Charles David Houston (born December 9, 1935 in Bossier City, Louisiana; di… Read Full Bio ↴Charles David Houston (born December 9, 1935 in Bossier City, Louisiana; died November 30, 1993 in Bossier City) was an American Grammy award winning country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s through the early 1970s. David Houston died of a brain aneurysm on November 30, 1993, less than two weeks before his 57th birthday.

In 1963, David Houston rose to national stardom with the single "Mountain of Love"; the song, which was different from the tune made famous by composer Harold Dorman, Johnny Rivers and Charley Pride, rose to No. 2 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart. Another song, 1965's "Livin' in a House Full of Love" did just as well.

1966 brought Houston's breakthrough smash, "Almost Persuaded". Having nothing to do with the Philip Paul Bliss hymn of the same title (based on Acts 26:28 (KJV)), the tale of a married man managing to fight off a temptress he had just met in a tavern quickly rocketed to No. 1 that August, eventually spending nine weeks atop Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. In the 40 years since "Almost Persuaded" became a country standard, no song has equaled or bettered this feat. However, two country songs have spent eight weeks at No. 1: Lonestar's "Amazed," which topped the chart from July 17 to September 4, 1999; and "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, from August 9 to September 20 and then October 4, 2003 (in between "Somewhere's" seventh and eighth weeks at #1, on September 27, 2003, Dierks Bentley's "What Was I Thinkin' " topped the chart).

Houston was awarded 2 Grammy Awards for Best Country & Western Recording and Best Country & Western Performance, Male in 1967 for "Almost Persuaded."
"Almost Persuaded" began a string of Top 5 David Houston singles that lasted through 1973. Included in the bunch were six more No. 1's – "With One Exception" and "You Mean the World to Me" (1967); "Have a Little Faith" and "Already It's Heaven" (1968); "Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady)" (1970); and 1967's "My Elusive Dreams" duet with Tammy Wynette.

In later years, Houston dueted with Barbara Mandrell on several of her early hits, most notably 1970's "After Closing Time" and 1974's "I Love You, I Love You."

David's last Top 10 country hit came in 1974 with "Can't You Feel It".

David Houston died of a brain aneurysm on November 30, 1993, less than two weeks before his 58th birthday.

By The Time I Get To Phoenix
David Houston Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

By the time I get to Phoenix
She'll be rising
She'll find the note
I left hanging on her door

She'll laugh when she reads the part
That says I'm leaving
'Cause I've left that girl

So many times before

By the time I make Albuquerque
She'll be working
She'll probably stop at lunch
And give me a call

But she'll just hear that phone keep on ringing
Off the wall that's all
By the time I make Oklahoma
She'll be sleeping

She'll turn softly call my name out low
And she'll cry just to think I'd really leave her

Though time and time I've tried to tell her so
She just didn't know I would really go

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to David Houston's "By The Time I Get to Phoenix" tell the story of a man who has left his significant other multiple times before, and is now leaving again. He leaves a note on her door before departing, anticipating that she will find it when she wakes up. He predicts that she will laugh at the part that says he's leaving because he's done it so many times before. As he moves further away from her, he anticipates her reactions to his departure. He thinks she will call him when he reaches Albuquerque, but he knows that the phone will just ring off the wall without him answering. As he reaches Oklahoma, he imagines his lover sleeping alone and calling out his name in the night, crying at the thought of him really leaving her.

The lyrics suggest that the man has a history of leaving the woman, but she always thinks he will come back. He seems aware of this, but doesn't think it will happen despite her emotions. The lyrics are sorrowful and introspective, as the man contemplates the impact of his actions on his lover.

Line by Line Meaning

By the time I get to Phoenix
I have a long journey ahead of me.

She'll be rising
The sun will be coming up, starting a new day.

She'll find the note
I left a message for her to read.

I left hanging on her door
I physically put the note on her door and didn't knock.

She'll laugh when she reads the part
She will find humor in the note's content.

That says I'm leaving
The note tells her that I'm leaving town.

'Cause I've left that girl
I have a history of leaving her in the past.

So many times before
This is not the first time I've done this to her.

By the time I make Albuquerque
I will have traveled farther on my journey.

She'll be working
She will be occupied with her job.

She'll probably stop at lunch
She may take a break during her workday.