Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" features a distinctive synthesizer line as primary sound, based on a prominent keyboards arrangement played by Phil Harrison.

The song also is notable for its simple and sparse lyrics, but with a direct message. Related to this, lead singer and bassist James Warren has said that the song took only 10 or 15 minutes to write, literally singing the first thing to come into his mind, as he played both the chords and melodies on the piano. Producer David Lord subsequently added the big arrangement and strings.[1]

The distinctive instrument played after each chorus is the eighteen-string Chinese zither known as a guzheng. Added to this, the song also features a brief instrumental section of violin in the middle, as well some pizzicatos after each chorus.

About the song meaning, Warren said:

At that time I was into new wave philosophies about working on yourself, meditation and that sort of stuff. The whole lyric comes out of that. It wasn’t a romantic song at all. For me it was all about an individual changing and being a different sort of person – trying to find out the root of your inner confusion, dealing with it and becoming a better person. So it was literally a philosophical lyric. [2]

The song was released on 12 May 1980 from the group's second album, Dumb Waiters. The single reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart[3] and #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[4] The song topped the singles charts at #1 in France[5] and #1 in Spain,[6] and charted at #5 in Ireland,[7] #6 in Switzerland,[8] #11 in The Netherlands,[9] #11 in Australia,[10] #12 in New Zealand,[11] and #14 in Belgium.[12] This represented the peak of The Korgis' music chart success.

The original 1980 version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" appears on the following compilation albums and CDs:

• The Best of The Korgis (1983)
• Archive Series (1997)
• Greatest Hits (2001)
• Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis (CD1) (2 CD) (2003)

In 1990, Warren and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Cresswell-Davis (a.k.a. Andy Davis) reformed The Korgis to re-record "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" for a charity album in support of the International Hostage Release Foundation.[13] This version of the song appears on the compilation CD and DVD Kollection (2005).

The Korgis also recorded a live, acoustic version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in the summer of 2005, which was intended for release on Kollection, but which eventually made its appearance in 2006 on the Unplugged CD.

An alternate version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" (with a different second verse) was included as a bonus track on the 1999 CD re-issue of 1980 album Dumb Waiters. This alternate version also appears on the compilations Klassics – The Best of The Korgis (2001) and Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis (CD2) (2 CD) (2003) which also includes an uptempo 3m 51s version of the song as its closing track, taking the total variants of the song on this double CD compilation to three.[14]

When Warren and Davis reformed their first band, Stackridge, in 2007, they incorporated "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" into their set, Warren introducing it as a song he wrote for The Korgis. A live version by Stackridge was included in both the CD and DVD versions of The Forbidden City, recorded at one of the 2007 shows in Bath, England. Keyboardist Glenn Tommey and drummer Andy Marsden, both one-time backing musicians for The Korgis, were part of that incarnation of Stackridge.[15]

British musical group Baby D recorded a successful cover of the song, released as "(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" on 22 May 1995 by Production House Records. It peaked at number 3 on the singles chart in the UK[29] and was also a top 20 hit in Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. A partially black-and-white music video was made for the song.

"(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving"
Single by Baby D
from the album Deliverance
Released	22 May 1995
Format	12" single CD single
Genre	Breakbeat hardcore
Length	4:10
Label	Systematic (UK)
Songwriter(s)	James Warren
Producer(s)	Nino/Dice
Baby D singles chronology
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" (1994) "(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (1995) "So Pure" (1996)
Music video
"(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" on YouTube

"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" has been covered many other times over the years, including several versions that reached the UK Single Charts, most notably those by The Dream Academy (1987), Brian Davis (1991), Yazz (1994), Army of Lovers (2001) and German electro-trance duo Marc et Claude (2000). NRG covered the song in their 1992 release I Need Your Love. In 1997, a cappella group The King's Singers recorded the track with lead vocals by James Warren. In 2003, Erasure recorded the song on their cover album Other People's Songs.

In September 2004, Zucchero and Vanessa Carlton entered the French charts with their version of the song.[42] That same year, Beck also covered the song for the Michel Gondry film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.[43] This cover was also used at the end of episode 12 of the television series Dollhouse and in episode 4 of Luther.

In May 2005, Zucchero and Lara Fabian performed and recorded a live version of the song with full orchestra for the Symphonic Show on French television. In December of the same year, the Cantamus Girls Choir entered the UK Singles Chart with their cover, but with the slightly different title "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime".[44] In 2006, French singer Laurent Voulzy also covered the song on his cover album La Septième Vague. A capella group The Flying Pickets included their version of the song on their 2005 album Everyday.

In the 2007 British film Sparkle, it is sung by the protagonist's mother (played by Lesley Manville) on a backing track. The backing track was produced by Lol Hammond and Murray Clark.

Another version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" has been recorded by the Dutch band Krezip and a version translated into a Drents dialect entitled "Iederiene Moet 'T Ooit Leern" was recorded by Dutch singer-songwriter Daniël Lohues. In 2008, Dutch electro house producer Laidback Luke released a bootleg remix of the song. Also in 2008, the Glasgow based band Glasvegas covered the song as the B-side to their single, "Geraldine". A cover appears on the 2009 album Yesterday and Today by Swedish minimal techno artist The Field. Real Life covered "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" on their 2009 album Send Me an Angel: '80s Synth Essentials. A cover done by C.V. Jørgensen appears on the 2009 soundtrack album Songs For A Soundtrack for the film Simon & Malou. Another version has been recorded by French artist Fred Lafage on the album La musique de Paris Dernière 7. In 2010, Irish singer–songwriter Sharon Corr covered the song for her debut solo album Dream of You.

In 2008, Australian pop singer Robyn Loau recorded a version of the track that was used for the 2008 Australian series of The Biggest Loser. The track also appears on Loau's 2010 album Only Human.

In 2008, British drum and bass producer Dr Meaker sampled the song on his debut album A Lesson From The Speaker on the track "Need Love".

Richard Thompson covered the song as part of his 1000 Years of Popular Music tour in 2009, describing it on stage as the only good song to have been released in the 1980s.

A remixed version of the song by Shave, re-titled "Change Your Heart", has featured heavily on TV commercials for Fox8's Australian teen drama, SLiDE.

In the same year, singer Nicola Roberts covered the song for her solo album Cinderella's Eyes.

Dubstep artist Cookie Monsta sampled the song in his song "Change Your Heart".

Jean Phillipe Verdin covered the song for the 2008 French comedy film LOL (Laughing Out Loud). The cover also appeared in the 2012 American remake, LOL, starring Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore.

In 2010, London-based pop group Red Box covered the song for the Special Edition version of the album Plenty. It has since appeared on several Chill-out compilations.

English band Everything Everything covered the song on 17 October 2012, on BBC's Radio 1 with Zane Lowe. Australian progressive rock outfit Unitopia covered the song on their 2012 album Covered Mirror Vol.1 in 2012.

American dream pop band Beach House covered the song at Pitchfork Music Festival in 2016.

Composer Tomer Biran and singer Anat Ben Hamo (both Israeli) covered the song for the Huawei "Be Present" campaign in 2016.

In 2015, Blixa Bargeld, leader singer of the German industrial group Einstürzende Neubauten and former lead guitarist with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds covered the song on the album Marcher sur la tête with Swiss musicians KiKu.

In 2018, trance duo 4 Strings produced a cover of the song featuring Fenna Day on vocals.

In May 2018, a band by the name of Abacus released a cover version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" featuring vocals by Cimone that featured in a TV commercial for Kopparbergs Cider.[45]