I've Never Been to Me

"I've Never Been to Me"
Single by Charlene
from the album Charlene and I've Never Been to Me
Released	1977, 1982
Format	7", CD single
Recorded	1977
Genre	Pop
Label	Motown Records
Writer(s)	Ron Miller, Kenneth Hirsch
Charlene singles chronology
"Freddie" (1977) "I've Never Been to Me" (1982) "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down" (1982)
Official Website - http://IveNeverBeenToMe.com

"I've Never Been to Me" is a sleeper hit single performed by American singer Charlene Oliver née D'Angelo.

Chart history

Upon its initial release in 1977, the song reached number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 1982, renewed interest in the song led to the single reaching Number 3 in the US and Number 1 in the UK. The song also reached number 1 in Australia for six weeks and in Canada for four weeks.

Content

Charlene was signed to Motown Records, but this has been her only hit save for a late 1982 duet with Stevie Wonder, "Used to Be (Featuring Stevie Wonder)", which charted but failed to make the top 40.

Charlene did two versions of the song. The version which was initially released was actually the second version which Charlene recorded. Her original version (which became more popular) has an expanded bridge, over which the singer makes an impassioned comparison between the non-committal "fantasy about people and places as we'd like them to be," versus the committed real love of a family.^{[citation needed]}

In 1982, Tampa, Florida disc jockey Scott Shannon, then at WRBQ (Q105), started playing it, by which time Charlene had moved to England and was working in a sweet shop in Ilford, east London. Audience reaction was impressive, and spread quickly, resulting in the song's re-issuance by Charlene's label, the version WITH the original spoken bridge. The re-release became a huge hit in the UK.

The use of the line "I've been to crying for unborn children that might have made me complete", refers to a woman who is at a point in her life that she wished she had taken the time to have children. However, this was deemed too close to feminist issues and when Charlene's song was first released in 1976, the version used was the one without that portion (which is not part of the spoken bridge). Another line is written "I've been undressed by kings and I've seen somethings that a woman ain't supposed to see", it tells of the downfall of her life after taking time with pleasures.

Originally written from a male point of view, the song was rewritten by Ron Miller for Charlene. The male version is sung from the perspective of an old man begging for a dime for a cup of coffee, addressing a younger man who is "raising hell" the way the old man used to do. The female version is sung to a housewife who wishes that she could trade her everyday life for the exciting, fantastic life led by the singer. The singer tells of some of the highlights of her life, but the tone is bittersweet and she wishes that someone had told her what she is telling the listener. She has learned what is important, but now it is too late. She finds her life hollow and without purpose, having lost her real self years before — the "me" she has never been to, is the life that she would have led if she had not been lured away by false ideas.^{[citation needed]}

When this song was first released in the US, in 1976, Charlene's full name was Charlene Duncan through her marriage to record producer Larry Duncan, but when the song was released for a second time in 1982, the name she had taken was Charlene Oliver because of her marriage to Englishman Jeff Oliver.^{[citation needed]}

It soon rose to the top of the Pop charts and Adult Contemporary charts that year. Her LP album I've Never Been to Me, released in 1982 proved to also be successful for Charlene. Her song was one of the biggest hits of the year and became a standard in pop music.^{[citation needed]}

Charlene has not yet been able to follow-up the success of her one big hit "I've Never Been to Me", but has continued to record and release songs to the public. She released another album in 1983, but was not so successful.^{[citation needed]}

Because of her one big hit, Charlene became a one-hit-wonder in music. Charlene and her big hit "I've Never Been to Me" were featured on VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders show, hosted by William Shatner in 2002. Her position on that list was at #75.

Charlene re-released the song in the form of a dance remix via download music in 2008.

Cover versions

• Randy Crawford recorded a cover of the song, which was included on her 1976 album Everything Must Change.
• Soul singer Walter Jackson recorded a cover of the song in 1977 for his album I Want To Come Back As A Song.
• In 1977 Nancy Wilson reached #47 on the R&B chart in Billboard with her recording of "I've Never Been to Me" which served as the title cut of its parent album.
• Mary MacGregor recorded a midtempo version of "I've Never Been to Me" for her 1978 album ...In Your Eyes: released as the lead single it reached the Adult Contemporary chart in Billboard.
• Dutch singer Patricia Paay recorded the song for her 1995 English-language album Time of My Life comprising songs from movies, "I've Never Been to Me" being the opening number in the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Tracy Huang Ying Ying, a famous Taiwanese diva, covered this song and she is better known for this song in Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of Asia than the original singer. This version replaces the words "subtle whoring" with "inner feelings."
• The Temptations performed the song on their Reunion album in 1982.
• Neds Atomic Dustbin covered the song on their 1994 album 0.522. It was also included on the 1992 compilation Ruby Trax.
• Taiwanese girl group S.H.E included a cover on their 2002 album, Youth Society.
• A hi-NRG/eurodance cover of the song by Rainbow Nation featuring Monica Dionne was released as a single through Almighty Records in 2003. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.
• J-pop singer Yuki Koyanagi recorded a Japanese-language cover. It was included on the "Love Knot-Ai No Kizuna" single from 2004. She sang it in English as well, including the spoken bridge, though she does not actually understand English.

Live cover performances

• It has been covered live by Korean female duo As One in English and in Korean with somewhat similar lyrics.
• K-pop and J-pop singer Younha sung a cover of the song in English on the Korean TV program "Music Travel Lalala".

Cover versions in other languages

Cantonese

Vivian Chow's Cantonese version "孤單的心痛" (lit.The solitary heartache) is a Cantopop love song based on I've Never Been to Me.

Japanese

There are two different versions of the lyrics in Japanese. One largely follows the original theme, while a newer version has completely different lyrics written by Keiko Aso(麻生圭子) with the title "LOVE IS ALL　～愛を聴かせて～"(Love is All -Let me hear your love-). Japanese female singer Megumi Shiina(椎名恵) recorded it for a TV period drama of the unrequited love between Takeda Shingen's daughter and Oda Nobunaga's son.

The latter, positive version is often used as a wedding song in Japan; the chorus line "never been to me" is replaced with "my love is true". This reappropriation of the song's melody for use in a wedding is quite ironic, as the original song's lyrics describe a single, lonely, aged, childless, promiscuous woman who never got married and wishes she had borne children; further, the singer describes the life of a married woman - the implied listener of the song - as a "discontented mother and a regimented wife" who "dream[s] about the things you'll never do". The original lyrics' meaning would be a rather poor fit for a wedding.

However, the wild and free-wheeling lifestyle of the singer, even if presented in lurid detail (having "been undressed by kings, and ... seen some things that a woman ain't supposed to see") is presented as a warning to the bored housewife, that the boring married lifestyle is, in the end, better than a life of free-love that ends in loneliness and solitude. Seen this way, this warning could be construed as appropriate for a wedding.

In any event, this adaptation uses different lyrics, so younger Japanese listeners may be unaware of the original lyrics' meaning.

By the way, in Japan the original English version itself is known with another title "Ai wa Kagerou no you ni"(roughly meaning 'love seems ephemeral'), as is often the case for oversea songs released there.

Mandarin

"三月的玫瑰" (lit. Rose of March), performed by Taiwanese singer, Jin Rei-Yao (金瑞瑤).

Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng recorded versions of this song both in Mandarin and in English

Female group S.H.E. performed this song in one of their albums without altering the lyrics. The spoken bridge was missing, possibly because of the catchier tempo and melody that the group used to cover this song.

Spanish

Charlene herself recorded a Spanish version of this song called Nunca He Ido A Mi with the spoken bridge portion intact. It was released concurrently with the English version.

Swedish

With the lyrics "Jag har sett himmelen" (I have seen heaven) in Swedish, Kikki Danielsson recorded the song on her 1983 album "Singles Bar".

Finnish

Seija Simola recorded the Finnish version "En tunne itseäin" ("I do not know myself") in 1984. It was released as a single, as well as on the compilation "Jokamiehen suosikit 10".

Korean

"As One" (에즈원), Korean female duo, Crystal (Dahee Chae 채다희) and Min (Minyoung Lee 이민영). Lyric by Sara Yun (윤사라), and re-arranged by Jaehong Shin (신재홍). Album Day by day, released on November 11, 1999.

German

A German version with the same sentiment as in the original version, but a softer choice of words (avoiding phrases like "exploring the subtle whoring" which can be found in Charlene's original version) was recorded by Swiss-born singer Paola under the title "Ich hab' ins Paradies geseh'n (I've peeked into paradise)".

Mary Roos recorded the German rendering "Doch mich selber kenn ich nicht" for her 1978 album Maryland: Michael Kunze wrote the lyrics for this version whose title translates as "But I do not know myself". Leonard remade this version for his 2001 Rhythmus der nacht album.

In 2009, German singer Ina Müller recorded the song in the German minority language of "Plattdüütsch" (Low German) as "De Wind vun Hamborg" (meaning "The breeze of Hamburg"). The Low German lyrics, written by Müller herself, tell about the singer's experiences during her travels of Northern Germany and concluding that the most happy times have always been when she felt the breeze of Hamburg blowing, thereby transporting the sentiment that there's no place like home. Prior to the studio recording, "De Wind vun Hamborg" had been part of Ina Müller's stage act for several years and still is.

Vietnamese

A Vietnamese version of "I've Never Been To Me" was written and sung by Vân Quỳnh. The title of the song is called "Thiên Đường Ảo" ("Virtual Heaven").

Parodies

• It was covered by Irish TV puppet Dustin the Turkey (from the children's TV series The Den) with re-worked lyrics on his album Unplucked. This version replaces the title with a claim that Dustin has "never been to Meath".
• WLW Radio in Cincinnati (The Gary Burbank Show) played a parody called "Never Been To Xenia" in the 1980s.
• Filipino singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid covered this song in a second-hand expressed information.

Sampling

• Australian artist Ben Lee sampled the song for his track "No Room to Bleed" off his 2002 album hey you. yes you..

Appearances / references in other media

• In 1994, the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert opened with Hugo Weaving lip-synching this song while in drag. The song is also featured in the first act of the stage musical where it is mimed onstage by two Sydney female impersonators at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, Sydney, Australia. It is also used in the same style in the film's stage musical adaptation.
• In the sitcom Will & Grace, Jack McFarland comically performed this song during Just Jack, his first show in the 1998 1st season episode "Between A Rock And Harlin's Place".
• It was referenced on The Simpsons in the 15th season episode from 2004, "Catch 'Em If You Can", When Homer is told he has been to space, he replies "And yet I've never been to me".
• In episode 5 of season 3 of the series Absolutely Fabulous ("Fear", 1995), Eddie says, "Sweetie, I've been to paradise, but I have never been to me."
• It was sung by Edie Britt, a fictional character portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan on the hit TV show Desperate Housewives in the season one episode "Move On" from 2005.
• In the sitcom Black Books; Fran Katzenjammer realises her date is gay when he requests the song is played at a restaurant they are eating in.
• In 2006, the song was used in Toffee Pops biscuit commercials in New Zealand.
• In 2006, "I've Never Been to Me" was released as one of the songs on SingStar Anthems, one of the popular SingStar video games.
• In 2007, the song was used in the movie Shrek the Third.
• The Weekend Update segment of the September 25, 2004 episode of Saturday Night Live featured Rachel Dratch portraying Barbara Walters conducting an interview with herself (i.e. Walters): the routine ended with "Barbara" talk-singing the second chorus of "I've Never Been to Me".
• In the 2008 UK TV Series, Beautiful People, Simon's teacher Miss Prentice delivers the second verse and chorus as a farewell speech when leaving the school, replacing the word 'paradise' in the chorus with the town of Reading, where the show is set.
• Used in a montage for Tina Lord on One Life to Live.
• This song can be unlocked in Wii Music.
• The song was listed as the #3 worst song of all time in Jimmy Guterman's book "The Worst Rock n' Roll Records of All Time: A Fan's Guide to the Stuff You Love to Hate."
• A CNN poll listed the song as the #4 worst song of all time.

References

Preceded by "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant	UK number one single 26 June 1982	Succeeded by "Happy Talk" by Captain Sensible
Preceded by "Mickey" by Toni Basil	Australian Kent Music Report number-one single June 21, 1982 - July 26, 1982 (6 weeks)	Succeeded by "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls
Preceded by "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder	Canadian RPM number-one single 25 June - 17 July 1982 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller