‘It's in the Way That You Use It’ is a 1986 song by Eric Clapton and is taken from his 10th studio album August. It went to number 24 in Australia and number 77 in the United Kingdom. It was written for the movie The Color Of Money, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise as pool sharks. The song makes no mention of billiards but has a swagger that suits the stars perfectly.
Clapton wrote this with Robbie Robertson, whose work with The Band in the '60s encouraged Clapton to get away from the long, heavy solos he was playing with Cream. Robertson was in charge of the music for The Color Of Money, but because he was not finished with his first solo album, his record company would not let him sing on any of the songs. He got around it by contributing instrumental songs to the soundtrack.
The song first appeared on the The Color Of Money soundtrack in October 1986, then was included on Clapton's August album a month later. Why August? That was the month Clapton's son Conor was born. Tragedy struck in 1991 when Conor, 4 years old, fell out a window and died. He's the inspiration for Clapton's song ‘Tears In Heaven.’ The Color Of Money soundtrack also includes Warren Zevon's ‘Werewolves Of London’ and an original song by Don Henley called ‘Who Owns This Place?’
Gary Brooker, formerly a member of Procol Harum, sang backup. He played keyboards on Clapton's 1981 album Another Ticket. This was the first track and first single from the August album, Clapton's 10th as a solo artist. The song came with a music video that mixed in scenes from the movie with shots of Clapton performing the song.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriters – Eric Clapton, Robbie Robertson
Producers – Eric Clapton, Tom Dowd
SONG LYRICS
[Pre-Chorus]It's in the way that you use it
It comes and it goes
It's in the way that you use it
Boy don't you know
[Chorus]
And if you lie you will lose it
Feelings will show
So don't you ever abuse it
Don't let it go
[Verse 1]
Nobody's right until somebody's wrong
Nobody's weak until somebody's strong
No one gets lucky until luck comes along
Nobody's lonely until somebody's gone
[Pre-Chorus]
It's in the way that you use it
It comes and it goes
It's in the way that you use it
Boy don't you know
It's in the way that you use it
It comes and it goes
It's in the way that you use it
Boy don't you know
[Chorus]
And if you lie you will lose it
Feelings will show
So don't you ever abuse it
Don't let it go
[Verse 2]
I've seen dark skies, never like this
Walked on some thin ice, never like this
I've told you white lies, never like this
Looked into true eyes, never like this
[Pre-Chorus]
It's in the way that you use it
Boy don't you know
It's in the way that you use it
Boy don't you know