BOBBY
GOLDSBORO
MUSIC.com
WORD PICTURES
SIDE ONE
1. AUTUMN OF MY LIFE (Bobby Goldsboro) (3:26)
2. THE WORLD BEYOND (Bobby Goldsboro) (2:22)
3. DANNY (Bobby Goldsboro) (2:26)
4. LOOK AROUND YOU (It’s Christmas Time) (Bobby Goldsboro) (2:24)
5. DISSATISFIED MAN (Alex Harvey) (2:30)
6. I AM A ROCK (Paul Simon) (3:15)
SIDE TWO
1. THE STRAIGHT LIFE (Sonny Curtis) (2:38)
2. IF YOU GO AWAY (Ne Me Quitte Pas) (Jacques Brel/Rod McKuen) (3:19)
3. HARD LUCK JOE (Bobby Goldsboro) (2:47)
4. LETTER TO EMILY (Bobby Goldsboro) (2:26)
5. MAGGIE (Billy Edd Wheeler) (2:14)
TAPE ONLY: IT’S OVER (Jimmie Rodgers) (2:30)
1968 United Artists Records
UAS 6657
“Word Pictures” Album
Top Position: #116 Pop
"Autumn of My Life" Single (UA #50318)
Top Position: #2 Easy Listening, #15 Country, #19 Pop
Billboard magazine, June 22, 1968, Page 18, Spotlight Singles,
Pop Spotlight - Predicted to reach the Top 20:
Following up his two million seller “Honey,” Goldsboro bounces
back with another poignant piece of ballad material with much of
the same sales potency of that hit. Beautiful Goldsboro writing
and performance. Flip: “She Chased Me”
“The Straight Life” Single (UA #50461)
Top Position: #6 Easy Listening, #36 Pop, #37 Country
Billboard magazine, October 12, 1968, Page 80, Spotlight Singles,
Pop Spotlight - Predicted to reach the Top 20:
Goldsboro leaves his “Honey” and “Autumn of My Life” ballad
bag behind, as he switches to a powerful vocal treatment of the
Sonny Curtis rhythm number that should keep him riding high
in the winner’s circle. Flip: “Tomorrow is Forgotten”
“Look Around You (It’s Christmas Time)” Single (UA #50470)
Top Position: #11 Christmas
Billboard magazine, November 30, 1968, Page 92,
Spotlight Singles, Christmas Spotlights:
Goldsboro wrote this compelling rhythm item and a big one it
will prove at both the radio and dealer level. Strong entry.
Flip: “A Christmas Wish”
Re-Issues:
All songs except for “Look Around You” and
“Letter to Emily” re-released on Pickwick
Records in 1978;
“Danny” and “Hard Luck Joe” were included on
“The Romantic, Wacky, Soulful, Rockin’,
Country, Bobby Goldsboro” LP in 1967.
Available on Compact Disc:
“Autumn of My Life,” “Danny,” “Look Around
You,” “I Am a Rock,” “The Straight Life,”
“If You Go Away”
Available on Tape:
8-Track, cassette, and reel-to-reel
Available on Vinyl Singles:
"Autumn of My Life,” “The World Beyond,”
“Danny,” “Look Around You,” “The Straight
Life,” “Letter to Emily”
Notable Covers:
“Autumn of My Life” was recorded by Bobby
Bare and actor Ken Berry; “The World Beyond”
was recorded by Swamp Dogg; “Hard Luck
Joe” was country singer Johnny Duncan’s
first charted hit in 1967; “Letter to Emily” was
a single for Johnny Tillotson in 1968; and
“A Christmas Wish,” the B-side of the
“Look Around You” single, was recorded by
Bobby Sherman.
The LP labels show the album title as “Bobby Goldsboro’s Word Pictures.”
This album is Bobby’s first to feature a gatefold cover.
“It’s Over” is not included on the vinyl album nor reel-to-reel tape versions.
It only appears on 8-track and cassette tapes.
Now what, what do you say to a child of ten
How do you tell him his daddy’s going away
Do I tell him that I reached the autumn of my life
And that he’ll understand some winter’s day
- “Autumn of My Life”
I dreamed that I was living in the world beyond
And I was born after they dropped the bomb
I dreamed that I was sitting on my father’s knee
And he told me of the world that used to be
- “The World Beyond”
All the churches filled with nothing
But the quiet of the night
Doesn’t anyone remember
Why we celebrate tonight
- “Look Around You (It’s Christmas Time)”
Please let her know that I’ve finally grown
Accustomed to being alone
Please let her see she means nothing to me
And I’m no longer her own
- “Letter to Emily”
WITH PEN IN HAND - The Songwriting of Bobby Goldsboro
Inside Left Cover
Inside Right Cover
Back Cover
Side 1
Side 2
“I KNOW YOU BETTER THAN THAT” - COMMON BOBBY GOLDSBORO MISCONCEPTION
The man in the song “Autumn of My Life” is singing about his death.
False.
As the follow-up single to “Honey,” in which the wife dies, this song had some people assuming that
the husband dies. Phrases like “I knew it was the end” and “daddy’s going away” may have
confused some who weren’t listening closely enough. The song is actually about divorce.