It's Too Late (Carole King song)


"It's Too Late" is a song from Carole King's 1971 album Tapestry. Toni Stern wrote the lyrics and King wrote the music. It was released as a single in April 1971 and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. Sales were later gold-certified by the RIAA. Billboard ranked "It's Too Late" and its fellow A-side, "I Feel the Earth Move", as the No. 3 record for 1971.

Music and lyrics

The lyrics describe the blameless end of a loving relationship. Music critic Dave Marsh saw implicit feminism because the woman left the man. Marsh also remarked on the maturity of the theme. Music critic Robert Christgau wrote that "if there's a truer song about breaking up than 'It's Too Late,' the world isn't ready for it." Marsh described the melody as Tin Pan Alley and the arrangement as a cross between light jazz and "L.A. studio craftsmanship." Rolling Stone remarked that King's "warm, earnest singing" on the song brought out the song's sadness. According to author James Perone, the feel of the song is enhanced by the instrumental work of Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Curtis Amy on saxophone and King on piano. Kortchmar and Amy each have an instrumental solo.
The sadness of the song is emphasized by its minor key. Perone pointed out several melodic techniques used by King to help make the song a hit. She builds the melody out of syncopated rhythmic motifs which are modified and combined over the course of the song, in contrast to other songs' commonly repeated rhythmic phrases. Perone also thought that she made the melody memorable by repeating the highest note several times before descending to the tonic. This marks the highest and lowest notes in the listener's ear, aiding recognition. An important emotional element of the melody is that rather than resolving on the tonic at the end, as most songs do, "It's Too Late" ends on the mediant, which is related to the tonic but leaves a sense of inconclusiveness. This contrasts with the lyrics, which imply that the singer has fully accepted the end of the relationship.
Toni Stern told author Sheila Weller that she wrote the lyrics in a single day, after her love affair with James Taylor ended. The recording won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1972, and the song is included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Personnel

"It's Too Late" has been featured in Hollywood films, including Fandango, The Lake House, and Invincible.

Awards and recognition

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Gloria Estefan version

In 1995, American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan released her cover of "It's Too Late" as the third promotional single, and fourth overall single released from her fourth studio album, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.

Critical reception

editor Eddie Huffman described the song as a "moment of genuine pathos" in his review of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.

Official versions

  1. Album version – 3:57
  2. Piano mix – 3:38
  3. Radio mix – 3:19

    Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Formats and track listings

Release history

Other versions

The song has been covered by