You Don't Bring Me Flowers
Neil Diamond Barbra Streisand
Song Lyrics / Chart History / Artist Information

  • Written by Neil Diamond along with the lyric writing team of Alan & Marilyn Bergman
  • Diamond attended Brooklyn's Erasmus High School, where he was in the chorus with another star to be, Barbara Streisand, yet they didn't really know each other until years later 
  • The song was originally performed by Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand
  • It was #1 on the Billboard Top 40 chart in 1978
  • Diamond was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame in 1984
  • At an interview at the ASCAP Extended Songwriters' Workshop, held in November, 1996, the Bergmans related the story of how the song came into being:

Marilyn: That's a very funny story. Neil Diamond -- this sounds like a real Hollywood story, but it's the truth -- was at a dinner party with Norman Lear, the television producer, and he asked if Norman had any great television series coming up, because he'd like to write the theme song.

And Norman said, "Yes, I've got a show that we're getting ready to do a pilot on called All That Glitters, and I don't have main title for it. 

Neil offered to write it, and Norman asked that he write it with us. So we wrote this 45-second (because that's all the time we had for a theme) song called "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." 

The show was about the reversal of roles; a woman-dominated society was the premise of the show. 

Now, between the time that the song was written and the pilot was filmed, the premise of the show changed, and the song didn't fit anymore. So we scrapped it, and about six or eight months later we ran into Neil, and he said that he was doing the song on the road and that everybody liked it. 

We said, "What song? It's 45 seconds long!" He said, "Well, I do a little instrumental part, then I come back," and we decided to finish the song, and he recorded it. And I guess Barbra heard it and liked it. She recorded it, and she and Neil had unknowingly recorded it in the same key, and a disc jockey in... Tulsa? Someplace like that... intercut the two versions --

Alan: He was getting divorced, and he made it as a present for his wife. The station started getting calls asking where they could get the record, and of course there was no record, but Neil and Barbra went in and recorded it. Anyway, the show died a very quick death, and perhaps the song would have gone with it if it had been used.


A sample of this song as performed by Oracle is available by clicking on either of the links below.  The RealAudio file will stream to your computer rather quickly assuming you have the RealAudio player installed.  The MP3 file must download completely first, but is of a higher audio quality.

   
Streaming RealAudio Download MP3

Other Songs by Neil Diamond Performed by Oracle:


 

The Essential Neil Diamond

The title says it all.  38 tracks on 2 CDs for one great price from Amazon.com. Includes all the favorites from the 60s and early 70s, through the biggest hits from "The Jazz Singer", right up to the poignant "Heartlight" inspired by the movie "ET - The Extraterrestrial"

This is a must-have collection for anyone looking for the best of Neil Diamond

 

 

Song Lyrics - You Don't Bring Me Flowers

You don't bring me flowers
You don't sing me love songs
You hardly talk to me anymore
When you come through the door
At the end of the day

I remember when
You couldn't wait to love me
Used to hate to leave me
Now after lovin' me late at night
When it's good for you
And you're feeling alright
Well you just roll over
And you turn out the light
And you don't bring me flowers anymore

It used to be so natural
To talk about forever
But 'used to be's' don't count anymore
They just lay on the floor
'Til we sweep them away

And baby, I remember
All the things you taught me
I learned how to laugh
And I learned how to cry
Well I learned how to love
Even learned how to lie
You'd think I could learn
How to tell you goodbye
'Cause you don't bring me flowers anymore


Note that the lyrics posted here are those as interpreted and performed by The Oracle Band. In a few cases we have taken some liberties with the lyrics to make them more appropriate for tasteful gatherings. Their use here is intended as an aid for people in selecting music for their wedding reception or private party, and may not be reproduced for any commercial, for-profit use.

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