from WHEN LOVE COMES CALLING
Written by Allee Willis, Franne Golde & Peter Noone
“God Knows” was a beautiful ballad co-written by the late, eminent lyricist, Allee Willis (1947-2019), with fellow songwriter, Franne Golde, and veteran UK singer/songwriter, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits fame. The trio composed the song around 1978 and it was soon scouped up by Debby Boone for her sophomore Midstream album. Boone was extremely successful in 1977 with her breakthrough #1 hit, “You Light Up My Life.”
In May of 1978, “God Knows” became the second single to be released from the album. It would became a multi-format minor hit, reaching #74 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #22 on the Country chart and #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
In a recent interview, Boone talked about “God Knows”: “the reason why the single only reached #74 is that disc jockeys saw the title, ‘God Knows,’ coming from Pat Boone’s daughter, with his conservative image, which was true for me too, and determined it was a religious record and said ‘no’.”
A love song like “God Knows” probably felt right for Deniece Williams who covered it on her 1979 album, When Love Comes Calling. That song and a good portion of her album were produced by David Foster. Foster took great care of Williams’ superb voice and helped her yield a string of fantastic vocals that went into creating a superb soul/pop record. On “God Knows,” Williams’ gorgeous performance add a strong gospel-infused feel into the scenario of the song. A pristine musical arrangement was delivered by Foster with the help of luminaries including the amazing Jeff Porcaro (1954-1992) on drums, the awesome Steve Lukather on guitar and their former Toto bandmate, David Hungate on bass. Foster played his trademark keyboards and the track was embellished with lush strings and horns courtesy of Bill Meyers and Jerry Hey.
Around 1982, “God Knows” was also recorded by UK pop vocal group, The Nolans, on their Portrait album. It was a nice rendition although it does not compare to the versions by Boone or Williams.
- Lead Vocals: Deniece Williams
- Keyboards: David Foster
- Drums: Jeff Porcaro
- Guitar: Richard Feldman & Steve Lukather
- Bass: David Hungate
- Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
- Backing Vocals: Bill Champlin & Deniece Williams
- Horn Arrangement by Jerry Hey
- String Arrangement by Bill Meyers
- Produced & Arranged by David Foster
- Co-Produced by Deniece Williams
Lyrics
Out of the pages of books that I’ve read
I can recall that somewhere someone said
If you don’t succeed, try again
So I’m coming to you with my heart in my hand
Using every ounce of strength that I have
Don’t turn me away
‘Cause I live and breathe you
God knows how much I need you
And I’ll never leave you
God knows I love you
Too insecure is lovers who fail
The princess and the white knight
Live in fairy tales or so the story goes
We read so right from the very start
But here we are both with broken hearts
Let’s not part this way
‘Cause I live and breathe you
God knows how much I need you
And I’ll never leave you
God knows I love you
Time ran away and took you by the hand
If I can’t bring you back, maybe time can
‘Cause I live and breathe you
God knows how much I need you
And I’ll never leave you
God knows how much I love you
God knows how much I love you
God knows how much I love you
God knows how much I love you