By Randal C. Hill
One well-placed—and unusual—word in a song title can make a big difference.
Born in England in 1948, Dame Olivia Newton-John moved to Australia at age six. Years later, after winning a talent competition, she returned to England, where she performed in clubs while waiting for a break.
She signed with America’s Uni Records label (later MCA) and scored a minor 1971 hit with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “If Not for You.” Like any recording artist, though, she yearned to reach the peak of the pop charts one day.
“I Honestly Love You” didn’t start out to be Olivia’s first chart-topping single; Peter Allen, an Australian singer-songwriter, had co-written it with New York songsmith Jeff Barry (“Chapel of Love,” “Hanky Panky,” “Leader of the Pack.”)
Allen decided to record the finished product himself. He cut a demo (demonstration record) to shop around to various labels, but Newton-John, upon hearing it, wanted the work for herself.
She recalled the first time she came upon Peter’s demo. “My heart stopped when I heard the lyrics: ‘I love you… I honestly love you.’…I knew that everyone would be able to make those words fit their own story of love and perhaps even loss. Just putting the word ‘honestly’ into the mix made it even more poignant.”
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In Olivia’s hands, “I Honestly Love You” involves a love situation that can’t go anywhere. Both people involved here are in a committed relationship with someone else, and despite their chemistry they aren’t going to do anything about the temptation they’re facing:
If we were both born in another place and time
This moment might be ending in a kiss
But there you are with yours
And here I am with mine
So I guess we’ll just be leaving it at this
I love you
I honestly love you
In a gratifying concoction of strings and pianos, Newton-John’s producer, John Farrar, managed to keep the arrangement soft and delicate. Olivia, always a convincing vocal actor, sells the song well, her voice quavering with emotion but projecting quiet strength.
“I Honestly Love You,” a Grammy winner, became the first of five chart-topping singles that she recorded during her stellar career.
