He left the band in May 1965, to form the highly successful Alan Price Set, which included Price keyboards and vocals, Clive Burrows on baritone saxophone, Steve Gregory on tenor saxophone, John Walters on trumpet, Peter Kirtlry on guitar, Rod "Boots" Slade on bass guitar and "Little" Roy Mills on drums. In the same year, he appeared in the film Dont Look Back, which followed Bob Dylan on tour. Starting in 1966, he enjoyed singles success with "I Put A Spell On You", the Randy Newman song "Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear", and the original "The House That Jack Built", following it up in 1968 with the jazzy "Don't Stop The Carnival". A partnership with Georgie Fame resulted in a Top 20 single in 1971, "Rosetta", and an album Fame and Price, Price and Fame Together, as well as a regular slot in one series of The Two Ronnies on BBC television, where he hosted more shows such as the musical Price To Play in the late 60s explaining and performing the music of some famous guests such as Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, etc. His second album, A Price On His Head in 1967 features seven songs by Randy Newman, at a time when he was virtually unknown.
Willow Weep For Me
Alan Price Set Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Willow, weep for me
Bend your branches down
Along the ground and cover me
When the shadows fall
Bend, oh, willow and weep for me
Gone my lover’s dream
Gone and left me here
To weep my tears into the stream
Sad as I can be
Bend, oh, willow and weep for me
Whisper to the wind
And say that love has sinned
To leave my heart-a breaking
And making a moan
Murmur to the night
To hide her starry light
So none will find me crying
And sighing all alone
I said willow, weep for me
Willow, weep for me
Won't you bend your branches down
Along the ground and cover me?
When the shadows fall
Bend, oh, willow and weep for me
I said won't you weep for me?
Oh, won't you weep for me?
Won't you weep for me?
The song Willow Weep for Me by the Alan Price Set is a mournful ballad about lost love and heartbreak. The singer implores the willow tree to weep for him and cover him with its branches as he mourns the departure of his lover. The tree is personified as a sympathetic figure that embodies the singer's pain and sorrow. The lyrics also ask the wind to whisper of love's betrayal that has caused the heartache and cry out to the night to hide the singer's tears and sighs. The repetition of the phrase "bend, oh, willow and weep for me" emphasizes the singer's desperation and longing for comfort in his grief.
Line by Line Meaning
Willow, weep for me
The singer is asking a willow tree to cry tears for them
Willow, weep for me
Repetition of the first line, reiterating the request for the tree to weep for them
Bend your branches down
The singer is asking the tree to lower its branches to the ground
Along the ground and cover me
The artist wants the tree to cover them with its branches
When the shadows fall
The artist wants the tree to cry for them when darkness sets in
Bend, oh, willow and weep for me
Repetition of a previous line, asking the tree to cry tears for them
Gone my lover’s dream
The singer's lover's dream has vanished
Lovely summer dream
The lover's dream was beautiful and optimistic like a summer day
Gone and left me here
The lover left the artist behind
To weep my tears into the stream
The artist is crying tears and letting them flow into a stream
Sad as I can be
The singer is extremely sad
Bend, oh, willow and weep for me
Repetition of a previous line, asking the tree to cry tears for them
Whisper to the wind
The singer is asking the tree to speak quietly to the wind
And say that love has sinned
The singer wants the tree to say that love has committed a wrongdoing
To leave my heart-a breaking
Love has caused the singer's heart to break
And making a moan
The artist is moaning due to the pain love has caused
Murmur to the night
The artist wants the tree to speak softly to the night
To hide her starry light
The singer wants the night sky to be dark, and its stars obscured
So none will find me crying
The singer wants to remain unnoticed while crying
And sighing all alone
The artist is saddened and sighing by themselves
I said willow, weep for me
Repetition of a previous line, asking the tree to cry tears for them
Willow, weep for me
Repetition of a previous line, reiterating the request for the tree to weep for them
Won't you bend your branches down
A plea for the tree to bend down its branches
Along the ground and cover me?
The artist wants the tree to cover them with its branches
I said won't you weep for me?
Repetition of a previous line, asking the tree again to cry tears for them
Oh, won't you weep for me?
Final plea for the tree to cry tears for the singer
Contributed by Brayden B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@KingOFuh
"Willow Weep for Me," was composed by Ann Ronell, inspired by willow trees on campus at Radcliffe College. First recorded in 1932 by the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra, vocal by Muzzy Marcellino, who was also a master whistler, releasing a whistling version of the song in 1958. The best-known version is by Chad & Jeremy and reached #15 on Billboard in January 1965.
@blazingchris5048
Powerfull voice ...like a misthorn !
@KingOFuh
Misthorn; 1. Foghorn; an electroacoustic device of the diaphragm type installed in lighthouses & shore beacons; produces a shrill, high-pitched signal that can be heard on board a ship during periods of fog or reduced visibility. 2. A booming, insistent voice.
@xpindy
Sinatra has a killer version of this done at the height of his power- (Tony Bennett's favorite Sinatra performance).
@mikemasterton
Great artist.....
@bennyjazzful
WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From a 72yo Aussie fan.
@mariskaist
soul songs singer alan price very good
@colinbrown2907
This was a revival of an old song don't know who first sang it
@xpindy
My bad. Bennett's favorite was "Weep They Will" Still, the Sinatra version is amazing.
@daviddawber1111
This one flopped; it was between Hi Lili Hi Lo and Simon Smith. About November 1966.