Carole King wrote this with Toni Stern, a free-spirited painter and lyricist from Los Angeles who complemented King very well. It’s never too late to learn more about Carole King. Said Stern: “I’m sure there was a California quality in me that appealed to Carole. She was moving from a familial, middle class lifestyle to Laurel Canyon, where she started to let her hair down, literally and figuratively. We worked off our contrasts.”
Stern would usually agonize over lyrics, but she wrote these very quickly. Stern also worked with King on the Tapestry track “Where You Lead.”
This intimate song is a great example of the singer/songwriter sound that King helped popularized. Over a moody melody, King sings about how she realizes her once-promising relationship is over. While she’s putting on a brave face, she’s feeling tormented inside.
This was released as the B-side to “I Feel the Earth Move.” After a few weeks of continuous airplay with “I Feel the Earth Move,” many DJs all over the States decided to give “It’s Too Late” an equal amount of airplay. Soon, it came to the point where everyone preferred “It’s Too Late,” which ended up topping the charts by May of 1971. “I Feel the Earth Move” never charted.
“It’s Too Late”
Stayed in bed all mornin’ just to pass the time.
There’s somethin’ wrong here, there can be no denyin’.
One of us is changin’, or maybe we’ve just stopped tryin’.
And it’s too late, baby now, it’s too late,
Though we really did try to make it.
Somethin’ inside has died, and I can’t hide,
And I just can’t fake it, oh, no, no.
It used to be so easy, livin’ here with you.
You were light and breezy, an’ I knew just what to do.
Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool.
And it’s too late, baby now, it’s too late,
Though we really did try to make it.
Somethin’ inside has died, and I can’t hide,
And I just can’t fake it, oh, no, no.
There’ll be good times again for me and you,
But we just can’t stay together; don’t you feel it too?
Still I’m glad for what we had and how I once loved you.
And it’s too late, baby now, it’s too late,
Though we really did try to make it. (we can’t make it)
Somethin’ inside has died, and I can’t hide,
And I just can’t fake it, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
It’s too late baby, it’s too late now darling
It’s too late.
“I Feel The Earth Move”
I feel the earth move under my feet
Feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you’re around
Ooh, baby, when I see your face
Mellow as the month of May
Oh, darling, I can’t stand it
When you look at me that way
I feel the earth move under my feet
Feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you’re around
Oh, darling, when you’re near me
And you tenderly call my name
I know that my emotions
Are something I just can’t tame
I’ve just got to have you, baby
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down
Feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I just lose control
Down to my very soul
I get a hot and cold all over
Feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down,
Tumbling down, tumbling down…
So Far Away
So far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn’t help to know you’re just time away
Long ago I reached for you and there you stood
Holding you again could only do me good
Oh, how I wish I could
But you’re so far away
One more song about moving along the highway
Can’t say much of anything that’s new
If I could only work this life out my way
I’d rather spend it being close to you
But you’re so far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn’t help to know you’re so far away
Traveling around sure gets me down and lonely
Nothing else to do but close my mind
I sure hope the road don’t come to own me
There’s so many dreams I’ve yet to find
But you’re so far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn’t help to know you’re so far away
ALSO READ AND LISTEN TO:
- “Leaving On A Jet Plane” – Play, Repeat, Play And Repeat Again!
- The Shirelles: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”
- Herman’s Hermits : “I’m Into Something Good”
- Jim Croce’s ‘Time In A Bottle’ May Have Outlived Him, But He Will Stay In Our Hearts For Eternity
- Simon & Garfunkel: “The Sound Of Silence”
What is your favorite Carol King song? Share your memories, comments or suggestions in the comment section below…
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