I Need You
Written by Gerry Beckley, ©1971
Found on America, History, America Live, America's Gold, Live In Central Park, America In Concert (85), Ventura Highway And Other Favorites, The Very Best Of America, America In Concert (95), Van Go Gan, Horse With No Name, You Can Do Magic, Premium Gold Collection, Centenary Collection, Heard, Live, Go Man Go, Highway, Hits You Remember Live, The Definitive America, The Complete Greatest Hits, The Grand Cayman Concert, and Here & Now.

We used to laugh, we used to cry
We used to bow our heads then, wonder why
And now you're gone, I guess I'll carry on
And make the best of what you've left to me
Left to me, left to me

I need you like the flower needs the rain
You know I need you, guess I'll start it all again
You know I need you like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you, I need you

And every day, I'd laugh the hours away
Just knowing you were thinking of me
And then it came that I was put to blame
For every story told about me
About me, about me

I need you like the flower needs the rain
You know I need you, guess I'll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you
I need you like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you, guess I'll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you

I need you like the flower needs the rain
You know I need you, guess I'll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you
I need you like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you, guess I'll start it all again
You know I need you, I need you ...

Highway Highlight (from the box set booklet) The achingly melodic ballad "I Need You" is one of the album's standouts. In structure and sentiment, it placed Beckley firmly in the (mostly) British pop-rock tradition of Lennon/McCartney, Barry Gibb, and Badfinger's Ham/Evans, to cite a few. Gerry: "That's one of the first things I ever wrote, maybe in late '69. I remember sitting with my guitar in my lap and working out the chords on the piano, 'cause I thought, This is more of a piano song. I was a huge fan of Barry Gibb, and he had this song, 'First Of May,' and that's where I got 'We used to laugh, we used to cry...' I was throwing all these things together, and it came out as 'I Need You.' I was never happier with any result." The lyric had some personal meaning: "Those high school relationships--they hurt like hell when they don't work, and they feel like nothing else on this plant when they do. And that line, 'We used to bow our heads and wonder why...'--my dad used to drag us to church every Sunday." "I Need You" became a #9 single for the group in July 1972. It was later recorded by Harry Nilsson, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, and other artists, and it remains Beckley's most-covered song.