In 1950, McPhatter joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes, and was present for the recording of "Sixty Minute Man", which was a huge hit in 1951, and was one of the earliest rock and roll records. After several more hits, McPhatter quit the group in 1953 because he made little money and gained virtually no fame, in spite of his voice being the lead on most of the group's songs. McPhatter then signed to Atlantic Records after forming a group, The Drifters. "Money Honey", "Such a Night", "Honey Love", "White Christmas" and "Whatcha Gonna Do" became huge hits.
In 1954, McPhatter was drafted but was assigned in the U.S., allowing him to continue recording. He soon left The Drifters and launched a solo career. His first solo hit occurred just after being discharged - "Love Has Joined Us Together" (with Ruth Brown). He released several R&B hits in the next few years, but only made one serious dent in the pop charts with the Brook Benton penned song "A Lovers Question", which made it to #6 in 1958. White groups usually covered his best compositions and achieved more widespread mainstream success. In spite of this, McPhatter became one of the most popular black musicians among white listeners. His 1956 recording of "Treasure of Love" saw him enjoy just one week in the UK singles chart. The lack of any subsequent entry gave him the unenviable tag there of being a one hit wonder
McPhatter soon signed to MGM Records, and released several more hits. "I Told Myself a Lie" and "Think Me a Kiss" (1960) became minor pop hits, as was "Ta Ta", his first single for Mercury Records. "I Never Knew" and "Lover Please" (1962) became even bigger pop hits, but his career started suffering due to his alcoholism. Other black artists were following McPhatter's blueprint into pop audiences, including Rudy Lewis, Johnny Moore, Sam Cooke and an all new line-up of The Drifters. McPhatter's unreliability kept him from maintaining his career in the face of this competition. As the 1960s wore on, McPhatter's career kept falling in spite of a few minor hits.
In the early 1970s, McPhatter spent some time living in England, where he still had a significant audience, but this was short-lived. Back again in America, Clyde McPhatter died of a heart attack in 1972, at the age of 39.
In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
I Told Myself A Lie
Clyde McPhatter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I said I had no cares
'Cause when I'm alone, all alone
Out come the tears, my lonely tears
I told myself a lie
When I said I'll get along
When you're not near
But things just go wrong
Everything goes wrong
You got my heart, I know
But why do I fight it so
When I know there's nothing to fear
I told myself a lie
When I said I'll forget
'Cause I can't hide what's here inside
I told myself a lie
I told myself a lie
When I said I'll forget
'Cause I can't hide what's here inside
I told myself a lie
The lyrics of Clyde McPhatter's "I Told Myself A Lie" talk about self-deception and the futile attempts to fool oneself into believing that everything is okay when it's not. The singer admits to "telling himself a lie" about not having any cares or being able to get along without his significant other. He confesses that being alone brings out his true emotions, and he is unable to hide the tears of loneliness that he sheds when he is by himself. The singer acknowledges that he cannot deny the feelings that are inside him and that he cannot make himself forget what he has lost. He fights his emotions, knowing deep down that he cannot escape his love for his partner.
The song's lyrics conveying the pain of trying to move on from a relationship or trying to convince oneself that everything is going to be okay when it is not resonated with many listeners, making it a classic R&B track. The song's powerful vocals and melody distinguish it from other soulful ballads of the era. One interesting fact about the song is that McPhatter was a member of The Drifters before pursuing a solo career, and this was one of his most popular tracks. Another interesting fact is that the song was co-written by Ben E. King, the lead singer of The Drifters, who had a successful solo career, with hits like "Stand by Me."
Line by Line Meaning
I told myself a lie
I deceived myself
When I said I had no cares
When I pretended to be carefree
'Cause when I'm alone, all alone
Because when I'm by myself
Out come the tears, my lonely tears
Then my tears start to fall
When I said I'll get along
When I promised myself that I'll manage
When you're not near
When you're not around
It's funny, dear
It's strange, my love
But things just go wrong
But everything just turns out badly
Everything goes wrong
Nothing seems to go right
You got my heart, I know
I've given you my heart, I'm aware
But why do I fight it so
But why do I resist it so much
When I know there's nothing to fear
When I'm aware that there's nothing to be scared of
When I said I'll forget
When I claimed that I'll erase it from my memory
'Cause I can't hide what's here inside
Because I can't conceal what's in my heart
I told myself a lie
I deceived myself
Contributed by Maria Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bitey Frog
I told...
Myself a lie...
When I said,
I had no cares.
Cause when I'm alone,
All alone,
Out comes the tears..
My lonely tears.
I told..
Myself a lie..
When I said,
I'll get along.
When you're not near,
It's funny dear,
But things just go wrong...
Everything goes wrong.
You've got my heart,
I know.
But why do I fight it so?
When I know that,
Nothing's to fear!
I told...
Myself a lie..
When I said,
I'll forget.
Cause I can't hide,
What's here inside,
I told..
Myself a lie.
I told myself a lie..
When I said,
I'll forget.
Cause I can't hide,
What's here inside..
I told...
Myself a lie...
Mason Vlogs
What a great record ❤
Luis Santibañez
"Música de ayer, hoy y siempre. Radio mágica, tus mejores recuerdos"
a swaggy ferret
nobody is a really good movie with a really good soundtrack
gooza
Yeeh u're right..
Jayk
es muy mala la pelicula pero estoy aqui por la canción
Jesus Diaz
It's some movie, I did really dig it and soundtrack it's outstanding.
roland johansson
Average to B-movie but some great music.
grant smythe
I'm watching it at exact moment but heard this record a thousand times as a child. Clyde could do it! Look up his other songs. Magic!
Orlando Oliveira
Linda demais...
samuel kishore
whoever likes old songs like this is already my friend