"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

written and sung by

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

, and released on the Bee Gees' album '' Trafalgar'' in 1971, and the second single release taken from the album.

Recording and release

This slow dramatic piano ballad was described by Robin Gibb in the liner notes of ''

Tales from the Brothers Gibb ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song'' is a box set compilation released by the Bee Gees in 1990. Originally released on four cassettes and four compact discs, ''Tales'' is a summary of the Bee Gees output from their third album, ...

'' box set as "...the dawning, or the closing, of the 'gotta find out who I really am' era." This track was the last song recorded for the album. "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was recorded on April 7, the same day when they finished the tracks "Israel", "It's Just the Way" and "Engines, Aeroplanes". The single was released in October 1971, two months after the number 1 hit "

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album '' Trafalgar''. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in ...

". Considering that "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" was a number 1, it was surprising that this did not even make the top fifty. '' Cash Box'' said of it that it was "another classic outing from the Brothers Gibb certain to trigger off a mighty sales explosion" and repeat the chart success of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. With the success of "...Broken Heart",

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

was choosing ballads exclusively for Bee Gees singles during this time. This song along with "Walking Back to Waterloo" was released as a double A-side in Spain, Canada, Japan and the US. The album version of the song was faded at 5:24. A promotional single issued by Atco in the US, featured the song in its mono and stereo versions on its respective sides.

Personnel

— lead vocals * Robin Gibb - harmony vocals *

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lea ...

—

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, bass, harmony vocals * Geoff Bridgford — drums * Bill Shepherd —

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l arrangement

Chart positions

References

{{authority control 1971 singles Bee Gees songs Songs written by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robert Stigwood Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb Polydor Records singles Atco Records singles 1971 songs 1970s ballads