(1) A country singer an… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two artists by this name:
(1) A country singer and songwriter from Texas.
(2) An alias of techno producer Thomas Wendel.
(1) Don Williams (Born May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas - Died September 8, 2017) spent much of his childhood in Corpus Christi, Texas. His father was a mechanic whose job took him to other regions, his mother played guitar and he grew up listening to country music. He and Lofton Kline formed a semi-professional folk group called the Strangers Two, and then, with the addition of Susan Taylor, they became the Pozo-Seco Singers, the phrase being a geological term to denote a dry well. Handled by Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, they had major pop hits in the U.S. with "Time," "I Can Make It With You" and "Look What You've Done." Following Kline's departure, they employed several replacements, resulting in a lack of musical direction. After Williams had failed to turn the trio towards country music, they disbanded in 1971.
He then worked for his father-in-law but also wrote for Susan Taylor's solo album via Jack Clement's music publishing company. Clement asked Williams to record albums of his company's best songs, mainly with a view to attracting other performers. In 1973, Don Williams, Volume 1 was released on the fledgling JMI label and included such memorable songs as Bob McDill's apologia for growing old, "Amanda," and Williams' own "The Shelter of Your Eye." Williams' work was reissued by Dot Records, and Don Williams, Volume 2 included "Atta Way to Go" and "We Should Be Together." Williams then had a country No. 1 with Wayland Holyfield's "You're My Best Friend," which has become a standard and is the perennial sing-along anthem at his concerts. By now, the Williams' style had developed: gently paced love songs with straightforward arrangements, lyrics and sentiments. Williams was mining the same vein as Jim Reeves, but he eschewed Reeves' smartness by dressing like a ranch-hand. Besides having a huge contingent of female fans, Williams counted Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend among his admirers. Clapton recorded his country hit "Tulsa Time," written by Danny Flowers, a member of Williams' band.
Williams played a band member himself in the Burt Reynolds film W.W. & the Dixie Dance Kings and also appeared in Smokey and the Bandit 2. Williams' other successes include "Till the Rivers All Run Dry," "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend," "Lay Down Beside Me" and his only U.S. solo pop hit, "I Believe in You." Unlike most established country artists, he has not sought duet partners, although he and Emmylou Harris found success in 1981 with their version of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You." Among the highlights of Williams' recording career is his interpretation of "Good Ol' Boys Like Me," McDill's homage to his southern roots. Moving to Capitol Records in the mid-'80s, Williams released such singles as "Heartbeat in the Darkness" and "Senorita," but the material was not as impressive. He took a sabbatical in 1988, but subsequent RCA Records recordings showed that nothing had changed.
In 1998, Williams released I Turn the Page on Giant Records, but the label soon closed its country music division. Following a live album in 2001, Williams retuned in 2004 with My Heart to You.
Maintaining his stress-free style, Williams continues to be a major concert attraction, especially in the U.K. and South Africa.
Williams initially started out as a songwriter for Jack Music Inc., since he lacked belief about going solo but then signed with JMI as a solo artist. His 1974 song "We Should Be Together" reached number five and he was signed on with ABC/Dot. His first single with ABC/Dot, "I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me," became a number one hit, and was the first of a string of top ten hits he had between 1974 and 1991. In fact, only four of his 46 singles didn't make it to the Top Ten. Recently (as of 2012), he released the album And So It Goes.
From His Own Website.
They came to call Don Williams “the Gentle Giant” in the decades he was a dominating country hit maker because of his unique blend of commanding presence and that laid-back, easy style that has appealed to adult men and women alike—cutting across national and genre boundaries. If those personal and musical qualities stood out strongly across the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, they are all the more distinctive in 2012, when so many country and pop records seem to work as check off lists of somebody’s idea of how to be a man, or hard-sell attempts to indicate affection for a woman. Don Williams has never sounded like he felt the need to sell somebody something, or to prove anything.
On And So It Goes, available from Sugar Hill on June 19th, that winning, self-assured ease is again front and center, and the musical style that has made Don a ballad vocal model for performers ranging from Eric Clapton (with whom he’d traded songs—“Tulsa Time,” “Lay Down Sally”) to Keith Urban (who guests on this release). One listen to the characteristically right-on-target vocals on this first Don Williams recording in eight years and his admirers will be wondering what he’s done to maintain that strength over the hiatus.
“Well, there are things that I don’t do,” Don laughs. “I don’t do a whole lot of sitting around chit-chatting, laughing, and carrying on—especially when I’m on the road, where that just makes you tired, anyway. Even at home on the farm there are literally days on end that I may not say anything but for an hour or two a day.”
This man who so clearly loves the quiet home life can still fill an auditorium or stadium across the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Africa; his special role as an international ambassador for American country and pop music is ongoing and his musical appeal, he has long since been astonished to find, is about the same from the Central Time Zone to central Africa.
“The weird thing about that is—no; I don’t change my show to go play England or Nairobi. I can pretty much choose anything from my repertoire and it works wherever I am, and that still amazes me, because you’re talking about different cultures, sometimes different languages, and the whole nine yards.”
The hundreds of memorable songs in that repertoire—over fifty of them major hits—whether contemplative ballads, affecting love songs or change-up rhythm numbers, have always been a core Don Williams strength and focus. Don and long-time producer Garth Fundis, who returns in that role on this new album, each credit the other with having contributed to their own song-picking and sequencing skills—skills well put to shared use again when Nashville’s finest writers submitted hundreds of songs for consideration for Don’s return to recording. They both knew what they were looking for in selections that would appear on And So It Goes:
“They’re very well written, they’re interesting, and the melody and the lyric are saying the same thing,” Don says. “Even when we’re starting looking for the songs, just experimenting, Garth and I are just in agreement; we just want to make good music that touches our hearts and, hopefully, touches others’ in the process. For many years, though, Garth has fussed at me about one thing— that we need to be sure and do whatever song that I wrote, because I would just pass over it. I get more excited about a new song that I’ve just heard than I do my own material!” (There are, in fact, two Don Williams co-writes among the ten outstanding songs on this new release.)
Riding and crossing the line between country and pop, and all the more distinctive for doing it, Don brought a sound and sensibility to the country charts that proved a smash—a development that was initially a surprise even to him.
“When I was just a wee lad,” he recalls, “I really appreciated people like Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash and Jim Reeves; all of those guys back then meant a lot to me, but at the same time, I really loved Brook Benton, and the Platters and all of those people. But even when I was ‘in pop’ myself, with everything that I wrote, the only people who really seemed to appreciate it were country fans. That has to tell you a little bit about where your heart’s at, whether your head agrees with it or not!”
Born in Floydada, Florida in 1939 and growing up near Corpus Christi, Texas, Don was playing guitar by age twelve, taught by his mother, and performed in folk, country and rock bands as a teenager. He first gained musical attention as a member of the pop folk trio The Pozo Seco Singers, which had six pop chart hits in 1966-’67, then was signed as a songwriter by Nashville’s Cowboy Jack Clement in 1971—the sort of songwriter whose demos demanded attention. Between 1974 and 1991, Don had at least one major hit every year, including such country standards to be as “ Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “Till the Rivers All Run Dry,” “It Must Be Love,” “I’m Just a Country Boy,” “Amanda” and “I Believe in You.” He also had a hit duet with Emmylou Harris on Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You.” Don was the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1978; his “Tulsa Time” was the ACM Record of the Year for 1979.
In 2010, Don received country music’s highest honor, with his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Don Williams died on 8 september 2017 after a short illness. He was 78 years old.
(2) Founder and owner of Mojuba & A.R.T.less Records and one half of the Tokomak Records company. He is the creative force behind these imprints and Tokomak's main founding member. His musical influences ranges from Classic, Funk and Jazz via Drum & Bass and Trip Hop to his beloved Detroit Techno and US House, which can be still enjoyed throughout his DJ-Sets. After a few releases on the legendary Pure Plastic imprint, he delivers tracks of his own brand of funk on labels like Rewired, Styrax Leaves and 100% Pure.
If I Needed You
Don Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would you come to me?
Would you come to me?
For you ease my pain
If you needed me
I would come to you
I would swim the seas
For to ease your pain
Well the night's forlorn
And the morning's born
And the morning's born
With the lights of love
And you'll miss sunrise
If you close your eyes
And that would break
My heart in two
If I needed you
Would you come to me?
Would you come to me?
For you ease my pain
If you needed me
I would come to you
I would swim the seas
For to ease your pain
The lady's with me now
Since I showed her how
To lay her lily
Hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree
She's a sight to see
And a treasure for
The poor to find
If I needed you
Would you come to me?
Would you come to me?
For you ease my pain
If you needed me
I would come to you
I would swim the seas
For to ease your pain
The lyrics of Don Williams's song If I Needed You speak of a bond shared by two individuals who offer support and comfort to each other in times of need. The first verse asks a question of whether or not the person the lyrics are directed to would come to help if the singer was ever in need. In return, the second verse declares that the singer would not hesitate to come to the rescue of the other person, even if it meant crossing oceans to alleviate their pain.
The concept of being there for each other through thick and thin is further expressed in the chorus, with the lines “For you ease my pain/ If you needed me, I would come to you”. The third verse takes a different turn and mentions the lady who is now with the singer since he showed her how to place her hand on his. The sight of her is a treasure for anyone, especially the poor to find.
The lyrics of If I Needed You remind us of the importance of offering support to each other, of being present for someone when they need us the most. The imagery of the seas and sunrise, the mention of a treasure, and the soothing tone of Don Williams's voice all contribute to making this song a heartfelt and touching piece.
Line by Line Meaning
If I needed you
Asking the listener if they would come to help if the singer was in need
Would you come to me?
Reiterating the question and seeking assurance
Would you come to me?
Asking the question once again to emphasize its importance
For you ease my pain
Explaining that the listener's presence would provide comfort and relief
If you needed me
Offering help to the listener in their time of need
I would come to you
Stating the singer's willingness to provide assistance
I would swim the seas
Exaggerating the lengths the singer would go to help the listener
For to ease your pain
Reiterating the intent to provide comfort and relief
Well the night's forlorn
Describing the lonely and melancholy atmosphere of the night
And the morning's born
Introducing the hope and promise that a new day brings
And the morning's born
Repeating the previous line for emphasis
With the lights of love
Describing the positivity and warmth of a new day
And you'll miss sunrise
Advising the listener not to miss the opportunity to start fresh
If you close your eyes
Metaphorically suggesting that the listener is ignoring the beauty of life
And that would break
Explaining that the listener's actions would deeply affect the singer
My heart in two
Expressing the extent of the singer's emotional pain
The lady's with me now
Introducing the singer's current companion
Since I showed her how
Implying that the singer helped the lady in some way
To lay her lily
Describing the lady's delicate hand
Hand in mine
Describing the intimacy and closeness between the singer and the lady
Loop and Lil agree
Referring to fictional characters who also approve of the lady
She's a sight to see
Praising the lady's beauty
And a treasure for
Stating that the lady is valuable and special
The poor to find
Implying that the lady is a rare and valuable find
If I needed you
Repeating the initial question
Would you come to me?
Reiterating the main theme of the song
Would you come to me?
Repeating the question for emphasis
For you ease my pain
Reiterating the positive impact that the listener's presence would have
If you needed me
Restating the singer's willingness to offer help
I would come to you
Assuring the listener of the singer's support
I would swim the seas
Using hyperbole to emphasize the extent of the singer's dedication
For to ease your pain
Reiterating the desire to comfort and relieve the listener
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TOWNES VAN ZANDT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@barbaravest5904
Most beautiful duets of all times
@georgethumbi6750
Absolutely, I can't have enough of this song
@tomp8094
Is there any woman who has aged as gracefully as Emmylou Harris? She is even more beautiful now. This priceless song is one of the greatest love ballads ever recorded.
@paulineheath-eb2bd
Everyone says that I have ❤
@tombankwel4822
If love in this World Was so intense as they sing No wars No hardships and All People would live hand in hand No matter where you live
@bonnielawson7455
Amen!
@tomjones2202
I consider myself lucky to have seen and heard Don Williams in Concert in Hiawasee Georgia. I wish Emmy had been with him. He and his band were too good to be true. The music they sent off that stage was better than any recording I'd ever heard. I still listen to his music and pretend he's still with us. :( I wish he was. Country music like he and so many other GREAT artists like him will never be again. And that's sad.
@bobbailey5072
Any day is a great day for a Townes VanZant tune! Especially sung by these two Legendary Artists!
@dorseyblack9833
One of the most beautiful songs ever written. Townes van Zandt + Don Williams + Emmylou Harris = Heaven!!!
@henrydavids1108
Hello