Jim has assigned us "Circle/Polygon/Square/Triangle" as today’s prompts, and it gives me the chance to use one of my favorite songs about a love triangle, Rupert Holmes’s "Him," which he wrote and released on his 1979 album Partners In Crime. I did this for Song of the Day back in June, and at that time I said this:
Occasionally I’ll remember a singer and realize that I only know one song of theirs, and go out looking for more. Such is the case with Rupert Holmes, whose 1979 song “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” was a #1 hit for him in 1979. Somehow I missed his followup to that song, 1980’s “Him.” It reached #6 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and as much fun as “Escape” was, this, to me, provokes a more emotional response.
The lyrics, from Genius:
Over by the window
There’s a pack of cigarettes
Not my brand, you understand
Sometimes the girl forgets
She forgets to hide them
I know who left those smokes behind
She’ll say, “Oh, he’s just a friend”
And I’ll say, “Oh, I’m not blind” to
Him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
It’s me or it’s him
Don’t know what he looks like
Don’t know who he is
Don’t know why she thought that I
Would say “What’s mine is his”
I don’t want to own her
But I can’t let her have it both ways
Three is one too many of us
She leaves with me or stays with
Him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
It’s me or it’s him
If she wants him, she can have him
Just exactly how we once were
It’s goodbye to he and I
And back to me and her without
Him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
Time for me to make the girl see
It’s me or it’s him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
Time for me to make the girl see
It’s me or it’s him
There’s a pack of cigarettes
Not my brand, you understand
Sometimes the girl forgets
She forgets to hide them
I know who left those smokes behind
She’ll say, “Oh, he’s just a friend”
And I’ll say, “Oh, I’m not blind” to
Him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
It’s me or it’s him
Don’t know what he looks like
Don’t know who he is
Don’t know why she thought that I
Would say “What’s mine is his”
I don’t want to own her
But I can’t let her have it both ways
Three is one too many of us
She leaves with me or stays with
Him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
It’s me or it’s him
If she wants him, she can have him
Just exactly how we once were
It’s goodbye to he and I
And back to me and her without
Him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
Time for me to make the girl see
It’s me or it’s him, him, him
What’s she gonna do about him?
She’s gonna have to do without him
Or do without me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
Time for me to make the girl see
It’s me or it’s him
And that’s Song Lyric Sunday and Song of the Day for December 20, 2020. If I don’t see you before then, Merry Christmas!
Like you, John, this one must have passed me by back in the day.
The fact that it did as well as it did was a real surprise, because Chicago was a huge radio market, but I never heard it there. I need to run through the surveys for WLS and see if it ever made the chart.
This is a new one for me, too, John.
As popular as it appears to have been, I’m surprised so many people (including me) don’t remember it. I must have been in the wrong place…
We must have all been in the same place.
Haven’t heard this one before. And I was very curious if anyone could find a triangle song. Great choice.
I hadn’t heard it until a while ago, and was surprised it did so well on the chart. Must not have been listening to the radio at the right time…
Him or me makes a love triangle, nice music John.
You made me think of the Paul Revere and the Raiders song “Him Or Me (What’s It Gonna Be).”
I’ve never heard this but what a great song!
Sometimes it’s worth it to find the other songs an artist did. He had several albums and a few other singles, none of which did so well but they weren’t bad.
I’m sure that is true for many artists. There can be songs on an album that are not played much but are excellent!
That was where album-oriented rock was such a good format. They weren’t just playing the singles, they were playing other tracks off an album that might not be heard on the air elsewhere. It gave you a better sense of where they were musically.
I like this one Jim 💜💜
Glad you like it, Wanda… 🤣
Wow, I do remember this one! Good song 🎶
It’s become one of my favorites. He was always a great songwriter and has gotten into writing musicals. Did you ever see “Remember WENN” on AMC? He wrote that show, too. Talented guy.
Nope. But agree on his talents!