Cherrelle (born Cheryl Norton in Los Angeles, California in 1958) is a soul… Read Full Bio ↴Cherrelle (born Cheryl Norton in Los Angeles, California in 1958) is a soul singer who rose to fame as one of the premier female R&B divas of the mid-to-late 1980s. Cousin of pop singer and TLC founder Perri "Pebbles" Reid, Cherrelle began her music career shortly after being discovered by Tabu Records founder Clarence Avant, who signed her to his label in 1983. Cherrelle got her name after her boss from a job hollered "Cher-relle, you're late again!" In 1984, under the production of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, she released her debut, "Fragile", which went gold, thanks to the Top Ten R&B single, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On". She released her best-selling album in 1985 with "High Priority", which featured the hits "You Look Good to Me", "Will You Satisfy?" and "Artificial Heart" and her seminal duet with Alexander O'Neal in the #2 single, "Saturday Love". In 1988, she released her third album, "Affair", which featured the #1 R&B single, "Everything I Miss at Home". On that strength, it was her third consecutive gold record. She released her last chart-topper with 1991's "More than a Woman", which was a departure from her Jam & Lewis productions. She reunited with the producers eight years later with her album, "The Right Time", which was released in 1999. Since then, Cherrelle has been performing at venues in America and all over the world. Pop singers Robert Palmer and Mariah Carey have each covered her "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" while "Saturday Love" has been heralded as one of the greatest soul duets in history.

Tears of Joy
Cherrelle Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ooh-ooh...
Ooh-ooh, yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Ooh-ooh...

I never knew about lonely
Till the day when you said goodbye
I knew you were the only

Man in my life, you made everything right
I held back my emotions
Never knew that I was living a lie
So when you came back to me
You have made me see
So don't be surprised
If you see me crying

Tears of joy roll down like rain
Set my emotions free (free, free)
Tears of joy wash away my pain (hey, hey)
Since you came back to me
Ooh, yeah

Now you're here beside me
Never gonna let you go away
Without you here to guide me
I wasting my time
Going out of my mind
Glued my heart back together
Can you feel the emptiness inside?
So when you promised to me
That you never leave
It's no wonder why
Through seeing my eyes

Tears of joy roll down like rain
Set my emotions free
(Set me free, set me free)
Tears of joy wash away my pain
(Yeah, yeah)
Since you came back to me
Yeah, ooh, yeah

(Sax Solo)

Tears of joy roll down like rain
Set my emotions free
(I'm free, yes, I'm free)
Tears of joy wash away my pain
(Mmm, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Since you came back to me

Tears of joy roll down like rain
(Tears of joy)
Set my emotions free
(Wash away my pain now, baby, ooh)
Tears of joy wash away my pain
Since you came back to me, yeah

Tears of joy roll down like rain
(Tears of joy rolling down like rain)
Set my emotions free
(Set me free, set free)
Tears of joy wash away my pain
(Oh, yeah, wash away my pain)
Since you came back to me
(Oh, baby, baby, free, yeah)

Tears of joy roll down like rain
(Tears of joy rolling down like rain)
Set my emotions free
(Set them free, oh, yeah)
Tears of joy wash away my pain
(Oh, yeah, oh-oh)

Since you came back to me
(Since you cam back to me, baby, ooh)

Overall Meaning

In Cherrelle's "Tears of Joy", the songstress sings about the emotional journey she's been on since her lover left her. She never realized how lonely she was until he abandoned her, but she's since made it her mission to glue her heart back together. When her loved one finally returns to her side, she's so overjoyed that she can't help but cry tears of joy. The tears act as a symbol of the release of her emotional pain, as she's finally been reunited with the man who made everything right in her life. She sings of the emptiness she felt without him and how he promised never to leave her again, making her a promise that she believes he will keep.

The lyrics in this song are incredibly poetic, painting a vivid picture of Cherrelle's emotional state. The chorus is especially poignant, with the repetition of the line "Tears of joy roll down like rain" becoming a powerful metaphor for the release of pent-up emotions. The saxophone solo that comes in halfway through the song is also a highlight, bringing a soulful, bluesy feel to the track.

Line by Line Meaning

I never knew about lonely
Before you left, I didn't know what it's like to be lonely

Till the day when you said goodbye
I experienced loneliness only after you said goodbye

I knew you were the only
I knew it was only you who could make me happy

Man in my life, you made everything right
You were the only man in my life who could fix everything and make things right for me

I held back my emotions
I didn't express my emotions for you and kept them bottled up

Never knew that I was living a lie
I didn't realize that living without you was a falsehood

So when you came back to me
When you returned to me

You have made me see
You helped me see the truth

So don't be surprised
Don't be shocked

If you see me crying
If you see me in tears

Tears of joy roll down like rain
I am crying because I'm happy to have you back in my life

Set my emotions free (free, free)
My tears are a sign that I'm finally free to express my emotions

Tears of joy wash away my pain (hey, hey)
My tears of happiness help me forget all the pain and hurt I felt when you were gone

Now you're here beside me
Now that you're back by my side

Never gonna let you go away
I'm never going to let you go again

Without you here to guide me
I couldn't function without you as my guide

I wasting my time
I was wasting my time before you came back to me

Going out of my mind
I was going crazy

Glued my heart back together
You helped me mend my heart

Can you feel the emptiness inside?
Do you know how empty my life was without you?

So when you promised to me
When you made a promise to me

That you never leave
That you'd never leave me again

It's no wonder why
It's no surprise

Through seeing my eyes
You can see the happiness in my eyes

(Sax Solo)
Instrumental break with a sax solo

Tears of joy roll down like rain
I'm crying happy tears for having you back in my life

Set my emotions free
My tears are a sign that I'm finally free to express my emotions

(Set me free, set me free)
I want to be liberated from my past sorrow

Tears of joy wash away my pain
My tears of happiness help me forget all the pain and hurt I felt when you were gone

(Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah

Since you came back to me
Ever since you came back to me

Tears of joy roll down like rain
My tears of happiness are like raindrops

(Tears of joy)
My happy tears

Set my emotions free
My tears are a sign that I'm finally free to express my emotions

(Wash away my pain now, baby, ooh)
My joyful tears are washing away my past pain

Tears of joy wash away my pain
My tears of happiness help me forget all the pain and hurt I felt when you were gone

Since you came back to me, yeah
Ever since you came back to me

Tears of joy roll down like rain
My tears of happiness are like raindrops

(Tears of joy rolling down like rain)
My happy tears are like raindrops

Set my emotions free
My tears are a sign that I'm finally free to express my emotions

(Set me free, set free)
I want to be liberated from my past sorrow

Tears of joy wash away my pain
My tears of happiness help me forget all the pain and hurt I felt when you were gone

(Oh, yeah, wash away my pain)
Oh yeah, my happy tears are washing away my past pain

Since you came back to me
Ever since you came back to me

(Since you cam back to me, baby, ooh)
Ever since you came back to me, baby

Contributed by Reagan A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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01Never In My Life5:08

027 Days A Week4:43

03Baby It's You4:16

04Still In Love With You3:47

05Love Me Tonight5:13

PT4M22S

09Nothing's Ever Gonna Stop (The Way I Feel)5:02

10Where Do We Go From Here?5:02

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Comments from YouTube:

REDD BLITZ PRODUCTIONZ

5y↑10

Her first hit after departing from Jam and Lewis. It respectfully peaked inside the R&B Top 20, if not mistaken.

Dwight Love

4y↑2

Redd Blitz #23

REDD BLITZ PRODUCTIONZ

4y↑1

@Dwight Love

😄👍 Thanks for that tidbit!!

Dwight Love

4y↑1

@REDD BLITZ PRODUCTIONZ Your welcome these ppl had major problems in their personal lives.Too bad she and Alex could not find another reputable song writing team like JJ&TL.

Jimmie Page

3y↑6

This album was so underrated! She was sangin!!!

carisma rhodes

My FAVORITE song by her! Love it!

Calvester Marks

2y↑1

Still my favorite cherrelle song .

Ms. Jai

4y↑8

My elementary school self would SANG this song like I'd been through 2 marriages!🤣🤣

Jorge Rodriguez

6y↑3

LOVE Cherrelle!!!

Bill Globe

5y↑7

Great CD. Not sure if she ever received her due as a singer.

Tanya Gary

5y↑4

Bill Globe Her story on Unsung explains a lot. I used to wonder the same as fabulous as she is what happened

paul simmons

9y↑8

don't know why I like this song...i just do...it came out around the time i aced my math classes at community college in the summer of '91 and that made me feel really good on the inside, so maybe that's the memory i identify closest with the song...on the strength of "tears of joy", i ran out & bought cherrelle's "the woman i am" on cassette...happy to report there's not a weak track on the whole 10-song set & is immaculately produced by narada Michael Walden...the cassette,to this day, still sits on my alphabetized shelf between Mariah carey's "music box" & "the best of chic"...will pull it out on occasion when I want to hear "tears of joy"...😂