Early Life & Rise to Fame
Allen was born Deborah Lynn Thurmond in Memphis, Tennessee and was strongly influenced by Patsy Cline. It was at the young age of 17, that Allen decided to pursue a country music career, and she then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the hometown of Country music. Here, she followed the basic tradition of what most rising country stars did, and became a waitress at the local IHOP restaurant. While working here, she met Roy Orbison. Orbison liked Allen's voice, and he decided to hire Allen as a background singer. She also worked at the Opryland theme park. She soon landed a gig as a singer and dancer in Tennessee Ernie Ford's tour. It was soon evident that Allen wanted to pursue a solo career.
Allen finally got the chance to pursue a singing career in her own right. She served as an opening act for Jim Stafford. In 1979, Allen was handpicked by Jim Reeves' wife to sing on some of Reeves' unfinished duet tracks. These songs were "Don't Let Me Cross Over", "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight", and "Take Me In Your Arms and Hold Me". All three songs were released as singles for Reeves' old record company, RCA Records. "Take Me In Your Arms and Hold Me" proved to be a hit single for Allen, going all the way to #10 on the Country charts in early 1980.
[edit] The Height of Her Career In the Early 80s
In 1980, Allen was able to sign with Capitol Records. Her debut album under the label was 1980's Trouble in Paradise. Although the album wasn't too much of a success, the album did produce some minor hits for Allen, including "Nobody's Fool" and "You Make Me Wonder Why". "You Make Me Wonder Why" was Allen's highest charting single from the album, peaking at #20. She released a couple of other unsuccessful singles, including "You Look Like the One I Love" and "After Tonight". "After Tonight" only peaked at #82 on the Country charts in 1982.
Allen soon switched record companies after finding no success under Capitol. In 1983, she moved over to RCA Records, where she ended up having her biggest success. It all started with releasing the album Cheat the Night in 1983. The first single released from the album came the same year with her signature song, "Baby I Lied." On the Country charts, it was a Top 5 hit, peaking at #4. It was also a Pop chart crossover, reaching #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1984. It even went as far to become a hit on the Adult Contemporary charts. Overnight, Allen was turned into a major Country Music star, from waiting tables in Nashville, to performing at the Grand Ole Opry. Allen followed up the success of her crossover hit quite well with the Country hit "I've Been Wrong Before," which just missed topping the Country charts in the spring of 1984. Later that year, "I Hurt For You," also from Allen's breakthrough album, became her most recent top 10 country hit, reaching #10. All her hits were co-written by Allen and her husband Rafe Van Hoy, a rarity for Country Pop-styled singers. In 1984, the two continued their collaboration together, with the song "Let Me Be There First", which used electronic instrumentation. In 1984, Allen also had a minor hit with the song "Heartache and a Half".
In 1987, Allen released a single penned by the legendary singer Prince called "Telepathy". An album of the same name was also released, which showed even more electronic instrumentation. All this experimenting with electronic instrumentation led to Allen's fans lessening, and soon enough she was alienated from her Country audience. After the release of the 1987 single "You're the Kind of Trouble", RCA Records dropped Allen from the label.
[edit] Comeback & Life Today
Soon, Allen was left without a recording contract, with no way to make a living. However, Allen and Van Hoy were able to write as songwriters. Together they penned the Janie Fricke hit "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby" and also the Tanya Tucker hit "Can I See You Tonight", among other hits.
However, during her free time, Allen was putting together a comeback album called Delta Dreamland. She used her own time and her own money to put together the album. Soon, however, she was able to make a deal with Giant Records to release the album under their label in 1993. That same year, she had a Top 30 hit from the album with the song "Rock Me (In the Cradle of Love)". She also had one other charting single from the album. The album showed Allen as a new person, with a more sexier image and a bluesy new style. Her 1994 album, All That I Am, ended up being the same result. Since the release of her two albums, Allen remained a popular songwriter in Nashville.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
Year Title US Country US 200
1980 Trouble in Paradise
1983 Cheat the Night 10 67
1984 Let Me Be There First 52
1987 Telepathy
1993 Delta Dreamland 55
1994 All That I Am
1998 Anthology
2000 The Best of Deborah Allen
[edit] Singles
Year Title US Country Album
1976 "Do You Copy" single only
1979 "Don't Let Me Cross Over" (w/ Jim Reeves) 10 Don't Let Me Cross Over
"Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" (w/ Jim Reeves) 6
1980 "Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me" (w/ Jim Reeves) 10
"Nobody's Fool" 24 Trouble in Paradise
1981 "You (Make Me Wonder Why)" 20 single only
"Next to You" Trouble in Paradise
1982 "You Look Like (The One I Love)" 33 singles only
"After Tonight" 82
"Don't Stop Lovin' Me" Trouble in Paradise
1983 "Baby I Lied"A 4 Cheat the Night
1984 "I've Been Wrong Before" 2
"I Hurt for You" 10
"Rockin' Little Christmas"
"Heartache and a Half" 23 Let Me Be There First
1987 "Telepathy" Telepathy
"You're the Kind of Trouble"
1992 "Rock Me (in the Cradle of Love)" 29 Delta Dreamland
1993 "If You're Not Gonna Love Me" 44
"All The Loving and Hurting Too"
1994 "Break These Chains" 66 All That I Am
1999 "Is It Love Yet" The Best of Deborah Allen
APeaked at #26 on Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
[edit] External links
Official Deborah Allen Website
Authorized Deborah Allen Baby I Lied Home Page, Founded 1998
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Allen"
Baby I Lied
Deborah Allen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Did I say that I'd be okay if you said good-bye?
And did I promise you I could take it if we were through,
And forget about these feelings inside?
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made.
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time.
And did I ever tell myself I could always find someone else?
Did I say if you left today itd be no surprise?
Did I ever leave any doubt I could hold up if you walked out?
I know I told you that I could survive.
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time
Baby I lied. Baby I lied.
And now that I can see you walking out of my life
Saying good-bye, I realize, baby, baby, baby
These lyrics are a confession of the singer's true feelings towards their partner. There are three separate questions that the singer is asking themselves about the promises they made to their partner. The first question is whether they promised that they wouldn't be hurt if their relationship didn't work out. The second question is whether they promised their partner that they would be okay if they broke up with them. The third question is whether they promised their partner that they could forget about their feelings for them if they separated.
The singer admits that they lied about all three things. They were not being truthful when they said they could easily walk away from the relationship and forget about their love. The repetition of "baby I lied" reinforces the idea that the singer is coming clean about their deceitful behavior.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on whether they ever told themselves that they could find someone else or that their partner leaving wouldn't come as a surprise. They realize now that they were in denial and didn't truly believe those things. They also acknowledge that they had told their partner that they could survive without them, which they now admit was a lie.
The final stanza is a realization that their partner is truly leaving their life and that it wasn't just an empty threat. The repetition of "baby, baby, baby" emphasizes the heartbreak that the singer is experiencing.
Line by Line Meaning
Did I say I wouldn't be hurt if our love just didn't work?
Did I claim that I would not be shattered in case our relationship failed?
Did I say that I'd be okay if you said good-bye?
Did I state that I would not be affected if you decided to leave me?
And did I promise you I could take it if we were through,
Did I assure you that I would be able to handle it if our relationship ended?
And forget about these feelings inside?
And disregard my emotions?
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
I was dishonest when I assured you I could move on
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made.
I lied when I said I could forget about the love we shared.
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time.
At that moment, I believed I was telling the truth from my heart.
Baby I lied. Baby I lied.
Baby, I wasn't truthful with you.
And did I ever tell myself I could always find someone else?
Did I try to convince myself that I could always discover another partner?
Did I say if you left today it'd be no surprise?
Did I lead you to believe that I would not be shocked if you left me today?
Did I ever leave any doubt I could hold up if you walked out?
Have I ever made it clear that I could endure if you exited my life?
I know I told you that I could survive.
I admitted to the possibility of surviving but failed to tell you it would be easy.
And now that I can see you walking out of my life
Now that I watch as you leave my life
Saying good-bye, I realize, baby, baby, baby
Saying good-bye made me see, oh baby, baby, baby.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEBORAH ALLEN, RAFE VAN HOY, RORY M. BOURKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hipo5305
Lyrics:
Did I say I wouldn't be hurt if our love just didn't work?
Did I say that I'd be okay if you said good-bye?
And did I promise you I could take it if we were through,
And forget about these feelings inside?
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made.
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time.
Baby I lied. Baby I lied.
And did I ever tell myself I could always find someone else?
Did I say if you left today itd be no surprise?
Did I ever leave any doubt I could hold up if you walked out?
I know I told you that I could survive.
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time
Baby I lied. Baby I lied.
And now that I can see you walking out of my life
Saying good-bye, I realize, baby, baby, baby
@hipo5305
Lyrics:
Did I say I wouldn't be hurt if our love just didn't work?
Did I say that I'd be okay if you said good-bye?
And did I promise you I could take it if we were through,
And forget about these feelings inside?
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made.
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time.
Baby I lied. Baby I lied.
And did I ever tell myself I could always find someone else?
Did I say if you left today itd be no surprise?
Did I ever leave any doubt I could hold up if you walked out?
I know I told you that I could survive.
Baby I lied When I told you I could walk away
Baby I lied And forget about the love we made
I swear on my heart I was telling the truth at the time
Baby I lied. Baby I lied.
And now that I can see you walking out of my life
Saying good-bye, I realize, baby, baby, baby
@tashee8772
Listening to this makes me realize how much I hate today’s music. Could listen to this all day.
@jenniferlainhart1031
This song just popped into my head out of nowhere. I remember it from my childhood. I was born in 82 and grew up with this tune and the other classics. Good times!
@CammieInOz
First love at 18-years-old and he ended it because, in part, he was much older than me and thought eventually it might not work out.. I loved him with all my heart and the pain was immense. I moved on and met someone else because life does have to go on BUT 40 years later and I still think about him and this song still pulls at my heartstrings as it did back then.
@johneckert1365
❤❤❤❤❤
@petewheeler3146
This era and early 1990,s was the end of music like this,,,some may disagree but coming from a 61 yrs old this is music,,,and class and style
@basilmarasco1975
Your right. Early to mid 90s is when music started going downhill.
@baronedipiemonte3990
Real music died @ 23:59 (11:59pm) Dec. 31, 1989.
I hadn't heard this terrific piece and artist in 30 years. I'm glad I found it again !
@amandalayne5609
I wish music sounded like this today. There ain't no FEMALE singers like her anymore. Love this song😍
@davidwalter8821
Beautiful song wonderful voice