Gilbert O'Sullivan: Clair Meaning
Song Released: 1972
Clair Lyrics
The moment I met you, I swear.
I felt as if something, somewhere,
Had happened to me, which I couldn't see.
And then, the moment I met you, again.
I knew in my heart that we were friends.
It had to be so, it couldn't be...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:I can barely believe the bullshit I'm reading here, calling Gilbert a Paedophile. For your Information, Gilbert O'Sullivan(real name Raymond O'Sullivan) babysat for his manager's (Gordon Mills)daughter, Claire, who was 3 at the time the song was composed. O'Sullivan himself was 16. When the lyric says "I'm going to marry you If you'll marry me, uncle Ray"(meaning Gilbert), who hasn't heard little ones say that to an ordinary, much loved adult or family member? He loved that little girl and she loved him, In a totally platonic way (he mentions them being friends In the song). How such a beautiful, heartfelt and poetic song can be twisted Into a Paedophilic anthem makes the accusers the sickos! If you want to see real paedophiles, check out Chris Hanson's "To catch a predator".
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:Pedophilia occurs covertly, but O'Sullivan's platonic affection for Claire is well known to all, including Claire's parents. This is an open and innocent love between him and the young child of O'Sullivan's manager. An online reunion video with O'Sullivan and Clair shows that the affection they shared lasts to this day.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:It is about innocence of the love. I look back on this song with great fondness as it used to be sung to me by both uncle, who as a five year old i wanted to marry when i grew up, it never had connotations of sexual love at all. And by my dad. Please stop dragging the dark and horrible into something thats intent was innocence and purity.
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There a lot of sick people in these comments. Get your minds out of the gutter folks. This is a beautiful song to a child he used to babysit for. He loved Clair and wrote a song about her. Have you ever loved a child? Then according to your warped mind you are a Pedophile too. What the hell have people come to?
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I think you all need to compare this sweet caring song to the crap our children are being exposed to by their schools. That is what should be condemned.
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Back in 1972 this song was barely on my radar. If I thought about it at all I would think “Oh this is by the guy who wrote the depressing song about being alone” and not really care about the words.
In fact I was confusing this song with “Babe, What Would You Say” by Hurricane Smith! -
Sad day and age when you can't even think about a love relationship between an adult and child without thinking pedophilia. Just the way it is today. So many men afraid of being labelled and threatened.
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It's pretty funny how upset people are getting over the paedophile interpretation, saying you have to be sick minded to hear the song in that way. It can obviously be heard as a paedo song. Musicians in the 70s were all about that young meat. There's a bunch of dodgy songs that were written back then, which were chart toppers.
For comparison, there are plenty of songs people have written about children that cannot be interpreted as even a little bit alarming, for example, 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon, 'Zoe Jane' by Staind, 'Isn't She Lovely' by Stevie Wonder, 'Father and Daughter' by Paul Simon, and the list goes on.
I think the people getting upset are reacting that way because they have fond memories and meaning attached to the song. However, that doesn't change the fact that the lyrics are definitely dodgy. If you can interpret the lyrics only in an innocent way, you probably need to think more carefully about the people you allow your children to spend time alone with. There are more paedophiles about than is comfortable to think about, and you must be on the lookout for questionable behaviour. If a teenage boy or adult man was saying to my young daughter the things said in this song, I would not allow my child to be alone with them!
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This wonderful, straightforward song only needs interpretation if English isn't your first language. And if you think it has anything to do with pedophilia, clean your brain out with soap. You're the problem.
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Obviously this is pedophilia. 'In spite of our age difference'?? Why mention age difference?? 'Nothing means more to me than hearing you say "I'm going to marry you"'--nothing means more?? 'You get to me in a way I can't describe'?? This is just not the way a normal person writes about a relationship with a young child.
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As a 1973 Claire, I was sung this song by my much loved uncles and everyone that knew that it was the song my parents chose to name me after. I always loved it. There was such innocence at that time when it was ok to adore little girls. I was never abused. Just adored and loved.
But now now I listen to it and hear the lyrics and know of the exploitation of childhood innocence during that generation that was accepted by people in that kind of industry I can only think of the flagrant abuse suffered by so many at the hands of disgusting men like jimmy saville etc it actually makes me feel sick.
Yes, perhaps it was innocent in this case but it's a reminder that for so many it was what became acceptable by so many in that era and I must admit I'm more than a tad embarrassed that for so long I was proud of being named after the little girl in the song.
I hope and pray that anyone that feels anyway at all that a relationship between an adult male and a child is more than platonic that they can get the help they need and can realise before they act that it is abuse of such innocent adoration.
I’m glad that nowadays it would be totally unacceptable video footage but also realise that for those of whom had no perverted agenda that it’s sad that it's no longer an acceptable portrayal of innocent human love towards a child. -
What a bunch of sick, disgusting people there are here. Turning a sweet, innocent song into something filthy. This song is about O-Sullivan babysitting his manager's 3-year-old daughter. In fact, THE LITTLE GIRL'S FATHER PLAYS THE HARMONICA IN THE RECORDING! Do a little research and find the real background of this song. Are you really stupid enough to think the girl's father would help to record a song about a guy abusing his daughter? Dumb fucks! Just because you're a perverted shit doesn't mean everyone else is, too!
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I think the song is beautiful when I listen to it, but when I read the lyrics it sounds a bit wrong. I don't think it would be aired on the radio today.
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Nope. Dang!
Some People here have crazy perverted thoughts.
Really!?
Right. This pedophile (Sullivan) would broadcast to the world a song that's meant to express how perverted he is? Composing a song, producing it, do all the stuff to promote the song, I mean do you guys know how hard for an artist to have his song get out there - played on the radio, over and over, sell it to the public and all. How a song come to be and the whole nine yards involves blood, sweat and tears! Think about it. SMH -
People love their dogs and cats too. Does it mean there's something going on between them? Children are very sweet, and therefore very easy to have lovely feelings for. One could adore a child so much that he misses her company, her smile, her laughter, etc. It doesn't have to mean anything else. The first rule of a pedophile is secrecy; no one must find out. But Gilbert wrote a song on it; he had nothing to hide. It's a sweet song sung to a sweet girl by a sweet singer, that all. But all these accusations only show how sick the PC society has become.
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It was a song back then that made me think of a girl classmate who I adored from a distance...I was intrigued by her gentle personality...I think she didn't know she had a angelic like persona...maybe I was too innocent to know any better...just young boys innocent crush...not much else...I found the love of my life later...who is a true angel if love and Mercy...I hope the old Claire found her true love too!!
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It was a song back then that made me think of a girl classmate who I adored from a distance...I was intrigued by her gentle personality...I think she didn't know she had a angelic like persona...maybe I was too innocent to know any better...just young boys innocent crush...not much else...I found the live of my life later...who is a true angel if live and Mercy
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"I don't care what people say, to me you're more than a child...." Um. No! A child is a child. You can jump and down all you like, but this song sexualizes a little girl. Like other entertainment and politics, incest, child abuse, and rape have been rewarded for too long. If that song came out today, he'd probably be investigated. And his manager/friend or whoever it was would probably not let him babysit anymore--unless he was abusing the girl himself. I know too many situations just like that.
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