"He Gives Us All His Love" is a song written and performed by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

. It first appeared in the 1971 film ''

Cold Turkey "Cold turkey" refers to the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience, as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication. Sudden withdrawal from dru ...

'', for which it served as a sort of theme song and played during the opening and closing credits. Newman re-recorded the song for his album '' Sail Away'' the following year. The ballad is both brief (running 1:52 in its ''Sail Away'' version) and very sparsely arranged. It opens with the delicate sounds of a string section and is maintained by Newman's

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 keyboa ...

in a slow "four to the bar"

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

. The song is

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

-influenced and shares both musical and thematic similarities with such

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s as ''

Jesus Loves Me "Jesus Loves Me" is a Christian hymn written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called ''Say and Seal'', written by her older sister Susan Warner (1819–1885), in which ...

''. It does not, however, discuss

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

themes of redemption but merely gives a testament of faith ("he's lookin' down on us, from up above / and he's givin' us all his love"). The tone of the song is bittersweet; the succinct lyrics include the assertion that the divine witnesses human suffering ("he hears the

babies An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

crying / he sees the old folks dying") and include the implication that being seen, and loved, might comfort. More explicitly, the narrator tells the listener "...you can lean on him." As Newman himself is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and regularly included satire in his compositions, the song can be interpreted through that lens as a sarcastic critique of religion, as it portrays a god who witnesses human suffering but merely "gives us all his love" while doing nothing tangible to intervene. Its presence in the film ''Cold Turkey'' certainly supports this ironical interpretation, since the song is played over the closing credits, as the town which has tried to be smoke-free for the duration of the movie is rewarded with a new factory, spewing smoke into the atmosphere. The song has sometimes been taken at face value, however, and has been covered by

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

and

Sherie Rene Scott Sherie Rene Scott (born February 8, 1967)Some sources give 1969, but Scott herself, at thOfficial Sherie Rene Scott Myspace Pageand at Lovece, Frank"Sherie Rene Scott is caught up in the 'Rapture'", ''Newsday'', May 6, 2010, gives 1967 is an Ame ...

, both born-again Christians. It has also been covered by

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at ...

Birtles & Goble Birtles & Goble were an Australian pop music duo composed of Beeb Birtles (born 28 November 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Graeham Goble (born 15 May 1947 in Adelaide, Australia). Although they were both full-time members of Little River ...

, Ross D. Wyllie and others. Some versions are extended to four minutes or more in length and few, if any, are as brief as Newman's original rendition.

Re-release

In the 2002 CD reissue of ''Sail Away'', this song is extended by three seconds. In the belated 2007 CD issue of the ''Cold Turkey'' soundtrack (which was Newman's first film work, and had never been issued in any format to that time), the two original versions of this song as featured in the film were included (2:35" and 2:03"). In the first version as played over the film's opening credits, the song segues into a choral gospel number called "I Love the Lord"; this portion is omitted from the soundtrack.

References

Michael S. Miller, Thoughts from the Middle of the Road
* Allmusic Song Review {{authority control 1971 songs Randy Newman songs Songs written by Randy Newman Songs critical of religion Songs written for films Song recordings produced by Russ Titelman Song recordings produced by Lenny Waronker

Re-release

See also

References