I'm Not in Love
(Gouldman/Stewart)
Originally recorded by: 10CC


I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

I like to see you, but then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you, don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

(Be quiet, big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)

I keep your picture up on the wall
It hides a nasty stain just lyin' there
So don't you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)
Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time

I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, I'm not in love...

(playing time: 6:09)

Song Facts: This can be found on The Day After Yesterday.

Rick performed this on Good Morning America on the day of the cd release. This was the second single from The Day After Yesterday CD.

Footnote - the background photo was taken in Oshkosh, WI on 9/01/05 by Renata Hearn during the performance of this song.
  

According to US

To start off an album of "songs he wishes he had written" Rick sure picked the most male chauvinistic one of the bunch included. The whole thing reeks of the typical immature male attitude when it comes to dating. They don't want to admit they feel anything that would lead to commitment. "And just because I call you up, don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made" and "I'd like to see you, but then again, that doesn't mean you mean that much to me" Arggh. I'm sort-of glad Rick didn't write this one. It pisses me off a bit that he's singing it, I'm not sure what kind of feeling I'd get knowing they were his words. Now I know I've read that this song is more about a break-up and the man's denial of the breakup - which is *supposedly* what the female whispering "big boys don't cry" means, but I just don't get that from this song. 

I know I've heard this song before Rick covered it, but never really paid much attention to it. After I researched a bit and realized it was a number one song in 1975...well that explained everything. I wasn't listening to much Top 40 radio in 1st grade. :-) Every time I listen to this though, I get the feeling it was in a movie. So I went to my trusty Google search engine (man I love that Google) and yep - it was in The Virgin Suicides (1999). I'm not saying that movie is one of my favorites or anything, I just knew it was in something I had seen way after 1975.

Then I found a few more interesting tidbits:
The band 10cc also recorded the song "The Things We Do for Love". Now THAT song I really like!
Donny Osmond also did a cover of this song. I kid you not... it's on his album titled Somewhere in Time.
The Pretenders also did a cover of this song, as well as Tori Amos.

After some more searching to hear those versions, I've decided I like Rick's the best. Of course I'm biased - but I'm thinking a non-Rick fan choosing blindly would've picked his as well.  - Michelle P.

I like this song! I really like it alot. I know the meaning of it is not what any woman would want a man to tell her. However, just listening to the "song" itself and without dissecting it, I enjoy it. The wind chime sounding parts are really awesome. I know they are probably not actually wind chimes. It is probably a xylophone of some sort or probably even done with a computer in this day and age. This part makes it relaxing and soothing to me. The strum of the guitar is another little part that is just comforting and in some ways makes me want to tap my toes, or move my foot to the rhythm.

Now I (like many others) can't stand the "Big boys don't cry" part, either. If you listen to the words, he is telling someone that he is not in love with her (whether he really is or not) Why in the heck would she be telling him not to cry?!?! I just don't get that part..... I believe "INIL" is one you could just interpret however you would like. For instance, it could have more than one meaning to it. I see it as some guy (or jerk, rather..LOL) who is really head over heels for this woman, but can't admit it to her, because of his pride. 

This one is another "when is it ever gonna end?" song for me. It would have been safe to cut off the last 45 seconds to this one, and the enjoy-ability would still be there. Overall, very nice music, and vocals are just right! - Amy L.

Ready? You sure? If you offend easily, you might want to stop here. (DEEP BREATH) Okay then,

I'm not in love....
With this song...
AT ALL!

I have listened to this dang thing about 10 times HOPING to find something nice to say about it. I have plenty of not so nice, but a tiny little pittance of nice to add. OH THE SHAME OF IT!

I guess I'll just jump in and get this over with.

LYRICS: 
I HOPE this is not a song Rick wishes he wrote because I can't stand the lyrics. It is not about the arrogance that some have brought up, I think ultimately the song is about denial, not conceit, but more about the fact that some entire phrases just make no sense at all...for instance: I keep your picture up on the wall It hides a nasty stain just lyin' there. Now I don't know about you, but I have never thought of something lying on a wall. Laying against, hanging on, dripping from....but lying there - NOPE. Bad phrasing and not at all up to Rick's standards. 

Also the (It's because...) it's because WHAT? Trickle down economics? The rise and fall of Brittany Speers? Some bizarre astrological event? She prefers Coke to Pepsi? WHAT??? What is it because? 

And finally BIG BOYS DON'T CRY. Okay, sorry but that just sounds so cheesy? Mushy? Icky? GAY!!! (To use one of Rick's words.)

RICK'S VOICE:
Don't like it. He is trying too hard to add something to the words by using his voice and making all kinds of grunts and growls. I love his grunts and growls normally, but not in a song that does not lend itself to them. I am supremely embarrassed to admit it, but I refer to this one as "The Constipation Song" as Rick just grunts all the way through it for no apparent reason. I don't really blame his for it, though, I certainly get constipated when I have to listen to these off the wall lyrics!

Finally, I think I know why this song and Rick don't mix. After hours of heavy research, and days of intense personal therapy, I think I figured it out. It is TOO LONG! Rick is the KING of the 3 minute wonder. Calling All Girls? 3:26 Carry Me Away? 3:01 Jessie's Girl? 3:14 Love Somebody? 3:33 Perfect? 2:57 Will I? 3:18 

With INIL coming in at a whopping 6:09, there is just no way this gels with Rick and HIS music. It is too long, too sappy, too lyrically diluted, and too atmospheric to even be on Rick's radar let alone one of his albums.

As for my good point? I never really did find one other than since this is the first song on TDAY, it is east to skip over. Also, it is the one I like least on the CD, so at least I don't have to do a review like this again any time soon. I hate to criticize ANYTHING Rick has a hand in, but this song is just like nails on a chalk board for me.

I think I'll go listen to a continuous loop of My Depression to cheer me up :-) - Anna C.

I actually like Rick's voice on this song, but then again, it takes a lot for me not to (like an Alien Virus, for instance). However, I was a little traumatized after Good Morning America when his throat totally went out on him right before he went on live tv. It's hard to hear this song now, and not remember that.

I've always seen this song as the guy being totally in love with the girl, but not wanting to admit it. I don't think that's usually Rick's style when he writes. His emotions are so out there in the song, maybe that's why this feels a little "off". On the other hand, for me, that's the upside to the songs on TDAY, these are songs we'd never hear out of Rick otherwise. He may say they are songs he wished he'd written, but most of them don't seem like songs he'd ever write.

"It's because"......he can't finish the sentence because he's trying to deny it's because he's in love with her, that's what he needs to be saying "because I love you", but he doesn't want to, so the sentence is left unfinished. 

Big Boys Don't Cry.....I don't get that either. I agree the song is way too long, and this part could definitely have been left out. I also kind of don't get the "you'll wait a long time for me". I like that part, it just doesn't seem part of this same song. It's almost like an afterthought...he's just rambled all these excuses as to why he acts like someone who is in love, but he's not, and he's throwing that in, too. - rlh

This is one of those songs that I cannot make up my mind about. I have mixed feelings when I hear it. One day when I hear it, I like it---it's peaceful & gives me that nostalgic feeling. But then there are times when I hear it & think, "no…I'm not in the mood for this," and I switch it. If I am picking & choosing songs to hear from TDAY, for a quick listen, this is not one of them.

As a child, I loved the 10 CC version of the song when it came across the classic rock stations. When I heard Rick was covering the song, I was happy. But then when I heard it, it didn't give me that feeling, the way it did back then. Maybe it really is growing on me though, because like I said, some days when I hear INIL, I do like it. I especially love the opening music with the heartbeat. I also think this was a good match for the intro to Rick's site, since he used an outer space theme. That's exactly what some of the music in it reminds me of.

Rick's voice sounds very good in this one I think. I don't know if I'd say he did the song justice…it's hard to say, since I'm so mixed on the song. I am so glad Rick didn't write this song! I guess because of the lyrics. Enough said there.

Lyrically, the song makes perfect sense to me. I feel it's about a man who has been hurt deeply, and he is trying to convince himself that he is no longer in love with this woman. I feel he is saying it more to himself, than to her. It seems egotistical on the surface, but I think as I delved deeper into it, I find it's more of a denial type song, one in which he is putting up a wall due to his pride. I think the "big boys don't cry" part fits perfectly in this song. In my opinion, it's like the inner voice (little voices!) in his head, possibly that of his mother or another female figure from his life. Boys are so often told that it's not "manly" to cry. These ideas tend to stick with men throughout their lives. To me it's that voice, or ideal, that is speaking to him & confirming/reminding him of what he is already saying. It's almost a comfort to him. I think it comes into the middle of the song at the appropriate moment. This is a Rick cover I can live with or without. - Kelley Pearson

Rick just sounds like he's going to cry in this one. His voice is so pained. It's very similar to the original song but I like Rick's take a bit better just because I feel like his voice is stronger - more solid through the lyrics. But the "Big Boys Don't Cry" line just irks me each time - why why why?? - Jen H.