Charlene - I've Never Been To Me

'I've Never Been to Me' is a sleeper hit single performed by American singer Charlene Oliver née D'Angelo.

Upon its initial release in 1977, the song reached number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 1982, renewed interest in the song led to the single reaching Number 3 in the USA and Number 1 in the UK. The song also reached number 1 in Australia for six weeks and in Canada for four weeks.

Originally written from a male point of view, the song was rewritten by Ron Miller for Charlene. The male version is sung from the perspective of an old man begging for a dime for a cup of coffee, addressing a younger man who is "raising hell" the way the old man used to do. The female version is sung to a housewife who wishes that she could trade her everyday life for the exciting, fantastic life led by the singer. The singer tells of some of the highlights of her life, but the tone is bittersweet and she wishes that someone had told her what she is telling the listener. She has learned what is important, but now it is too late. She finds her life hollow and without purpose, having lost her real self years before — the "me" she has never been to, is the life that she would have led if she had not been lured away by false ideas.

Charlene did two versions of the song. The version which was initially released was actually the second version which Charlene recorded. Her original version (which became more popular) has an expanded bridge, over which the singer makes an impassioned comparison between the non-committal "fantasy about people and places as we'd like them to be," versus the committed real love of a family.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Somewhere In My Life - B-Side

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