Released 17 February 1997 Recorded 1996 | Format 7" single, CD Genre Pop | |
B-side "Rings Around the Moon" Length 4:49 (album)
4:20 (single edit) | ||
"Alone" is a song by the Bee Gees. It is the opening track on the multi-platinum Still Waters album released by the Bee Gees in 1997, and the first single from the album. The song is a pop ballad written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb recorded in 1996. The track was a big hit worldwide, peaking at number 5 in the UK and dominating the charts in Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia at number 1. In the US the single peaked at number 28, making it their final top 40 hit in that country, after being a Billboard "Hot Shot" debut at number 34.
Contents
Barry and Robin Gibb alternate on lead vocals on the track, with both mostly using the group's trademark falsetto.
Maurice Gibb explained about the track:
"That was one of the first ones we wrote for the album. I really remember having a good time writing it. We were sort of set up in the studio here with the three of us just together and I got some bagpipe sounds. We were just screwing around. And BG programmed this groove on the computer. We thought it was cool. We don't actually go in and plan to write a ballad or an R&B song. We just say, 'Let's go that route.' And we'll follow it. And 'Alone' came out of that. I love the line 'I'm on a wheel of fortune with a twist of fate.' Because of the harmony and that chorus, it was like a bit of '50s as well. And I like the idea of being that sort of Beatlesque type of song. I wanted that rambling. That sort of Byrds type, the 12-string thing going, but we just did it with the bagpipes instead and made it all connect. It was a very exciting demo. We weren't too sure about the bagpipes, but Robin actually persisted. He said, 'They're great; you gotta keep the bagpipes.'"
Music video
Two promotional videos directed by Nick Egan were made for the song. The first one, not shown in the United States, featured the brothers singing in a spinning room intercut with a female astronaut slowly removing her space suit in zero gravity, a homage to the opening of the 1968 sci-fi cult film Barbarella. The promo for the US featured the brothers recording the song in a studio, intercut with various clips of the brothers throughout the years, as well as segments of the original video.
Track listing
- "Alone" (single mix)
- "Stayin' Alive" (live)
- "You Should Be Dancing" (Decadance)
- "Rings Around the Moon"
Cover versions
"Alone" was covered by American country music artist Monty Holmes on his 1998 debut album, All I Ever Wanted. It was released as the album's second single and peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.