"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" is a song performed by

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

, and the lead single from her self-titled debut album ''

'' (1971). Her friend and frequent collaborator

Jacob Brackman Jacob Brackman (born 1943) is an American writer, journalist, and musical lyricist. After graduating from Harvard University in 1965, he went to work for ''Newsweek'' as a journalist. He remained there for six months and was then hired by ''The ...

wrote the lyrics and Simon wrote the music. The song reached peak positions of No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. It is an

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

with a semiclassical melody in the style of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

, and Elektra staffers were worried the single was too emotionally complex to be released as Simon's first single. With subject matter that includes "the parents' bad marriage; the friends' unhappy lives; the boyfriend's enthusiasm for marriage but controlling nature; the woman's initial resistance and ultimate capitulation." Simon was quoted as saying, "When I first wrote it I thought it was an unusual thing for people to break up, and now all my friends are divorced."

Recognition

The success of the song propelled Simon into the limelight. Apart from being a Top 10 hit, the song also earned Simon a nomination for

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

at the

14th Annual Grammy Awards The 14th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 14, 1972, and were broadcast live on television in the United States by ABC; the following year, they would move the telecasts to CBS, where they remain to this date. They recognized accomplishments b ...

in 1972, where she also won

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

. "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" has been included on several compilations of Simon's work, including '' The Best of Carly Simon'' (1975), ''

Clouds in My Coffee ''Clouds in My Coffee: 1965-1995'' is a three-disc box set by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on November 7, 1995. A full career retrospective at the time of its release, it contains 58 songs spanning Simon's ...

'' (1995), '' The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better'' (1999), ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' (2002), and '' Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits'' (2004), ''

Carly Simon Collector's Edition ''Carly Simon Collector's Edition'' is a special edition compilation of Carly Simon songs on three discs in an attractive tin box, released by Madacy Entertainment, on March 31, 2009. The thirty songs are selections from Simon's first eleven stu ...

'' (2009), and '' Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection) '' (2015). In July 1971 the single reached number one in Boston (WRKO), Burlington, Vermont (WDOT), New Haven (WNHC) and Rochester, New York (WSAY). No music video existed for this song, although a filmed performance was produced for an episode of the early 1970s

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

The Great American Dream Machine ''The Great American Dream Machine'' was a weekly satirical variety television series, produced in New York City by WNET and broadcast on PBS from 1971 to 1972. The program was hosted by humorist and commentator Marshall Efron. Other notable cast ...

''. In addition, Simon's performance of the song in New York City at the 1971

Schaefer Music Festival The Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park was a recurring music festival held in the summer between 1967 and 1976 at Wollman Rink in New York City's Central Park. It featured a number of notable performances. The sponsorship was taken over by D ...

was filmed for the ABC television special ''Good Vibrations from Central Park''. Simon performed on the 2nd and 3rd of July. ABC broadcast its special on August 19, 1971. In 2009, video of Simon's performance was posted to the official Carly Simon YouTube channel, where, as of 2022, it is still available.

Track listing

;7" single * "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" – 4:15 * "Alone" – 3:36

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Awards

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{Authority control 1971 debut singles 1971 songs Carly Simon songs Songs written by Carly Simon Songs written by Jacob Brackman Song recordings produced by Eddie Kramer 1970s ballads Elektra Records singles Songs with feminist themes Songs about marriage