"The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" is a 1967 song recorded by the 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. Group members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore were the song's producers.

Personnel

The Miracles

Other personnel

Lyric content and chart history

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 of the Miracles' hits, "Mirage" begins with Tarplin's guitar and he plays the riff on a 12-string acoustic 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". Cash Box called the single a "driving R&B workout that should get a lot of play."

Films and cover versions