How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

1971 song by Barry and Robin Gibb

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album Trafalgar. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in Cashbox magazine for two weeks. In the US Atco Records issued both mono and stereo versions of the song on each side as a promo single. The B side was a Maurice Gibb composition "Country Woman". The song appears in the 2013 film American Hustle and on its soundtrack. It also provided the title to director Frank Marshall's 2020 documentary film The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.

Barry and Robin Gibb wrote the song in August 1970 with "Lonely Days" when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break up and alienation. "Robin came to my place," says Barry, "and that afternoon we wrote 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' and that obviously was a link to us coming back together. We called Maurice, finished the song, went to the studio and once again, with only 'Broken Heart' as a basic structure, we went in to the studio with that and an idea for 'Lonely Days', and those two songs were recorded that night". They originally offered the song to Andy Williams, but ended up recording it themselves, although Williams did later cover the song on his album You've Got a Friend. Barry also explains, "We might imitate a certain group, later on, the group will pick up on the song and say that suits us." Maurice Gibb possibly had a hand in the writing of the song, although it is officially credited to Barry and Robin Gibb alone. The 2009 release Ultimate Bee Gees officially credited Maurice for the first time as co writer of the song, for both the "Ultimate" CD and DVD, and it was credited to the moniker Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The single version was recorded on 28 January 1971 in London, the same day as "We Lost the Road", "When Do I", "If I Were the Sky", "Bring Out the Thoughts in Me" and "Ellan Vannin".