“We’ve Only Just Begun,” written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, was recorded by the Carpenters for A&M Records in 1970. During its fourteen-week stay on Billboard’s Hot 100, it held the #2 position for four weeks and then went on to earn a gold record.
It received two Grammy nominations the same year the Carpenters received a Grammy for Best New Artist. Named to the BMI Top 100 Songs, ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ has had over five million broadcast performances. The Carpenters’ recording was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Paul Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001…” —Off The Record: Songwriters on Songwriting
“When Crocker Citizens Bank in San Francisco decided to shed its image as a bluestocking, upper-class institution in 1970, its advertising agency drew up a low-keyed TV commercial intended to attract people in their 20’s and 30’s. ‘We wanted them to know that we understood they had a long way to go in life, and we wanted to help them,’ one executive pointed out. The scene for the commercial was to be a wedding in a white-spired church. As musical background, the agency wanted a ballad to be called ‘You’ve Only Just Begun.’ They asked Burt Bacharach to write the song, but he wasn’t interested. Then they approached Jimmy Webb, but he couldn’t do it because he was on his way to Europe. However, he recommended a young songwriting team, Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, and they turned out the song in two days. After the commercial was aired, there was a deluge of requests for sheet music from couples who wanted to use the song at their weddings. And finally, with only one word changed—’You’ve’ to ‘We’ve’—the TV commercial became a pop hit, thanks to the brother-sister team, the Carpenters.” —Festival of Popular Songs
We’ve Only Just Begun Lyrics
(Words by Paul Williams, Music by Roger Nichols)
We’ve only just begun to live, White lace and promises A kiss for luck and we’re on our way. And yes, We’ve just begun.
Before the rising sun we fly, So many roads to choose We start our walking and learn to run. And yes, We’ve just begun.
Sharing horizons that are new to us, Watching the signs along the way, Talking it over just the two of us, Working together day to day Together.
And when the evening comes we smile, So much of life ahead We’ll find a place where there’s room to grow, And yes, We’ve just begun.