Coming Around Again by Carly Simon

Coming Around Again by Carly Simon - Songfacts

Coming Around Again
by Carly Simon

Album: Coming Around Again (1986)

Charted: 10 18

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Carly Simon wrote "Coming Around Again" for the 1986 movie Heartburn, starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, and directed by Mike Nichols. In the film, Nicholson and Streep get married late in life. Financially they're well-off, but finding fulfillment in their union proves a challenge, especially when they have a baby.

Simon imbues the song with their relationship, depicting a woman who is reaching a breaking point as she navigates the vagaries of domestic life with a man who isn't fully supportive. "Don't mind if I fall apart," she tells him. "There's more room in a broken heart."
Simon could certainly relate to the woman in this song; her marriage to James Taylor had ended in divorce, and she had two children. Many of her songs paint a picture of her life at that the time she wrote them.

She wrote the song at her home in Martha's Vineyard, which she shared with Taylor when they were married.
"Coming Around Again" plays under the end credits of Heartburn, which opened in theaters in July 1986. No official soundtrack was released, but the song was issued as a single a few months later and reached its chart peak of #18 in January 1987, long after the movie was out of theaters.

In April, the song became the title track to Simon's 13th album. By this time, her audience had matured and she was no longer the pop star she was in the '70s, but she remained a relevant and incisive singer-songwriter. She proved quite adept at writing songs for movies; in 1988 she wrote and performed "Let The River Run" for another Mike Nichols film, Working Girl. That one won the Oscar for Best Song.
Simon came up with the title with some help from Heartburn director Mike Nichols. When she asked him what the song should be about, he replied, "again."

"Once he said the word 'again' to me, I just got 'Coming Around Again,'" Simon said in Steve Baltin's book Anthems We Love. "That's one of my most loved," she added. "There's almost nobody that doesn't love that song that is a fan of mine."
Simon was prone to anxiety attacks on stage so she didn't tour to promote the Coming Around Again album; her previous tour, in 1980, was cut short when she collapsed before a show in Pittsburgh. To promote the album, she did an HBO special recorded at two private concerts in Martha's Vineyard. It aired on July 25, 1987, and was later sold on home video under the title Carly Simon: Live from Martha's Vineyard.

Comments: 24

Nicola from EnglandI think the 'coming around again' refers to 'the game' of playing at love and happy families. It's like the whole relationship goes to the dark side, then there's the reprieve in the 'game' of happy families...which is likely to only be a short reprieve before the cycle endlessly repeats itself.

I definitely think this is about a relationship, a Mum struggling through day to day life, dealing with all the mundane parenting stuff, the Dad breezes in, pretends to be Dad of the year for five minutes, before it all goes sour again. There's probably violence and turmoil. She loves him, so she withstands a lot, and this is saying that she will continue to endure this, even though it's hard for her, she sees no way out.

It actually really reminds me of my own Mum. She used to listen to this and cry, I guess the lyrics hit really close to home for her. It figures, it's very much like her life was at the time. Myself and my two siblings were all very small at the time, and she was in a nightmare of a relationship with my selfish, drunken, irresponsible father. He put her through a lot, she had to keep fighting the fight for us children, although it must have been hard for her. She did eventually escape this situation, which was clearly toxic, although like a moth to a flame, her escape was only short lived, before she managed to ultimately get in to an even worse situation. Of course, all of this totally messed her three children up.

I still think of my Mum crying every time I hear this song. She used to listen to the version with Incy Wincy Spider tacked on, which we thought was great as kids, not understanding her sadness at all. To be honest, I find it hard to listen to now.
Arthur from Parsippany, NjIn the end credits of "Heartburn" an extended version is heard incorporating "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Simon performed this version in her HBO Martha's Vineyard concert. The children's chorus included her kids Ben and Sally Taylor.
Chris Dolan from Palm Springs, California"Life" is the "game". "So, in love with you" is written in the present, thus I concluded; that she is in a relationship & as in all relationships there are ups & downs. Although it maybe down now - " It's Coming Around Again". Song about the peaks & valleys of Life & Love .
Matt C from EnglandWhat’s the name of the guy, sat next to her on the couch?
Housewife from WalesI believe ‘the game’ is pretending to be happy. If your willing to pretend to be happy then the love you first had together will come around again. But it will never be the same.
Rey From Puerto Rico from FloridaThis song was written for the movie Heartburn. The article from the New York times " Carly Simon's Emotion-laden Self Portrait", dated May 3, 1987 by Stephen Holden explains acuretely the meaning of the song and how Carly's interpretation through the song tells the story.
Annie from Connecticut I think it's about love falling apart but then if you're willing to play the game it comes around again
AnonymousWho were the kids singing in the video?
Dave Matthews from Lancashire, EnglandAs per the video for the song, it's clearly about a marriage that is breaking down with the wife trying to live family life as though everything is normal. But to it appears to soon take on a much darker tone. The lines about (him?) breaking a window, (her?) accidentally burning food, (her?) screaming a lullaby suggest violence, an act that precipatates violence and a reaction to being the victim of violence respectively. Does the reference to "coming around again" actually mean he regularly beats her unconscious but when she recovers ("comes around"), she tries to pick up as though nothing had happened.
J From California from CaliforniaI believe this song is about rekindling an old love after the current relationship has gone down in flames.

The first stanza is how everything is amazing. Baby, husband, romance. The line "so good on paper, so romantic, but so bewildering" says to me that he's everything she thought she wanted, and she thought she was in love, but she's constantly confused by how much it's not working out.

In the second stanza, she compares the little things that are perfect, like paying bills, maintaining the household, and putting a good face on social interactions, while behind the scenes, everything is falling apart and her relationship is ending.

Now, whether Carly's referring to rekindling this broken relationship, or rekindling a previous relationship even though he broke her heart, is anybody's guess, but "coming around again" seems to indicate that it was a relationship prior to the one that just fell apart.
Andrew from Wisconsin This song reminds me of my mother. She came of age in the era of Carly Simon and Carol King.
To me the song is about a woman trying to keep herself afloat in the years after the death of her husband. While she believes in falling in-love again, there is a part of her that is still hoping that the true and only love of her life will come to save her. That love was my father who died of cancer at the young age of 49.
David from TampaI believe the game is life. Rather than veer from what everyone else does, no matter how wonderful and romantic things are in the beginning, life gets mundane and in a rut
and all that crap with having kids, keeping up appearances etc. are all for naught.
Laura from DalladCircles in life. Makes it run a bit more smoothly with time and experience.
Camille from Toronto, OhDon't forget tho....you must be "willing to play the game"...that's how you'll be able to get back on board with your life.
Camille from Toronto, OhFor some reason, I absolutely love the movie "Heartburn" even tho it's sort of my least favorite kind of movie, no real plot, just about a relationship that falls apart. I love this song, love its message. I agree with Harry in Sunnyvale, who says " life....is cyclic and renews itself constantly". I would add that LOVE, as well, is cyclic and renews itself constantly. So those moments/times in your life when you're down, it's okay, fall apart if you must, but keep the hope, because all the good stuff will be coming your way again. The mid 80s were a difficult time for me, and when this song came out, it was almost like a special message for me, and it helped me through some tough times.
Jason from Los Angeles, CaIn her video of this song she's just like an angel telling us not to worry or feel bad. Her exuberance and joy is strickenly transcendental. She tells us of course life is impermanent, but it's a game and she invites us to dance instead of laying down with sorrow, that we should get up and surf the wave of life and have fun. Then when she spins around with the words "it's coming around again," reminds me of Krishna's dancing women, or Sufi dancers that spin to transcend.
Harry from Sunnyvale, CaAlthough the song is about love fading away after marriage and raising a family, to me it's broader than that, it's about losing someone you love because they left you or they died. because life by it's very nature is impermanent, but it's also cyclic and renews itself constantly. When I listen to this song I feel those opposing forces of death and birth at the same time, like life and love is dying and being reborn moment to moment. I can feel that in this song in it's nascent state, full of hope, love and excitement, right before it's about to manifest into living and dieing, again.
Sarah from Kennewick, WaThanks to those who replied...I think I originally left that comment several years ago. Being older and having experienced more of life, I completely
understand this song now. It just makes me so sad :'(
Melissa from Beaufort, ScI am only 28 right now, and I know in my heart this song is about loveless marriage...and how the wife wants to fix it. She is saying that their love will never be the same, but they can try again after they have re-discovered themselves after the children and house wiving.
John from Uk, United KingdomI think it's about love and the fact that family life in reality can be quite hard. Things have gotten too much for the the woman and she knows that the changes in her and her husband have pushed them apart. But she knows she still loves him and just needs time and understanding to get to rebound. So she declares her love for him and asks for him to try to be romantic again because this time she'll be responsive.

It's a great song because it says very perceptive things about marriage, and you can feel it is based on genuine love.
Dale from Santa Fe, NmSarah, it's about a woman in a bad relationship who doesn't want to end it.
Cherie from Ny, NyThis song is about the ups and downs of a relationship. Wait around, play the game, and love with eventually return.
Sarah from Kennewick, WaWhat is this song about?!!
Gerry Walsh from Melbourne, AustraliaCarly and this song.......Magic

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