"You Don't Miss Your Water" is a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

song and the debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

written and recorded by American singer William Bell. It was released by

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

in 1961. It is Bell's signature song and best known recording.

Overview

The song was written while Bell was in New York, playing with the Phineas Newborn Orchestra, with lyrics that were not inspired by a lost love, but by Bell's own feelings of

homesickness Homesickness is the distress caused by being away from home.Kerns, Brumariu, Abraham. Kathryn A., Laura E., Michelle M.(2009/04/13). Homesickness at summer camp. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54. Its cognitive hallmark is preoccupying thoughts of home ...

. Bell recorded the song upon returning to Memphis, believing that he was making a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

. However, the recording was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the lesser known Bell single "Formula of Love". It was only after DJ's flipped the record over and began playing the B-side instead of the A-side that sales started to pick up. The song did not chart in the Billboard R&B charts (southern U.S. records were often either not given enough attention by the chart compilers or lacked the slick production of the more popular

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and uptown soul outlets), although it did reach #95 on the pop charts. Since then, the track has gone on to become a Southern soul classic. The song was also released on Bell's 1967 album ''The Soul of a Bell'', along with the original version of "

Do Right Woman, Do Right Man "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (also written "Do Right Woman — Do Right Man") is a song written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn, and made famous by Aretha Franklin. Her version was released on February 10, 1967. ''Rolling Stone'' listed it as numbe ...

", which was more famously covered by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

. Lyrically, the song's theme revolves around the singer's confession of his unfaithfulness to his lover and, now that she's gone, his realization of his foolishness.

Personnel

The following musicians played on the session for "You Don't Miss Your Water". *Jesse "Spooky" Butler – organ *

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Rec ...

– bass *

Howard Grimes Howard Lee Grimes (August 22, 1941 – February 12, 2022) was an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s. Life and career Born in Memphis, Tennessee on August 2 ...

– drums *

Marvell Thomas Ronald Marvell Thomas (August 22, 1941 – January 23, 2017) was an American keyboardist, record producer and arranger known for his work in Memphis Soul. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Thomas's studio career started at the age of 17. He ...

– piano

Other renditions

"You Don't Miss Your Water" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...

vocalist

Wendy Rene Mary Frierson, later Mary Cross (1947 – December 16, 2014), better known by her stage name of Wendy Rene, was an American soul music, soul singer and songwriter. She recorded for Stax Records in the mid 1960s. Biography Mary Frierson was born ...

in 1965, with Bell and Isaac Hayes credited as writers, but with some lyric changes and a re-titling to "Reap What You Sow."

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

released the song on his critically acclaimed 1965 album, ''

Otis Blue ''Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul'' (often referred to simply as ''Otis Blue'') is the third studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Otis Redding. It was first released on September 15, 1965, as an LP record through the Stax Recor ...

''. Fellow soul singer

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

released a version of the song on his 1967 album ''The Percy Sledge Way'' (it was the B-side to Sledge's recording of "

Pledging My Love "Pledging My Love" is a blues ballad. It was written by Ferdinand Washington and Don Robey and published in 1954. Background The song's theme is captured in the title and the opening lines: :Forever my darling, my love will be true, :Always an ...

" in the same year).

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

covered "You Don't Miss Your Water" on their 1968 album, ''

Sweetheart of the Rodeo ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as c ...

'', with lead vocals sung by

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

, although an alternate version featuring

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

on lead vocals was released on ''

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

in 1990. The song was also covered by

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

on his 1968 album ''

The Natch'l Blues ''The Natch'l Blues'' is the second studio album by United States, American blues artist Taj Mahal (musician), Taj Mahal, released in 1968. Track listing All tracks composed by Taj Mahal, except where indicated: ;Side 1 # "Good Morning Miss Brown ...

'', and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

covered the song in 1972. American country singer and songwriter O. B. McClinton released his version as a single in 1973. A

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

version of the song was recorded by

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963� ...

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

in 1965. Later a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

version of "You Don't Miss Your Water" was recorded by Tosh alone for his 1976 debut album, ''

Legalize It ''Legalize It'' is the debut studio album by Jamaican singer-songwriter and former Wailer Peter Tosh, released in June 1976. It was recorded at Treasure Isle and Randy's, Kingston. ''Legalize It'' is one of the two solo albums released in 1976 ...

''. The Good Ol' Persons recorded a bluegrass cover of the song in their 1986 album ''I Can't Stand to Ramble''.

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

covered the song in 1988 for the soundtrack album to the film ''

Married to the Mob ''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from B ...

''. Eno's version is a languid piece, with

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, harmonized vocals and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, which makes slight alterations to the lyrics (''e.g.'', changing "But now you've left me/Oh, how I cry" to "But when you left me/Oh, how I cried") and replaces the second chorus with a repeat of the first.

The Triffids' version

"You Don't Miss Your Water" was also released as a single by the Australian folk rock group,

The Triffids The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...

. Their version appeared as a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

and a

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

in August 1985. It was also available in Limited Edition Aquablue vinyl with cover artwork to accompany (aquablue replaced the grey of the original sleeve).

Track listing

All songs written by David McComb unless noted. #"You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your Well Runs Dry)" ( William Bell) - 2:50 #"Convent Walls" - 3:20 #" Beautiful Waste" (12" single only) - 3:20 #"You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your Well Runs Dry)" nstrumental(William Bell) (12" single only)

Personnel

* David McComb - vocals, guitar * Alsy MacDonald - drums *

Robert McComb Robert Harold McComb is an Australian musician who played guitar, violin, organ, and other instruments with Perth-based rock group The Triffids, from 1979 to 1989. He is the older brother of the band's founder and lead singer-songwriter, Davi ...

- guitar, violin, bass *

Martyn P. Casey Martyn Paul Casey (born 10 July 1960) is an English-born Australian Rock music, rock bass guitarist. He has been a member of the Triffids, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. Casey plays either his Fender Precision Bass or Fender Jazz Ba ...

(using pseudonym "Daubney Carshott") - bass *

Jill Birt Jillian Margaret Birt is an Australian rock musician and architect. Birt was the keyboardist and vocalist of the alternative rock and pop band, The Triffids from 1983 to 1989. In 2008, The Triffids were inducted into the Australian Recording I ...

- electric piano, organ * Graham Lee -

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

, guitar, vocals * Margaret Lami - harmony vocals

References

External links

You Don't Miss Your Water - William Bell lyrics

You Don't Miss Your Water - Brian Eno lyrics
* All Music Guide (3/5
link
{{Authority control 1961 debut singles Soul songs Otis Redding songs The Byrds songs 1985 singles The Triffids songs 1961 songs Stax Records singles Songs written by William Bell (singer)