‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the love theme and lead single from their fifth album, Agent Provocateur. The song reached number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States and is the group's biggest hit to date.
Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones wrote this song. In a Songfacts interview, he said: "'I Want To Know What Love Is' started off on more of a personal level. I'd been through a lot of relationships that eventually failed, and still searching for something that could really endure. And that sort of took a life of its own as well. It became more of a universal feeling. I adjusted that during the recording of it, and ended up putting a gospel choir on it. And you know, realized suddenly that I'd written almost a spiritual song, almost a gospel song. Sometimes, you feel like you had nothing to do with it, really. You're just putting it down on paper, or coming up with a melody that will bring the meaning of the song out, bring the emotion out in the song."
According to Gramm, Jones was originally reluctant to let Gramm hear his initial rough version of the song. Gramm speculated that the song was emotional to Jones because it "represented things in his own life that he hadn't been able to resolve, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to have millions of people hear about it.
The New Jersey Mass Choir was brought in to sing the backing vocals, becoming the first gospel choir to appear on a #1 pop hit. Mick Jones knew he wanted a choir on the song and found the New Jersey Mass Choir through a bit of serendipity: they had the same lawyer. According to Jones, the choir's first attempts to sing their part in the studio didn't have the magic, but then they gathered in a circle, said the Lord's Prayer, and nailed it on the next take.
‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on January 15, 1985, displacing Band Aid's ‘Do They Know It's Christmas?’, staying there for three weeks, and knocked Madonna's long-running ‘Like a Virgin’ out of number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 2, 1985. It was Foreigner's first and only pop chart-topper in either country, although the band had four number one Mainstream Rock hits and a number one adult contemporary radio hit in the US. This was the band's third of four number one singles on the Mainstream Rock chart. The song spent five weeks at number one in Australia and hit the top of the charts in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden, while peaking at number two in Switzerland and South Africa.
‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ remains one of Foreigner's best-known songs and most enduring radio hits, charting in the top 25 in 2000, 2001, and 2002 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart. The song has continued to garner critical acclaim, and is listed as one of Rolling Stone magazine's greatest songs of all time at number 476 in 2004 and at number 479 in 2010.
Label – Atlantic
Songwriters – Mick Jones, Lou Gramm
Producers – Mick Jones, Alex Sadkin
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I've gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I'm older
[Verse 2]
Now, this mountain, I must climb
Feels like the world upon my shoulders
Through the clouds, I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder
[Pre-Chorus]
In my life, there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life
[Chorus]
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
Oh
[Verse 3]
I'm gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
I've got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me
[Pre-Chorus]
In my life, there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life
[Chorus]
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
[Outro]
(And I wanna feel) I wanna feel what love is
(And I know) I know you can show me
Let's talk about love
(I wanna know what love is) The love that you feel inside
(I want you to show me) And I'm feelin' so much love
(I wanna feel what love is) No, you just cannot hide
(I know you can show me) Yeah
I wanna know what love is (Let's talk about love)
I want you to show me, I wanna feel
(I wanna feel what love is) And I know, and I know
I know you can show me (Yeah)
(I wanna know what love is) (I wanna know)
(I want you to show me) I wanna know, I wanna know, wanna know
(I wanna feel what love is) (I wanna feel)
(I know you can show me)