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Derek and the Dominos — Have You Ever Loved A Woman
Album: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Avg rating:
7.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1467









Released: 1971
Length: 6:50
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Have you ever loved a woman
So much you tremble in pain?
Have you ever loved a woman
So much you tremble in pain?
And all the time you know
She bears another man's name.
But you just love that woman
So much it's a shame and a sin.
You just love that woman
So much it's a shame and a sin.
But all the time you know
She belongs to your very best friend.
Have you ever loved a woman
And you know you can't leave her alone?
Have you ever loved a woman
And you know you can't leave her alone?
Something deep inside of you
Won't let you wreck your best friend's home.
Comments (219)add comment
Wait, wasn't he in love with George Harrison's wife Patty? 
Everything on this album is sooo much better than Layla, it's too bad that's the only thing that gets play anywhere but here.
Like good stuff.....eh?
I must be in the mood for da blues ,, feelin it!!!
Why oh why (ok, drugs, life events, evolving philosophy of music) would EC never play that axe like THIS again?  
Reminds me of a particularly uncomfortable period in my long-ago past:  "Thank you," kind and generous family that housed me for a weekend after I got booted from boarding school.  
 Dog_Ear wrote:

I'm here in the room at work and just keep turning up the volume...it's really loud now..a 9

What, doesn't go to . . . 11? 
I'm doing the same :)

 

Popular RnR misconception - Clapton is god. That poor bugger has been playing that name down since it was first painted on a London wall in the 60's.
 lemmoth wrote:
Don't give me that sanctimonious shit  -  Everybody has to come to the blues their own way.

 Uh... Whilst Eric, Paige, Beck and others may have indeed been born British, they sure as fuck weren't born "wealthy."

And these guys....especially Eric, have always given great credit to all the great African American artists who forged the path for them.

Most of white America would never have discovered black American blues if it wasn't for the British blues/rock players.


 

Heartily agree. Howevah, Elvis the Pelvis took many a youngin' astray with his 'Mississippi black& blues rock and roll.'  Preachers everywhere were having fits and breaking his records in response. He hit the top of the charts with Big Mama Thornton's "Houndog" in 1956. First R&R tune to do so.
 h8rhater wrote:

Uh... there's more than one on the album:  Keep On Growing, Bell Bottom Blues,  Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad, Key To The Highway, Little Wing,  Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out to name a few.
 
Funny, when you list out all the tracks it's like "uh....which one's not good?"  LLRP!!
I remember years ago in Chicago, a DJ on WXRT did a promo for some blues shows Clapton was doing, and then he said something like "I don't know why you'd bother with that when you could go to any blues club and hear real blues players."
 jp33442 wrote:
A good song besides layla
 
Uh... there's more than one on the album:  Keep On Growing, Bell Bottom Blues,  Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad, Key To The Highway, Little Wing,  Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out to name a few.
Have ever a woman wanted to be loved? or tried?
 soneill4920941 wrote:
Stolen from black artists but awesome just the same.
 
Stolen? Isn't that the source of all the Blues.
Dumb naive question 'cause this cowboy never developed a taste for opiates:

What is it like to create and work while doing heroin?

I find that MJ can on occasion be helpful during the conception stage but for the rest, being stone-cold, razor sharp straight is the best. 
 lizardking wrote:

LOL...I'll accept your potent potable knowledge....maybe the aspirin was cut with something though....?  LLRP!!
 
That would be easier than having to grind down an aspirin tablet.  
 Proclivities wrote:


Actually aspirin powder
is a big thing in the Southeast, often preferred to tablets.
 
LOL...I'll accept your potent potable knowledge....maybe the aspirin was cut with something though....?  LLRP!!
 lizardking wrote:

Aspirin powder, yeah, right...I'm thinking of another type of powder hehehe....

 

Actually aspirin powder
is a big thing in the Southeast, often preferred to tablets.
A good song besides layla
Sweet Jesus this song is good.  What a powerhouse of talent
{#Devil_pimp}zesty hooo ahhh !
 maxjboxer wrote:
I read where Duane Allman seriously damaged his left hand riding a horse (most likely intoxicated/loaded/high...) and went into a spiraling depression because he couldn't play the guitar the same way so Greg gave him a album of an artist that played the slide guitar and a bottle of aspirin powder for pain.  He then took the bottle and proceeded to use it to teach himself the slide guitar.  Amazing genius talent who died too young.

 
Aspirin powder, yeah, right...I'm thinking of another type of powder hehehe

I would say that EC really shines on this "I want your girl, George" song.  And there's another one on this album that fits that bill too....if I could only remember the name of THAT one.  LONG LIVE RP!!

I read where Duane Allman seriously damaged his left hand riding a horse (most likely intoxicated/loaded/high...) and went into a spiraling depression because he couldn't play the guitar the same way so Greg gave him a album of an artist that played the slide guitar and a bottle of aspirin powder for pain.  He then took the bottle and proceeded to use it to teach himself the slide guitar.  Amazing genius talent who died too young.
These youngsters seem to know their way around an electric gee-tar!
Stolen from black artists but awesome just the same.
 sfyi2001 wrote:


                               DUANE ~

.
.

 
{#Cheers}
One of the few tracks on RP for which 10 may just be a tad low. And they were ripping stoned drunk half the fookin time. 
Better living through chemistry. 
Awesome. Estupendástico y genialicioso. 


                               DUANE ~

.
.




 kingart wrote:
No, Eric, I have never loved a woman that much. Is it me? Was it you?  If she's causing a man to tremble in pain, he may need to re-examine that threshold and relationship. However, if a woman can make six strings tremble like you (and Duane) did on this track, perhaps that requires another kind of conclusion. 

 
Hear hear!
No, Eric, I have never loved a woman that much. Is it me? Was it you?  If she's causing a man to tremble in pain, he may need to re-examine that threshold and relationship. However, if a woman can make six strings tremble like you (and Duane) did on this track, perhaps that requires another kind of conclusion. 
 thewiseking wrote:
forget Clapton. Listen to Duane's response on slide.  
Unlike on Layla, Clapton didn't have the engineers turn him down.  

 
forget the thenotsowiseking. 

He has no idea what he is talking about https://www.guitarworld.com/eric-clapton-and-duane-allmans-isolated-guitar-tracks-layla
 thewiseking wrote:
Starts pretty good with Clapton's Freddie King impersonation. It really gets goin when Duane's slide comes in

 
Duane comes in pretty good with his Elmore James impersonation.  It really got started, though, with Eric's picking.
 stegokitty wrote:
Never been a fan of overindulgent blues guitar noodling, and this is no exception.
I'm probably one of the few classic rock fans (who grew up with this music) who dislikes everything he's heard from this entire album, wth the exception of Bell Bottom Blues. Anyway ...

 
See, now I'm the opposite.  Never enjoyed Cream, found it too bombastic.  This album though...the subtlety and emotion of the jams...wonderful.
Starts pretty good with Clapton's Freddie King impersonation. It really gets goin when Duane's slide comes in
The whole album is so good ...
 haretic wrote:

If I am not mistaken, many Eric Clapton fans responded to Derek and the Dominos much as you did. I heard it kinda broke Clapton's heart. For myself, I am a bit sad to admit that, while I knew Derek was great music; I still wished "Wheels of Fire" and "Goodbye" could have gone on forever, morphing into more music "like that"!

 

My sentiments exactly.  It would have been vastly more interesting than this.


 idiot_wind wrote:

This band ain't going nowhere. Guitar playing is so weak.

Now...Arcade Fire, Nickelback, Foo Fighters, and Fall Out Boy...those are today's bands with really good guitar players.



 
Well diverse opinions are welcome.  Wrong but welcome.
Essential Clapton.. and friends.
 
wow, good drumming, too!
oh my, I love that slide guitar
forget Clapton. Listen to Duane's response on slide.  
Unlike on Layla, Clapton didn't have the engineers turn him down.  
Never been a fan of overindulgent blues guitar noodling, and this is no exception.
 

It's just the blues brother, Clapton style.  I guess one man's noodle is another man's Pasta Primavera.  One man's torture instrument is another man's exquisitely manipulated electric guitar.  


 stegokitty wrote:
Never been a fan of overindulgent blues guitar noodling, and this is no exception.
I'm probably one of the few classic rock fans (who grew up with this music) who dislikes everything he's heard from this entire album, wth the exception of Bell Bottom Blues. Anyway ...

 
If I am not mistaken, many Eric Clapton fans responded to Derek and the Dominos much as you did. I heard it kinda broke Clapton's heart. For myself, I am a bit sad to admit that, while I knew Derek was great music; I still wished "Wheels of Fire" and "Goodbye" could have gone on forever, morphing into more music "like that"!
 stegokitty wrote:
Never been a fan of overindulgent blues guitar noodling, and this is no exception.
I'm probably one of the few classic rock fans (who grew up with this music) who dislikes everything he's heard from this entire album, wth the exception of Bell Bottom Blues. Anyway ...

 
You're not alone, but I would add "Keep On Growing."
averybadcat wrote:

What did you say your name was?

 

think you might have missed what direction the breeze was blowing..
Never been a fan of overindulgent blues guitar noodling, and this is no exception.
I'm probably one of the few classic rock fans (who grew up with this music) who dislikes everything he's heard from this entire album, wth the exception of Bell Bottom Blues. Anyway ...
Echo's of Albert King here ... in fact I thought it was when  heard the introduction, pleasantly suprised to find it was Clappers...
 idiot_wind wrote:

This band ain't going nowhere. Guitar playing is so weak.

Now...Arcade Fire, Nickelback, Foo Fighters, and Fall Out Boy...those are today's bands with really good guitar players.



 
What did you say your name was?
Even if I hadn't recognized the song, his style is instantly recognizable. Then you get Duane's slide as a little slice of lagniappe. Life is good.
 bexhillos wrote:
He did (Love a woman so much that is), unfortunatly it cost George Harrison his Marriage. Brilliant blues all the same.

 

but then George married someone else and had a son that is himself reincarnated!....
 zebull wrote:
Puuh!

Boring.
Does it never end?
 
Not a friend of this music? And  you dont think you are wrong here?
He did (Love a woman so much that is), unfortunatly it cost George Harrison his Marriage. Brilliant blues all the same.
Puuh!

Boring.
Does it never end?
 ziakut wrote:

lemmoth...

Gotta read a bit more carefully dude. Never did I say any of them were 'born' wealthy. You make a good point that 'the blues' can belong to anyone who has been handed 'hard times' out of their control in any situation (financial, emotionally or physically). As to EC giving credit to the originators...yes, yes I've heard and read this many times over. Still...the irony that emanates from their performances don't hold the same effect when I know they are well off in many more ways than anyone of us can imagine. Yes, most of 'white' America may not have discovered the blues had it not been for these mainstream artists. Should we also appreciate commercials that shamefully use classic rock songs in their quest for that extra dollar? I'll betcha most people under the age of 20 would have never been exposed to some of that music had it not been used in a Nike commercial or a movie soundtrack. All in all the sun still shines and we all have our opinions whether you agree or not. Thanks for expanding on how you felt. You make a good point...but I just don't get the same vibe hearing Clapton or Petty playing the blues. 

 
Your arguement is a strawman. They are used in adverts and movies simply because they are good and the audience enjoys them. Saying they are listened to BECAUSE they are used in movies and adverts is backwards. No ad agency would use a tune it didn't think would resonate with the marketplace.
 oldfart48 wrote:
JUST BECAUSE HE HAS A BUCK OR TWO,  WILL NEVER STOP THE BLUES ! aside from loosing a kid, even.
 
Gotta agree with you on that one, oldfart48.
 craighoog wrote:
Clapton may not live the blues, but he sure knows how to play and sing them. Marvelous.

 
JUST BECAUSE HE HAS A BUCK OR TWO,  WILL NEVER STOP THE BLUES ! aside from loosing a kid, even.

This band ain't going nowhere. Guitar playing is so weak.

Now...Arcade Fire, Nickelback, Foo Fighters, and Fall Out Boy...those are today's bands with really good guitar players.


{#Bananajam}
love, much, great eric, one of the best albums of that time!
It's too bad this band didn't have any good guitar players...like today's RnR bands...(tongue in cheek).
{#Yawn}
Well, well, well.  Guess I'm NOT going to bed right away.

"Yes, Derek," he thought.  "I surely have.  At least two."  Leaning back, he tipped the glass against his lips until the ice cubes were dry.
Clapton may not live the blues, but he sure knows how to play and sing them. Marvelous.
very, very, very nice!
 lemmoth wrote:
Don't give me that sanctimonious shit  -  Everybody has to come to the blues their own way.

 Uh... Whilst Eric, Paige, Beck and others may have indeed been born British, they sure as fuck weren't born "wealthy."

And these guys....especially Eric, have always given great credit to all the great African American artists who forged the path for them.

Most of white America would never have discovered black American blues if it wasn't for the British blues/rock players.
 
lemmoth...

Gotta read a bit more carefully dude. Never did I say any of them were 'born' wealthy. You make a good point that 'the blues' can belong to anyone who has been handed 'hard times' out of their control in any situation (financial, emotionally or physically). As to EC giving credit to the originators...yes, yes I've heard and read this many times over. Still...the irony that emanates from their performances don't hold the same effect when I know they are well off in many more ways than anyone of us can imagine. Yes, most of 'white' America may not have discovered the blues had it not been for these mainstream artists. Should we also appreciate commercials that shamefully use classic rock songs in their quest for that extra dollar? I'll betcha most people under the age of 20 would have never been exposed to some of that music had it not been used in a Nike commercial or a movie soundtrack. All in all the sun still shines and we all have our opinions whether you agree or not. Thanks for expanding on how you felt. You make a good point...but I just don't get the same vibe hearing Clapton or Petty playing the blues. 
 RoelantSiekman wrote:
Question for those who know Eric Clapton better, or -as I did- seen him perform:

Is he always this apathetic towards his audience?

The show i went to see and hear was with Steve Winwood (2011) and even though he played brilliantly (I will buy his records anytime, blind) his stage presence was utterly disappointing. He may have given the public a glance but didn't say a word. No 'hi', no (obligatory) 'nice to be here' nor a 'goodbye' when the show was over.. He just sat on his stool, did the songs (with an incredibly long tedious version of Hendrix's Cross Town Traffic) and up and went away..

It seemed to me he'd had a falling out with Steve just before the show, or was sick to his stomach or just hated being there (Arnhem, Gelredome Stadium, The Netherlands).

Could well have been. Maybe it wasn't his night as well.. But now it's hard for me to block this image and the feeling of deception, and it will still take a while before I'll play one of his albums at home with pleasure.

Sounds familiar to anyone?
 
sounds like he's been hanging out with Van Morrison.
Your experience sounds typical - some friends had the same reaction when they saw him (without Steve Winwood) in Toronto. 
Man. These blues are giving me the blues.

Not happy music is it?
DUANE
Question for those who know Eric Clapton better, or -as I did- seen him perform:

Is he always this apathetic towards his audience?

The show i went to see and hear was with Steve Winwood (2011) and even though he played brilliantly (I will buy his records anytime, blind) his stage presence was utterly disappointing. He may have given the public a glance but didn't say a word. No 'hi', no (obligatory) 'nice to be here' nor a 'goodbye' when the show was over.. He just sat on his stool, did the songs (with an incredibly long tedious version of Hendrix's Cross Town Traffic) and up and went away..

It seemed to me he'd had a falling out with Steve just before the show, or was sick to his stomach or just hated being there (Arnhem, Gelredome Stadium, The Netherlands).

Could well have been. Maybe it wasn't his night as well.. But now it's hard for me to block this image and the feeling of deception, and it will still take a while before I'll play one of his albums at home with pleasure.

Sounds familiar to anyone?
My favorite song on this album.  Has been for decades.  But so much sadness...

Duane Allman's slide is soooo missed.  I read Eric's book.  Then I read Pattie's.  This is a sad story that IMO didn't come out well for either of them.  And the closing line is just not true, as it turns out.
 michaelgmitchell wrote:
Yes, I have, Derek.
 


Afraid I have too!
Duane Allman, one of the greats, taken from us too soon.  : (
 RobN wrote:
Goosebump generating material ->9
 


Absolutely!
Achingly great blues..
Goosebump generating material ->9
Smokin'! That's a 10. 
I forgot how much I like 
From 9 to 10!
Superb. Give an 18 to that guitar solo! 
Yes, I have, Derek.
Nice!
Very nice!
 lemmoth wrote:
Don't give me that sanctimonious shit  -  Everybody has to come to the blues their own way.

 Uh... Whilst Eric, Paige, Beck and others may have indeed been born British, they sure as fuck weren't born "wealthy."

And these guys....especially Eric, have always given great credit to all the great African American artists who forged the path for them.

Most of white America would never have discovered black American blues if it wasn't for the British blues/rock players.


 



Well said. Brits growing up in the 50s and early 60s were A)struggling in a country still rebuilding after WWII and B) not allowed to hear much of the rock and roll Americans could because of BBC radio sensors. As a result, future musicians would try and get their hands on american music any way they could. Through american GIs, albums shipped to a few record stors, and pirate radio. It speaks to the dedication of people like Clapton, Beck, Richards, Townshend, Page, Harrison, etc. That blues would have such a profound influence on them, and that they would, in affect, bring the blues back in america.
Freddie King has the handle on this track
 ziakut wrote:
This is where it's at. Robert Johnson and the likes...etc. It's hard for me to stand 'the blues' by wealthy, british guitar holders. (Clapton). 
 Don't give me that sanctimonious shit  -  Everybody has to come to the blues their own way.

 Uh... Whilst Eric, Paige, Beck and others may have indeed been born British, they sure as fuck weren't born "wealthy."

And these guys....especially Eric, have always given great credit to all the great African American artists who forged the path for them.

Most of white America would never have discovered black American blues if it wasn't for the British blues/rock players.


 LizK wrote:
This one got Layla?  Can we switch over to that?  


Please turn off RP and go find your local classic rock station, thanks.

If this isn't a "10" it's beyond me...
Wow, Key to the Highway, and Have You Ever Loved a Woman today...pretty good, pretty good
 cc_rider wrote:
This feels like one of the most 'authentic' blues numbers EC and Co. ever did. Very nice.

You should check out Eric's "From the Cradle" album. No Duane Allman, but Eric plays/sings the blues with this same kind of passion for the whole dang set. His best effort so far, IMO.


Drugs or not, I love Eric's raw,dirty playing here.
This feels like one of the most 'authentic' blues numbers EC and Co. ever did. Very nice.
 ziggytrix wrote:

I think most folks would agree the drug abuse is a result, not a cause of the creativity and mad genius of our favorite (tortured) artists?

I mean, take your average junky and put a guitar in their hands, and I promise you, it's not gonna sound close to Page or Clapton.

 
Its not about junkies, its about musicians who end up on heroin along the way and what it does to them.  Some survive, in fact a lot of them do.  Its about the places that the buzz takes them to, really dark yet richly textured places and what they bring back when they are lucid.

This whole album was pretty much a result of over indulgence of heroin during the sessions.

very very nice. what a way to end the work week!!!  thanks

I'm here in the room at work and just keep turning up the volume...it's really loud now..a 9

What, doesn't go to . . . 11? 

No matter what you think of him, the guy can play the guitar!
 tugandbuster wrote:
yeah, baby!!! {#Cowboy}
 
Oh yeah!....{#Cowboy}{#Cowboy}
oohhhhhh yeahhhhhh
 gshrieves wrote:
Songs like this are why people used to say "Clapton is God". This is what made me love the blues back when I was 13 years old sitting in my room listening to this scratchy album over and over. This is what made me want to pick up a guitar myself. 
 
EXACTLY.
Sooooo Great to hear something else from this phenomenal album!!!
This one got Layla?  Can we switch over to that?   I always think of this as their 'garage band' album.


 spigolli wrote:
The version on (my beloved) EC WAS HERE album conveys even more of that "sooo much..." emotion, though I don't think the solo is as good.  But you can't beat the cover.


 
Did EC write that on with lip stick, or scratch it in with a pair of scissors?

I'm here in the room at work and just keep turning up the volume...it's really loud now..a 9
 Jungle_Jim wrote:
There's a fine line between pentatonic-scale wankery and deeply felt, expressive blues guitar. This guitar playing is firmly in the latter category, it's crying from the soul, the real deal.
 
Sometimes that "fine line" is more like a broad chasm depending on the player(s).

 gatorade wrote:
One of the albums EVER!
 
What makes you say that?


 parrothead wrote:

I agree with you and I love EC, however, there are some out there that would say this is white boy wanabe blues.
 
They'd be wrong. 
Wearing your heart on your sleeve a bit here, Eric? 

Man, I love this album.
 Jungle_Jim wrote:
There's a fine line between pentatonic-scale wankery and deeply felt, expressive blues guitar. This guitar playing is firmly in the latter category, it's crying from the soul, the real deal.
 
I agree with you and I love EC, however, there are some out there that would say this is white boy wanabe blues.

This is where it's at. Robert Johnson and the likes...etc. It's hard for me to stand 'the blues' by wealthy, british guitar holders. (Clapton). 
The version on (my beloved) EC WAS HERE album conveys even more of that "sooo much..." emotion, though I don't think the solo is as good.  But you can't beat the cover.


 gatorade wrote:
One of the albums EVER!
 

I'll drink to that !
yeah, baby!!! {#Cowboy}
Songs like this are why people used to say "Clapton is God". This is what made me love the blues back when I was 13 years old sitting in my room listening to this scratchy album over and over. This is what made me want to pick up a guitar myself. 
 nagsheadlocal wrote:

If you've never gotten really, really, really drunk at a shitty dive bar listening to a blues band grind out tunes like this, you've missed an important part of life.

 

What's it cost to get "really X 3"  drunk ?   I'd spend that $60 on a very "important part of life"  seeing the CLAPTON !!
 Jungle_Jim wrote:
There's a fine line between pentatonic-scale wankery and deeply felt, expressive blues guitar. This guitar playing is firmly in the latter category, it's crying from the soul, the real deal.
 
If you've never gotten really, really, really drunk at a shitty dive bar listening to a blues band grind out tunes like this, you've missed an important part of life.

 Jamunca wrote:


I agree. It is one of the albums ever.
 

HAHAHA!
 gatorade wrote:
One of the albums EVER!
 

I agree. It is one of the albums ever.
One of the albums EVER!
 cattail321 wrote:
{#Wave}{#Guitarist}I got  the cd  b 4 price control.............aka  $50  for a $14 CD

 
Maybe you bought the 1993 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs version, which was pressed on 24K gold. That would certainly explain the price.


 kurtster wrote:

Seems like a lot of my favorite music of the 60's and 70's was made by heroin addicts.  

So be it. 

 
I think most folks would agree the drug abuse is a result, not a cause of the creativity and mad genius of our favorite (tortured) artists?

I mean, take your average junky and put a guitar in their hands, and I promise you, it's not gonna sound close to Page or Clapton.