Chuck Berry remains an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who first began performing in 1953. Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers." John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of All Time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
Chuck Berry held a special place, in terms of sound development, in the formation of, Mersey-Beat at Liverpool.
The finest exponent of Chuck Berry, guitar, sound at Liverpool during 1959 to 1963, was Vincent Tow/Ismail, who in turn passed on many of the learned skills to Lennon & McCartney, his friends and colleagues during that period--1959 to 1962/3.
Chuck Berry also influenced many of the great rock 'n' roll bands that we know today including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
The Way It Was Before
Chuck Berry Lyrics
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I lost your love for me
I never thought I crave to see you
The way it was before
And so it was
I fooled around and lost your love
And since I'm only dreaming of
(Said someday I'd learn, ohh)
And you told me that the tide would turn
And now I see
(I promise, I'll be true, ooh)
And I'll give my love to only you, so help me
Each night I pray
That you'll try and understand
How much I need your love again
The way it was before
(Said someday I'd learn, ohh)
And you told me that the tide would turn
Now I see
(I promise, I'll be true, ohh)
And I'll give my love to only you, so help me
Each night I pray
That you'll try and understand
How much I need your love again
The way it was before
The way it was before
In this song, Chuck Berry expresses his pain of losing the love of his life and wishes to turn back time to the way things were before. He begins by acknowledging the love he once had but lost, and how he never thought he would yearn to see it again. He then reflects on how he lost her love by fooling around and now only dreams of how things used to be before. He acknowledges his mistakes and promises to be true to her and give his love to only her. He prays every night that she will understand how much he needs her love back in the same way it was before their love was lost.
The lyrics of the song are written in a way that touches the hearts of listeners, who have experienced the pain of losing someone they truly love. The use of words like 'fool around' and 'crave to see you' symbolizes the desperation and need for their love to be reignited. The song expresses a yearning for what was once there, and how the author wishes they could go back, fix their mistakes and reconcile.
Line by Line Meaning
The way it was before
Reflecting on how things used to be before losing your love
I lost your love for me
Admitting fault for losing the love of another
I never thought I crave to see you
Realizing the depth of one's feelings and yearning for the past
And so it was
Referring to the past and how things played out
I fooled around and lost your love
Admitting wrongdoing and losing the love of another due to infidelity
And since I'm only dreaming of
Acknowledging that the situation can only be imagined and is not reality
The way it was before
Continuing to reflect on the past and the way things used to be
(Said someday I'd learn, ohh)
Remembering a promise to learn from past mistakes
And you told me that the tide would turn
Recalling advice that things would get better
And now I see
Realizing the truth in what was previously said
(I promise, I'll be true, ooh)
Making a promise to be faithful in the future
And I'll give my love to only you, so help me
Pledging to give one's love exclusively to the other person and seeking their help to do so
Each night I pray
Expressing a desire and hope for reconciliation
That you'll try and understand
Hoping that the other person will be able to understand and empathize
How much I need your love again
Expressing the depth of longing and need for the other person's love
The way it was before
Concluding the song with a repetition of the title phrase, emphasizing the desire to return to the past
Contributed by Brayden B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jack
on Little Marie (Alternate)
Yes, oh yes, Long Distance, I'll accept the charge, I'll pay
Which love one is calling me, I did not hear you say.
Both are deep within my hearth, her Mom and my Marie
It so good to hear your voice from Memphis, Tennessee
Oh, you mean so much to me, more than you'll ever know,
Surely, you have not forgot how much I love you so
If you would remember, Dear, and sometimes talk to me
Maybe that would reunite our home in Tennessee.
Last time I saw you, just before I had to leave
You did not want to see me off and promised not to grieve,
My hearth was tore apart as I looked back at my Marie
And there the peace is still remain with you in Tennessee.
I guess I should stop talking, after all you placed the call
But anyway that I can help, you know I'll help you all
Then she spoke and asked me to come back and see Marie
And live together in our home in Memphis, Tennessee.