Music Monday: “Everything I Own” by Bread in 1972
Posted By RichC on March 23, 2026
David Gates wrote “Everything I Own” for the 1972 album Baby I’m-a Want You and after listening to it last week decided another Bread song was ripe for the Music Monday archive.
| Bread (David Gates) “Everything I Own” | 1972 |
Here’s a tidbit I did not know:
The song was written as a tribute to Gates’s late father, who died in 1963 before Gates achieved fame with Bread. The emotional core of the lyrics—such as “You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, you gave my life to me, set me free”—reflects Gates’s deep respect and love for his father, who was a band director and music teacher.
The title and chorus were inspired by a childhood memory: Gates once sent his mother an orchid for her birthday when he couldn’t afford it, and his father responded by saying Gates could have “anything she owned” in return.
Though the song is often interpreted as a love ballad, Gates’s wife recognized immediately it was about his father, and she cried upon hearing it.
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