‘Lonely People’ is a song written by the husband-and-wife team of Dan Peek and Catherine Peek and recorded by America. The song was the second single release from America's 1974 album Holiday. ‘Lonely People’ reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, the Peeks' only credited song to reach that chart's top 10, and was America's second number one on the Easy Listening chart, where it stayed for one week in February 1975.
This was written by Dan Peek, who along with Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, was one of the three original members of America. Many of Peek's compositions show a very spiritual and searching side and ‘Lonely People,’ a call for the lonely and despairing to seek God, is one of those songs and easily his best known. Peek explained to Circus magazine that on this song, he was "thinking about what it would be like to wake up and not know anybody."
‘Lonely People’ was written as an optimistic response to the Beatles' song ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Dan Peek considered ‘Eleanor Rigby’ an "overwhelming" "picture...of the masses of lost humanity, drowning in grey oblivion" and would recall being "lacerated" on first hearing the lyrics of its chorus which run "All the lonely people: where do they all come from...where do they all belong". ‘Lonely People’ was written within a few weeks of Dan Peek's 1973 marriage to Catherine Maberry: Peek- "I always felt like a melancholy, lonely person. And now [upon getting married] I felt like I’d won." The lyrics of ‘Lonely People’ advise "all the lonely people": "Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup", a metaphor which Dan Peek thus explains: "It's possible to drink from another's well of experience...and be refreshed."
Famed Beatles producer George Martin helmed this song along with the rest of the album in London. Peek recalled to Circus: "Gerry (Beckley) had been in England, and we'd talked about using George Martin as our producer. He's such a hot arranger, thinking about all the stuff he's done. There were several other people we wanted to use, but that idea sort of flashed and George was available. Gerry had a house outside of London where we knew we could rehearse."
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriters – Dan Peek, Catherine Peek
Producer – George Martin
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]This is for all the lonely people
Thinking that life has passed them by
Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup
And ride that highway in the sky
[Verse 2]
This is for all the single people
Thinking that love has left them dry
Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup
You never know until you try
[Bridge]
Well, I'm on my way
Yes, I'm back to stay
Well, I'm on my way back home (Hit it)
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 3]
This is for all the lonely people
Thinking that life has passed them by
Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup
And never take you down or never give you up
You never know until you try