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"
Fool
Deborah Allen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Deborah Allen - Rafe VanHoy)
I don't know why all my friends try to hurt me
Telling me lies I know can't be true
Everyone knows seeing is believing
All I can see is me loving you
How can they say that you don't really love me
Who really knows what love is anyway
If I'm a fool then I'll stay in a fool's paradise
No one but me really knows how to love you
Nobody sees what I read between the lines
Nobody is here all alone in the darkness
And you hold me close and tell me that you're mine
Some of them call me a fool for believing
All those wonderful things that you say
As long as I can I will stay in a fool's paradise
Everybody tells me to open my eyes
Wake up and tell you goodbye
I'm so afraid if I did that I would find
I would wake up a fool of a different kind
So let them call me a fool for believing
All those wonderful things that you say
If I'm a fool then I'll stay in a fool's paradise
As long as I can I will stay in this fool's paradise
Fool's paradise, fool's paradise
The song "Fool's Paradise" by Deborah Allen is about the singer's unwavering commitment to loving someone who is likely not reciprocating those feelings. Despite her friends telling her that she is being lied to and that their love is not genuine, she believes in the power of love and the possibility of it being real. She rejects the notion of leaving and waking up to a different reality, convinced that what she has with this person is a "fool's paradise" that is better than nothing at all.
In her voice, there is a sense of vulnerability and desperation as she clings to the person she loves, wanting to be held by them even when things seem hopeless. The lyrics suggest that the singer is aware of the hurtful nature of their situation, but is willing to ignore it because of the genuine feelings she has for this person. Overall, “Fool’s Paradise” is a song that speaks to the struggles of love and how it can sometimes make us blind to the truth.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know why all my friends try to hurt me
I don't understand why my friends try to harm me emotionally.
Telling me lies I know can't be true
They are lying to me and I am aware that it cannot be true.
Everyone knows seeing is believing
It is commonly understood that you cannot believe something until you see it for yourself.
All I can see is me loving you
All I can imagine is myself being in love with you.
How can they say that you don't really love me
I don't understand how they can make such a claim about your love for me.
Who really knows what love is anyway
Does anyone truly know what love is?
If I'm a fool then I'll stay in a fool's paradise
If loving you makes me a fool, then I'll happily embrace being a fool.
No one but me really knows how to love you
I believe no one else is capable of loving you the way I do.
Nobody sees what I read between the lines
I perceive something more meaningful behind what you say or do, but no one else notices it.
Nobody is here all alone in the darkness
I feel very alone and vulnerable in the dark.
And you hold me close and tell me that you're mine
But when you hold me tight and confirm that you are mine, I feel reassured and safe.
Some of them call me a fool for believing
Some people believe I am foolish for trusting what you say.
All those wonderful things that you say
All those amazing and loving words you say to me
As long as I can I will stay in a fool's paradise
I will remain in this blissful state of affection and love for as long as I can.
Everybody tells me to open my eyes
Everyone urges me to become more realistic and accepting of the truth.
Wake up and tell you goodbye
To wake up and leave you behind.
I'm so afraid if I did that I would find
But I am scared that reality might be too harsh if I were to do so.
I would wake up a fool of a different kind
I worry that leaving you might result in me becoming a different, more foolish kind of person.
So let them call me a fool for believing
I am okay with being called a fool for believing in our love.
If I'm a fool then I'll stay in a fool's paradise
Because if loving you makes me a fool, then I am willing to embrace it.
As long as I can I will stay in this fool's paradise
I am committed to staying in this blissful state for as long as I can endure.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID AVID, JOHNNY FULLER, ROBERT GEDDINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nelson Tucker
Brings back memories! Loved this song. Wish there was more like it!
Dave Wollenberg
Deborah hit #24 in Billboard, 2-7-81. God bless you, Jack, for postin' it. Thanx! Have a blessed week!
J.W. Gauntt
Dave Wollenberg God Bless you Dave
Daniel Burns
this song went to #24 on the country charts in 1981!!!
Lasse 1964
beautiful song and very beautiful lady!
Pamela Rasmussen
oh my, lots of memories attached to this one ..... :-) I think was the "B" side of another 45. I found a ton of good music on the "B" sides over the decades :-)
J.W. Gauntt
Kigsgrama , this song was sent to me, i appreciate you listening
don't remember what the other side would be
Pamela Rasmussen
J.W. Gauntt I don't either. I might just lug out the boxes of 45s in my walk-in one of these days and find out if my memory is serving me well on this song! I have half a closet full of records I am considering selling but have absolutely no idea how I would go about selling something so big.........
J.W. Gauntt
Kigsgrama try ebay or musicstack
raulantonio65
Excellent.