According to Masser, in a video documentary about Ross, she "always tried to push hard to get the vocals right for this particular song", calling it a "draining experience" that resulted in several near-emotional breakdowns when she wasn't up to her abilities. It was recorded in the early morning hours, as was her custom after she began raising her children. In a Barbara Walters Mother's Day interview special, her second-oldest daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, said Diana would put them to bed and record all night, in order to wake her children and send them to school the next morning.
Motown released the song as a single and it hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming her longest-charting record, remaining on the chart for 21 weeks. It also spent a week at number 1 on the adult contemporary chart, her first number 1 on that chart. Sherlie Matthews, Clydie King and Venetta Fields sang background vocals. It marked a turning point in both Ross and Masser's careers; it reinvigorated Ross' singing career, coming immediately after her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in her acting debut, Lady Sings the Blues, and it introduced Masser to an audience that would become accustomed to his prowess at writing good love songs.
Andy Williams released a version in 1974 on his album, The Way We Were. Ross' original version was used in the 1996 movie Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, as well as on the television show The Sopranos in the episode "Remember When."
Touch Me In The Morning
Diana Ross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then just walk away
We don't have tomorrow
But we had yesterday
(Hey!)
Wasn't it me who said that Nothing good's gonna last forever?
And wasn't it me who said, Let's just be glad for the time together?It must've been hard to tell me
That you've given all you had to give
I can understand you're feeling that way
Everybody's got their life to live
Well, I can say goodbye in the cold morning light
But I can't watch love die in the warmth of the night
If I've got to be strong
Don't you know I need to have tonight when you're gone?
Till you go I need to lie here and think about
The last time that you'll touch me in the morning
Then just close the door
Leave me as you found me, empty like before
(Hey!)
Wasn't it yesterday We used to laugh at the wind behind us?
Didn't we run away and hope that time wouldn't try to find us (Didn't we run)
Didn't we take each other to a place where no one's ever been?
Yeah, I really need you near me tonight
'Cause you'll never take me there again
Let me watch you go with the sun in my eyes
We've seen how love can grow
Now we'll see how it dies
If I've got to be strong
Don't you know I need to have tonight when you're gone?Till you go I need to hold you until the time
Your hands reach out and touch me
In the morning (Mornings where blue and gold and we could feel one another living)
Then just walk away (We walked with a dream to hold and we could take what the world was giving)
We don't have tomorrow (There's no tomorrow here, there's only love and the time to chase it)
But we had yesterday
(But yesterday's gone my love, there's only now and it's time to face it) touch me in the morning
The lyrics of Diana Ross's "Touch Me In The Morning" convey the emotions of a relationship that has come to an end. The song has an emotional depth that is enhanced by the somber melody and the use of repetition to emphasize how significant certain moments were in the relationship. The opening lines of "Touch me in the morning, then just walk away, we don't have tomorrow, but we had yesterday" are poignant and evoke a sense of sadness because the relationship has ended, and there is no future for it.
The next verse highlights the moment when the realization sets in that the relationship is over. The lyrics "Wasn't it me who said that nothing good's gonna last forever, and wasn't it me who said let's just be glad for the time together?" suggest that the end of the relationship was not entirely unexpected. The lyrics go on to express regret about the end of the relationship, as the singer says they understand that the other person has given all they had to give.
The refrain, "If I've got to be strong, don't you know I need to have tonight when you're gone?" shows that while the singer knows the relationship is over and needs to be strong, they still have an emotional attachment to the other person. This attachment is reinforced in the final lines, "Till you go I need to hold you until the time, your hands reach out, and touch me in the morning." The melancholic tone of the song, coupled with Ross's powerful vocal performance, makes "Touch Me In The Morning" a classic love song that has stood the test of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Touch me in the morning
Intimacy with you when the day begins
Then just walk away
Leave without looking back
We don't have tomorrow
Our time together is limited
But we had yesterday
We cherished our past memories
Wasn't it me who said that Nothing good's gonna last forever?
I knew our happiness wouldn't last
And wasn't it me who said, Let's just be glad for the time together?
I accepted our limited time together
It must've been hard to tell me
I understand it was tough to reveal
That you've given all you had to give
You have given it all, exhausted
I can understand you're feeling that way
Your emotions are valid and understandable
Everybody's got their life to live
Everyone is entitled to their own path
Well, I can say goodbye in the cold morning light
I can bear to say farewell in the morning
But I can't watch love die in the warmth of the night
I don't want to witness our love fading away
If I've got to be strong
I must be resilient
Don't you know I need to have tonight when you're gone?
I require this night for myself
Till you go I need to lie here and think about
I'll dwell and ponder until you leave
The last time that you'll touch me in the morning
The final occasion you'll embrace me when the day starts
Then just close the door
Walk out and shut the door
Leave me as you found me, empty like before
Exit without leaving a trace and an empty feeling
Wasn't it yesterday We used to laugh at the wind behind us?
When we were carefree and laughed at everything
Didn't we run away and hope that time wouldn't try to find us (Didn't we run)
We escaped hoping to avoid reality catching up to us
Didn't we take each other to a place where no one's ever been?
We shared something unique and incomparable
Yeah, I really need you near me tonight
I genuinely need your presence tonight
'Cause you'll never take me there again
You cannot take me to that special place again
Let me watch you go with the sun in my eyes
I'll see you leave with the sunrise in my eyes
We've seen how love can grow
We've experienced how love grows
Now we'll see how it dies
Now we'll observe its death
Till you go I need to hold you until the time
I'll hold you until you leave
Your hands reach out and touch me
The moment your hands caress me
In the morning
As the new day starts
Then just walk away (We walked with a dream to hold and we could take what the world was giving)
Leave without regret (We were once hopeful and brave)
We don't have tomorrow (There's no tomorrow here, there's only love and the time to chase it)
Our future is limited to our love
But we had yesterday (But yesterday's gone my love, there's only now and it's time to face it)
Our past memories are what we have now
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Michael Masser, Ron Miller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@apexsignal1
This is one song I can listen to once in a long time
It makes me tear up
I know how it feel to love someone that just walked out of my life
I still call ur name in the night
All I have is memory.
22 years and I still reach for you
You are my only true love
No one can take ur place
There were others
But all they were are pretenders
I pray that you have forgotten about me
Cause I love u so much
I would die if you feel the same way about me
@jonathanlewis3199
why is she not in the rock and roll hall of fame as a solo act?
@garyconlon3090
She is..
@robertolidge9531
Why isn't the supremes in the rocking Roll Hall of fame
@jonathanlewis3199
@@robertolidge9531 they are they, they were the first girl group to get in
@jonathanlewis3199
@@garyconlon3090 only as a supreme not as a solo act
@thomasmalone8216
Great singer but let's not forget the wonderful songwriting of Mike Masser, one of the finest songwriters of all time.
@amani2222
Another place and time that will never come again.
@vickiwhitney2789
I hear u😢
@RobertoMoraga-g2y
But we had it all and it will always be in our hearts.
@christopherclarkin9584
Remember the days you would turn on the radio and there would be Diana Ross, Anne Murray, Carole King, The Carpenters, etc.