"The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" is a 1967 song recorded by American R&B group The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Marv Tarplin and produced by Robinson, it is noted for being the first single to bill the group as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, a billing already present on the group's albums by this time.

The single was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and a Top 10 hit on Billboard's R&B singles chart. As with several Miracles hits, "Mirage" begins with Tarplin's guitar. The song's lyrics feature Robinson's character as a man deceived by the beauty of a woman who showed "the promise of love", but then sadly discovered that her love was "just a mirage".

The Jackson 5, Vance Gilbert, and The Uniques are among the acts who have recorded cover versions of "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage". The original 45 RPM single featured "Come Spy with Me", (the original theme song to the 1967 20th Century Fox film of the same name), as the b-side.

Credits

• Lead vocals by Smokey Robinson
• Background vocals by Claudette Rogers Robinson, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Bobby Rogers.
• Guitar by Marv Tarplin
• Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

References