Story Behind The Song

Withers told Songfacts.com that he was inspired to write this song after watching the 1962 movie Days of Wine and Roses. He said that "I was watching...Days Of Wine And Roses, with Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon. They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It's like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren't particularly good for you. It's just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I'm not aware of."

Song Description

The song was released as a single in September of 1971, becoming a breakthrough hit for Withers, reaching number six on the U.S. R&B chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "When thirty-one-year-old Withers recorded "Sunshine," his first chart hit, he was still working at a factory making toilet seats for 747s."[1] He originally intended to write more lyrics for the portion of the song where he repeats the phrase "I know" twenty-six times, but the other musicians told him to leave it the way it was. "I was this factory worker puttering around," Withers said. "So when they said to leave it like that, I left it." "Ain't No Sunshine" was originally released as the B-side to another song called "Harlem." Disc jockeys played "Ain't No Sunshine" as the single instead, and it became a huge hit. "Ain't No Sunshine" is ranked 280th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972.

Lyrics

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.
It's not warm when she's away.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And she's always gone too long anytime she goes away.

Wonder this time where she's gone,
Wonder if she's gone to stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know

Hey, I ought to leave the young thing alone,
But ain't no sunshine when she's gone, only darkness everyday.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone,
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

Anytime she goes away.
Anytime she goes away.
Anytime she goes away.
Anytime she goes away.

Playlist Creator	Playlist Name	Date Added
Felice Kaye-Cooper / Songwriter	Mama Needs A New Tiara	12/16/2009