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.
Now She's Gone
Del Shannon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She was so fine,
We were together,
All the time,
She was my baby,
Till he came along,
Now she's gone,
She was my steady,
She wore my ring,
We planned together,
To marry in the spring,
But it's all over,
Everything is wrong,
Since she's gone,
Since she's gone,
Each night I sit here by my window,
I hope and pray that maybe she will show,
But my prayers are all in vain,
All I see are my tears on the window pane,
I go to places,
We used to go,
But I don't stay long,
'Cause my tears might show,
I miss her so much,
I just can't go on,
Since she's gone,
Since she's gone,
Yeah, my baby's gone,
Yeah, since she's gone...
The song "Now She's Gone" by Del Shannon tells the story of a man who was once in love with a woman, who was his steady and his baby. He loved her deeply, and they were together all the time. He had plans to marry her in the spring, and she wore his ring. However, their love story ends when he says that he met someone else, and she left him. The man is now heartbroken and cannot move on. Every night he sits by the window, hoping and praying that she would come back, but that never happens. He misses her dearly, and his tears show on the windowpane.
The lyrics convey a sense of loss, loneliness, and heartache. The man's life seems incomplete without his woman, and he cannot find joy or peace without her. The song reflects the universal theme of lost love and the pain it brings. Del Shannon's voice adds to the emotional impact of the song, making it more poignant and heartbreaking.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a baby,
I was in a relationship with a woman I deeply cared about.
She was so fine,
She was a beautiful woman with a good nature.
We were together,
We spent a lot of time together and had built a strong relationship.
All the time,
We were seemingly inseparable, always together.
She was my baby,
I was very fond of her and treated her like my own.
Till he came along,
However, a new man entered her life that changed everything.
Now she's gone,
She has left me and our relationship has ended.
She was my steady,
She was my committed partner and a reliable source of support.
She wore my ring,
We were engaged and were planning on getting married in the spring.
We planned together,
We had made future plans together in our relationship.
To marry in the spring,
We were planning on getting married during the springtime.
But it's all over,
Unfortunately, our relationship has ended abruptly.
Everything is wrong,
My life has turned upside down since she left.
Each night I sit here by my window,
I spend my evenings alone, contemplating about my past relationship with her.
I hope and pray that maybe she will show,
I still have faith that she may come back to me.
But my prayers are all in vain,
Unfortunately, my hopes of her coming back are now futile.
All I see are my tears on the window pane,
I am constantly crying and my emotions are visible on the window pane.
I go to places,
I try to revisit the same places we used to go together.
We used to go,
The places where we made memories.
But I don't stay long,
I can't bear to be in these places for too long, it brings back too many memories.
'Cause my tears might show,
I don't want other people to see me cry.
I miss her so much,
I am deeply saddened by the fact that she has left me.
I just can't go on,
My heart is shattered and I can't seem to move on from this setback.
Yeah, my baby's gone,
She has left me and our relationship has ended.
Yeah, since she's gone...
Everything in my life has changed and my heart aches since she left.
Writer(s): Del Shannon
Contributed by Isabella L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lesley Nitschke
Love this song
Maj-Brith H
Thanks very much! He was one of my favoritesingers in the 60´s!
Kelvin Beresford
Superb👌
gazza
great b side saw him live in adelaide 1976
Chris Dolmetsch
Are you sure it's from 63? Del was dropped by his label in 65 and started Berlee named after his parents. He recorded only two singles on the label.
ramblin man
@DSCW777.. Thats correct.. & personally, Ive always preferred "Now She,s Gone" (also known as "Since She,s Gone) to the A side.. Great song!!.. The 2nd (& last) single on Berlee (London American in the UK) was released in March 64-"Thats The Way Love Is/Time Of The Day.. It was released the same day as Dels 1st Stateside (Amy in the US) single "Mary Jane/Stains On My Letter.. BOTH great songs..
VinylNostalgia
@notholding2 - Yes, 1963 is correct. The two singles on the BERLEE label you mentioned are from 1963 and 1964.
baratittafilmer
now you´re gone and I cry,caro
MYBIGKINDHEART
if only the sound would've been a lot better back then, yes the music was good but the sound was shit
DSCW777
This was the flip side of "Sue's Gotta Be Mine"