You Don't Know Me
Unspoken Longings: Bette Midler's Heartfelt 'You Don't Know Me' Tale
Lyrics
You give your hand to me
You offer me your hand in greeting.
And then you say, "Hello."
You greet me with a simple "Hello."
And I can hardly speak,
I struggle to speak, feeling overwhelmed.
My heart is beating so.
My heart is pounding intensely.
And anyone can tell
It's evident to anyone around.
You think you know me well.
You believe you understand me deeply.
Hell, you don't know me.
I strongly disagree; you lack true knowledge of me.
You don't know me.
Reinforcement of the idea that you don't comprehend me.
You don't know the one
You are unaware of the person who fantasizes about you in the night.
Who dreams of you at night,
The individual who yearns to kiss your lips.
Longs to kiss your lips
Desiring to embrace you tightly.
And longs to hold you tight.
To you, I am merely a friend, nothing more.
To you I'm just a friend.
That's the extent of how you perceive me.
That's all I've ever been.
You lack insight into who I truly am.
You don't know me.
Emphasizing the previous assertion.
You, you just don't know me,
You genuinely don't comprehend me.
'cause I never knew the art of making love,
I never mastered the skill of expressing romantic love.
Though my heart, oh my heart, oh my heart
However, my heart deeply aches for you.
Is aching just for you.
Despite this, I'm hesitant and withdrawn, missing opportunities.
Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by.
I let go of the chance for you to potentially reciprocate my love.
The chance that you might learn to love me too.
Hoping you might eventually develop feelings for me.
You give your hand to me,
Similar to the opening, you extend your hand, but this time, to bid farewell.
And then you say, you say, "Goodbye."
You bid goodbye after briefly engaging.
I watch you walk away,
I watch you leave, longing for you to be mine.
Wishing you were mine.
I wish for something that's not possible.
You'll never ever know the girl who loves you so.
You'll never comprehend the depth of affection I have for you.
You don't know me. No, no, baby.
An affirmation that you lack understanding of my feelings.
You don't know me.
A repetition emphasizing your lack of knowledge about me.
No, no, no, no, no, no, baby, baby.
Reiteration of your lack of understanding.
You don't know me, know me, know me.
Continued emphasis on your lack of comprehension.
Please know me.
An appeal to please try to understand me.
Late in the midnight hour
In the late hours of the night, thoughts are consumed by you.
I dream of you only.
I only dream of you, feeling isolated.
But I am lonely.
A sense of loneliness accompanies these thoughts.
Please know me.
A plea for you to truly understand me.
Be my baby. see'mon, be my baby.
An urging for you to become a significant part of my life.
Late in the midnight hour
Similar to the previous line, expressing devotion to you.
I live for you, baby.
I exist for you in the late hours of the night.
Why don't you know me?
A repeated plea for you to comprehend my feelings.
Be my baby.
A request for you to be an important presence in my life.
Why you mean to me?
Expressing the hurt caused by your lack of understanding.
Mean to me
An emotional plea regarding the pain experienced.
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