit “Alone Again” Touches on Many Kinds of Grief and Loss

The lyrics of Gilbert O’Sullivan’s 1972 number one hit “Alone Again” beautifully weave stories in and out of many kinds of grief and loss. The song grabs our hearts with these heartbreaking losses, having earned him 3 Grammy Awards for the top pop song.

This mournful melody of a song is perceived as very personal to the listener. Over the years, much speculation has suggested the lyrics were about O’Sullivan’s life, but according to Songfacts he has “…denied that his song is autobiographical or about the death of his father when he was 11.” Still we can’t help but want to share our feelings and experiences with others, including pop stars. What remains is the variety of grief and losses he sings about allowing us to identify with the song in so many ways.

His most familiar references are the death of his father — “I remember I cried when my father died” — and his mother — “And when she passed away, I cried and cried all day” — all universial experiences at some point in our lives.

Gilbert O’Sullivan also sings about unacknowledged grief and loss, a loss not involving a death but that can be just as difficult. He sings of types of abandonment “left standing alone in the lurch at a church.” He realizes “It seems to me that, there are more hearts, broken in the world, that can’t be mended.” He also asks himself about God, “why did he desert me?”

No matter what loss we might experience or how we move through it, O’Sullivan speaks the most universal truth of all to us, as the title appropriately says “Alone again, naturally.” Even with the help of others, we all move through our journey alone.

To think that only yesterday

I was cheerful, bright and gay

Looking forward to who wouldn’t do

The role I was about to play

But as if to knock me down

Reality came around

And without so much as a mere touch

Cut me into little pieces

Leaving me to doubt

Talk about, God in His mercy

Oh, if he really does exist

Why did he desert me

In my hour of need

I truly am indeed

Alone again, naturally

Read the full lyrics here.