I've Gotta Get A Message To You – Bee Gees

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I've Gotta Get A Message To You – Bee Gees


So the subject matter in this one is basically horrible, it's about a guy on death row trying to get one last message out to apologise to his loved one. It’s probably like The Police hit ‘Every Breath You Take’ which everyone thinks is a love song but is actually a song about stalking, to the causal listener this song sounds like a guy struggling to get in touch with someone before the days of mobile phones. It’s strange when you read lyrics of popular songs how they don’t always represent what you thought the song was about.
The Bee Gees went on to have a ton of huge hits, best known for their Disco stuff like ‘Staying Alive’ and ‘Night Fever’, but when they started out they were quite a serious band. With titles such as ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’ some of their songs were quite out there for the quite often bubblegum pop of the 1960s.
I first heard this song when my dad brought home a record of the soundtrack to a film called Stardust. It featured David Essex and Adam Faith, it took a good few years for me to see the actual film on an obscure TV channel. But the double album featured some very cool songs from the 1960’s even though it was made in the year I was born 1974. This film was a follow up to That’ll Be The Day, which also had a great soundtrack. Both records had quite a few outings on my turntable and got me interested in a lot of other bands. Bee Gees being one, along with a certain Jimi Hendrix – ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and Derek & The Dominos – ‘Layla’.
Not a sing along this one but a good example of how a story song can be made into a pop tune.

Favourite lyric : Well I laughed but that didn't hurt / And it's only her love that keeps me wearing this dirt
Location: Rayleigh, UK

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