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.
The Prom
Del Shannon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Saw a crowd all gathered 'round,
Stopped the car, got out to see,
Just what it could be,
There lying near the crowd,
Was a girl dressed in a gown,
Walked up so I could see,
Knelt down by her side,
Tears came into my eyes,
There lie the one love,
One I'd always love,
Then she said "Take this ring of mine,
You are my love divine"
And as our lips met,
I know I can't forget,
The way my heart cried,
The way it hurt inside,
She's gone so far away,
My lonely heart, must pay,
She's gone, gone, she's gone,
There lies the, the one I love,
The one, I'll, I'll always love,
If I'd have picked her up on time,
The Precious love would still be mine,
The love, the love she gave to me,
Will always stay with me,
Till the day we meet,
Till the day we meet in eternity,
Then my heart begins to cry,
It hurts so deep inside,
She's gone so far away,
My lonely heart, must pay,
She's gone, gone, she's gone...
The Prom is a song that details the aftermath of a car accident that takes place on the way to the senior prom. The singer of the song is on his way to the prom when he comes upon a crowd gathered around what appears to be a car accident. As he gets closer, he realizes that a girl in a gown has been hurt in the accident. He kneels down next to her and realizes that she is the one that he loves, and that he has lost her forever. She hands him a ring and tells him that he is her "love divine." As they kiss, he knows that he will never forget her.
The song is a tragic tale of lost love and missed opportunities. The singer realizes that if he had only picked her up on time, they would still be together. He is left with only the memories of the love that they shared and the pain of her loss. He knows that the love that she gave him will stay with him forever and that they will meet again one day in eternity.
Line by Line Meaning
On my way to the senior prom,
I was on the road, heading to the senior prom
Saw a crowd all gathered 'round,
I noticed a group of people congregating
Stopped the car, got out to see,
I halted the car and got out to investigate
Just what it could be,
I was curious and wanted to find out what was going on
There lying near the crowd,
Close to the group of people, there was something lying
Was a girl dressed in a gown,
It was a girl clothes in a dress
Walked up so I could see,
I walked closer to get a better look
Just who, it could be,
I was trying to identify who the girl was
Knelt down by her side,
I kneeled beside her
Tears came into my eyes,
I began to cry
There lie the one love,
The girl lying there was my true love
One I'd always love,
She was someone I would always love
Then she said "Take this ring of mine,
She spoke and offered me her ring
You are my love divine"
She declared that I was her divine love
And as our lips met,
We kissed
I know I can't forget,
I knew I would never forget that moment
The way my heart cried,
My heart was filled with pain and cried
The way it hurt inside,
I felt hurt deep down inside
She's gone so far away,
My love had left and gone far away
My lonely heart, must pay,
I had to deal with the loneliness and pain
She's gone, gone, she's gone,
She was gone and would never return
There lies the, the one I love,
My love was lying there
The one, I'll, I'll always love,
She was the one I would always love
If I'd have picked her up on time,
If I had arrived on time to pick her up
The Precious love would still be mine,
I would still have my precious love with me
The love, the love she gave to me,
The love she had given me
Will always stay with me,
That love will always be with me
Till the day we meet,
Until the day we meet again
Till the day we meet in eternity,
Until we meet again in eternity
Then my heart begins to cry,
My heart starts to cry again
It hurts so deep inside,
I feel the hurt deep down inside
She's gone so far away,
She is still gone, far away
My lonely heart, must pay,
My heart must continue to deal with the loneliness and pain
She's gone, gone, she's gone...
She is really gone, and this fact remains the same
Writer(s): Del Shannon
Contributed by Ryan P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
David Cassells
on Runaway '67 (Fake Live Mono Version)
Doesn't seem to be the 'fake live' version