Shannon followed up with "Hats Off to Larry", another big hit, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness. "Little Town Flirt", released in 1962 reached #12 in 1963 as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the US, but became a sensation in England. In 1963, he became the first American artist to record a cover version of a Beatles song with "From Me to You".
Shannon returned to the charts in 1964 with "Handy Man", "Do You Wanna Dance", "Keep Searchin'", and "Stranger in Town" (1965), with the latter two songs themed about flight from pursuit in a dangerous world. A 1966 chart offering was Shannon's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb". In the late 1960s after a dry spell of hits, he turned to production. In 1969 he discovered a group called Smith and arranged their hit "Baby It's You". He then produced his friend Brian Hyland's million seller "Gypsy Woman" in 1970.
In the 1970s, Shannon's career slowed down greatly; the hates and fears he had turned into art in his earlier songs were turning into full-blown mental illness, and he was self-medicating with alcohol. He finally put the bottle down in 1978, and he was able to return to mainstream audiences with "Sea of Love" in the early 1980s from the album "Drop Down And Get Me" produced by Tom Petty.
In December, 1983, Shannon served as Grand Marshal of the Coopersville, Michigan Christmas parade and also performed a benefit concert at Coopersville High School.
Shannon enjoyed a resurgence in audience interest after re-recording a portion of his song "Runaway" (with new lyrics) as the theme for the television program Crime Story. Producer Michael Mann felt that this was one of the definitive songs of the era in which the program was set. Some fans of the show prefer the sharper lyrics ("Some live, and others die") as an alternate to the original words.
On 8 February 1990, while working on a comeback album with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, Shannon fatally shot himself in the head with a .22 calibre rifle. His wife thought his death might have been related to his recent use of the prescription drug Prozac. The album was released after his death and titled "Rock On!".
Shannon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
I'm Gonna Be Strong
Del Shannon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're slipping away from me
And you're so afraid
That I'll plead with you to stay
But I'm gonna be strong
And let you go your way
Love is gone
And your pity now
Would be more than I could bare
But I'm gonna be strong
And pretend I don't care
I'm gonna be strong
And stand as tall as I can
I'm gonna be strong
And let you go along
And take it like a man
When you say it's the end
I'll hand you a line
I'll smile and say
Don't you worry I'm fine
But you'll never know darling
After you kiss me goodbye
How I'll break down and cry
The lyrics of Del Shannon's song I'm Gonna Be Strong describe a person who is watching their lover slipping away from them, and is trying hard to be strong and let them go. The song starts with the singer being able to see their lover leaving them and the fear of them wanting to plead for them to stay. However, the singer decides that they will be strong and let their lover leave as it is not worth holding on to love that is already gone. Even though the lover's pity would be more than they could bear, the singer chooses to be strong and pretend not to care. They will stand tall, take it like a man, and let their lover go, even though it breaks their heart.
Line by Line Meaning
I can see
I am aware of the signs that you are slowly walking away from our relationship
You're slipping away from me
You are gradually losing interest and moving further away from our love
And you're so afraid
You're scared of hurting my feeling, which is why you probably slow-walking away from the relationship
That I'll plead with you to stay
That I will beg or plead with you to stay in our relationship
But I'm gonna be strong
But I will be strong and stand on my ground
And let you go your way
And let you choose whichever way you want, even if it means without me in the picture
Love is gone
Our love has died or faded off
There's no sense in holding on
There's nothing rational in holding tightly to a dead relationship
And your pity now
If you pity me for our ending relationship
Would be more than I could bare
I cannot handle seeing you showing me this type of sympathy
And pretend I don't care
Even though sometimes it hurts, I will act like I don't care
And stand as tall as I can
I will stand strong, be confident, and not let the ending relationship knock me down
And let you go along
I will allow you to move on with your life without me in it
And take it like a man
I will face all the emotional pains and negative feelings without complaining or showing weakness
When you say it's the end
When you finally say that our relationship has come to an end
I'll hand you a line
I'll give you a convincing excuse to cover up my heartbreak
I'll smile and say
I'll put on a fake smile and pretend like parting ways is something I want as well
Don't you worry I'm fine
I'll make you think that I'm doing okay even though I'm breaking inside
But you'll never know darling
But you will never figure out, my love
After you kiss me goodbye
After our final goodbye kiss
How I'll break down and cry
How I will be devastated and cry a lot because of losing you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Cassells
on Runaway '67 (Fake Live Mono Version)
Doesn't seem to be the 'fake live' version