Aaron Neville (born January 24, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an America… Read Full Bio ↴Aaron Neville (born January 24, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He made his debut in 1966 with the hit single Tell It Like It Is, a Number One hit on the Billboard R&B charts. From 1977 he performed as part of The Neville Brothers with his siblings, Art Neville, Charles Neville, Cyril Neville & Ivan Neville.

Neville charted again, in 1989, when he collaborated with Linda Ronstadt on three consecutive duets: Don't Know Much, All My Life, and When Something Is Wrong with My Baby, the first two reached Number One on the Adult Contemporary charts. Neville has released more than 20 singles, including three Number Ones on the Adult Contemporary format, and a fourth on the R&B format.

His other hits have included Everybody Plays the Fool, his successful 1991 cover of the 1972 Main Ingredient song, that reached #8 on the Hot 100; Don't Take Away My Heaven, Hercules and Can't Stop My Heart From Loving You (The Rain Song). Neville's biggest solo successes have been on the Adult Contemporary chart, where "Don't Know Much," "All My Life," and "Everybody Plays the Fool" all reached Number One.

Aaron signed to SonyBMG's new Burgundy Records label in late 2005 and recorded an album of songs by Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke and others for Bring It On Home...The Soul Classics, released on September 19, 2006. The album, produced by Stewart Levine, features collaborations between Neville and Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, Chris Botti, David Sanborn, Art Neville, and others. The album's first single was a remake of The Impressions' 1963 classic It's All Right.

On October 27, 2006, Neville made a guest appearance on an episode of the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He sang Stand By Me" and Ain't No Sunshine, from his album, Bring It on Home … The Soul Classics. In 2008 he released Gold, which includes a double album of his hits.

http://www.aaronneville.com

I Am a Pilgrim
Aaron Neville Lyrics

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Every time the telephone rings I hold my breath
Hoping that it's you, I'm scared to death
Phone went ring, my crippled heart cried
Let it be you, on the line
Then a voice say hello, can I speak to joe?
Wrong number, I'm sorry, good bye

Pity the fool who loves you so

If you found someone new, don't let me know
The phone rang once again, my heart skipped a beat
Must be you, this is my belief
Then the voice on the other end say can I speak to ben?
Wrong number, I'm sorry, good bye

I live simply on the memory
Of your love that was once for me
Come back my darling please
And set my heart at ease
Then a voice say hello, darling you know I love you so

Hold on baby, 'til I tell these blues good bye
'Til I tell these blues good bye

Overall Meaning

In Aaron Neville's song "I Am a Pilgrim," the lyrics describe the agony and desperation of someone who is waiting for a phone call from a loved one. Every time the phone rings, the singer fears that it isn't their lover on the line, and their heart breaks as they realize it's just a wrong number. The song's refrain, "Pity the fool who loves you so, if you found someone new, don't let me know," expresses the fear and pain of the singer who would rather not know if their lover has moved on.

The singer is consumed by their memories of their lost love and pleads for them to come back, saying that they only live on the memory of their love that was once for him. The final verse of the song offers a glimmer of hope as the singer hears their lover's voice on the line, saying that they love them and asking them to hold on until they can "tell these blues goodbye." The song is a poignant depiction of heartbreak and longing for a lost love.

Line by Line Meaning

Every time the telephone rings I hold my breath
I anxiously await for the phone to ring, hoping it's you

Hoping that it's you, I'm scared to death
I'm so afraid that it won't be you on the other end of the line

Phone went ring, my crippled heart cried
My heart felt defeated when the phone rang but it wasn't you

Let it be you, on the line
I hope that the person calling is you, my beloved

Then a voice say hello, can I speak to joe?
Someone answers the phone but unfortunately it's not who I was hoping for

Wrong number, I'm sorry, good bye
The person on the phone apologizes for dialing the wrong number and hangs up

Pity the fool who loves you so
I feel sorry for whoever loves you because it's painful to not know if you love me back

If you found someone new, don't let me know
If you're with someone else, please don't tell me because it would break my heart

The phone rang once again, my heart skipped a beat
My heart filled with hope when the phone rang again, thinking it might be you

Must be you, this is my belief
I'm convinced that it has to be you calling me

Then the voice on the other end say can I speak to ben?
Unfortunately, once again it was the wrong number

Wrong number, I'm sorry, good bye
The person apologized for dialing the wrong number again and hung up

I live simply on the memory
I sustain my life on the memories that I have of our love

Of your love that was once for me
I remember how much you loved me in the past

Come back my darling please
I plea for you to return to me, my beloved

And set my heart at ease
If you come back to me, you'll help to soothe my broken heart

Then a voice say hello, darling you know I love you so
Finally, the voice on the other end of the line is my beloved, telling me that they love me

Hold on baby, 'til I tell these blues good bye
My beloved is asking me to hold on a little longer until they can overcome their sadness and be happy again

'Til I tell these blues good bye
They promise that their sadness won't last forever and that they will be able to say goodbye to their sadness

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALLEN TOUSSAINT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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