Del Shannon (30 December 1934–8 February 1990) (born Charles Weedon Westover in Coopersville, Michigan) was an American rock and roller who launched into fame with the No. 1 hit "Runaway" (1961) which introduced the musitron, an early form of the synthesizer played by "Runaway" co-writer and keyboard player Max Crook.
Shannon followed up with "Hats Off to Larry", another big hit, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness. Read Full BioDel Shannon (30 December 1934–8 February 1990) (born Charles Weedon Westover in Coopersville, Michigan) was an American rock and roller who launched into fame with the No. 1 hit "Runaway" (1961) which introduced the musitron, an early form of the synthesizer played by "Runaway" co-writer and keyboard player Max Crook.
Shannon followed up with "Hats Off to Larry", another big hit, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness. "Little Town Flirt", released in 1962 reached #12 in 1963 as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the US, but became a sensation in England. In 1963, he became the first American artist to record a cover version of a Beatles song with "From Me to You".
Shannon returned to the charts in 1964 with "Handy Man", "Do You Wanna Dance", "Keep Searchin'", and "Stranger in Town" (1965), with the latter two songs themed about flight from pursuit in a dangerous world. A 1966 chart offering was Shannon's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb". In the late 1960s after a dry spell of hits, he turned to production. In 1969 he discovered a group called Smith and arranged their hit "Baby It's You". He then produced his friend Brian Hyland's million seller "Gypsy Woman" in 1970.
In the 1970s, Shannon's career slowed down greatly; the hates and fears he had turned into art in his earlier songs were turning into full-blown mental illness, and he was self-medicating with alcohol. He finally put the bottle down in 1978, and he was able to return to mainstream audiences with "Sea of Love" in the early 1980s from the album "Drop Down And Get Me" produced by Tom Petty.
In December, 1983, Shannon served as Grand Marshal of the Coopersville, Michigan Christmas parade and also performed a benefit concert at Coopersville High School.
Shannon enjoyed a resurgence in audience interest after re-recording a portion of his song "Runaway" (with new lyrics) as the theme for the television program Crime Story. Producer Michael Mann felt that this was one of the definitive songs of the era in which the program was set. Some fans of the show prefer the sharper lyrics ("Some live, and others die") as an alternate to the original words.
On 8 February 1990, while working on a comeback album with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, Shannon fatally shot himself in the head with a .22 calibre rifle. His wife thought his death might have been related to his recent use of the prescription drug Prozac. The album was released after his death and titled "Rock On!".
Shannon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Shannon followed up with "Hats Off to Larry", another big hit, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness. Read Full BioDel Shannon (30 December 1934–8 February 1990) (born Charles Weedon Westover in Coopersville, Michigan) was an American rock and roller who launched into fame with the No. 1 hit "Runaway" (1961) which introduced the musitron, an early form of the synthesizer played by "Runaway" co-writer and keyboard player Max Crook.
Shannon followed up with "Hats Off to Larry", another big hit, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness. "Little Town Flirt", released in 1962 reached #12 in 1963 as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the US, but became a sensation in England. In 1963, he became the first American artist to record a cover version of a Beatles song with "From Me to You".
Shannon returned to the charts in 1964 with "Handy Man", "Do You Wanna Dance", "Keep Searchin'", and "Stranger in Town" (1965), with the latter two songs themed about flight from pursuit in a dangerous world. A 1966 chart offering was Shannon's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb". In the late 1960s after a dry spell of hits, he turned to production. In 1969 he discovered a group called Smith and arranged their hit "Baby It's You". He then produced his friend Brian Hyland's million seller "Gypsy Woman" in 1970.
In the 1970s, Shannon's career slowed down greatly; the hates and fears he had turned into art in his earlier songs were turning into full-blown mental illness, and he was self-medicating with alcohol. He finally put the bottle down in 1978, and he was able to return to mainstream audiences with "Sea of Love" in the early 1980s from the album "Drop Down And Get Me" produced by Tom Petty.
In December, 1983, Shannon served as Grand Marshal of the Coopersville, Michigan Christmas parade and also performed a benefit concert at Coopersville High School.
Shannon enjoyed a resurgence in audience interest after re-recording a portion of his song "Runaway" (with new lyrics) as the theme for the television program Crime Story. Producer Michael Mann felt that this was one of the definitive songs of the era in which the program was set. Some fans of the show prefer the sharper lyrics ("Some live, and others die") as an alternate to the original words.
On 8 February 1990, while working on a comeback album with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, Shannon fatally shot himself in the head with a .22 calibre rifle. His wife thought his death might have been related to his recent use of the prescription drug Prozac. The album was released after his death and titled "Rock On!".
Shannon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
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The Swiss Maid
Del Shannon Lyrics
One time a long time ago,
On a mountain in Switzerland,
Yo lo lo lo,
There lived a fair young maiden,
Lovely but lonely,
Oh oh oh oh.
Day after day,
She'd pine her heart away,
Yo lo lo lady ya,
But no love came her way.
Some day papa said,
Some day we'll go,
Down to the village in the valley,
Then you'll meet a nice young man,
Ask for your hand,
Then you'll be happy
Every day she grew unhappier,
On a mountain in Switzerland,
Yo lo lo lo,
Every day a little bit lonelier,
Which way to turn and which way to go
Day after day,
She'd pine her heart away,
Yo lo lo lady ya,
But no love came her way.
Some say the maidens dream,
Never came true,
She never got to go to the valley,
If she did or not,
I really don't know, Oh oh oh oh.
Did she die unhappy?
I'd rather think she found her love,
Wouldn't she be better if she did find love?
Somewhere,
Some way.
Yo lo lo lady ya
Yo lo lo lady ya
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROGER MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Roger Hunter
So simple,so good.Tells a story with no hype or profanity.You can hear every word. How I wish songs were sung like this now.Thank you for posting.
HIGH PIT WILMA
@69Peopleshit .......YEAH....YEAH...!....AND BOY....DO YOU SURE GET IT!..YOU HAVE THE RIGHT NAME ABOUT YOURSELF MATE!! HEH HEH!....i know...your just jokin....so am I....
Janet Ball
Hi yes I agree with you if the young ones could sing like this to day
duckingforcover09
Nothing wrong with liking both, art is subjective.
69Peopleshit
Haha this sucks. Rap is the new great thing. I hate songs like this where the singer actually knows how to sing and tell a story. I just want drug addicts singing 5 words of english like "nigga" "hoes" "weed" etc
old65rocker
@TheJanka51 65 years ago lol
Robert Deathridge
Takes me back to when a few of us used to go to a cafe at the top of the street and listen to this on the juke box. Happy days
Robyn Goss
Meet
Met Delat grain store taken Vic great bloke
Debs Law
I haven't heard this since I was a child but still remembered every word lol
Paul Kennelly
I always put swiss maid just behind runaway