Eddie Hodges was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S., on March 5, 1947. Hodges travelled to New York City with his family and on October 4, 1957, was a contestant on the TV game show Name That Tune. The story presented to the press at the time was that he was noticed by Rini Willson, the wife of playwright and composer Meredith Willson who was looking for a boy to cast in a new musical; however, the fact was that he had been auditioning for the part prior to being asked to appear on the game show, and that there was an agreement between the producers of the two productions that the boy chosen to play the role in the musical would be "discovered" on the television show.
Hodges' partner contestant on Name That Tune was Marine Corps test pilot Col. John Glenn, later an astronaut, United States Senator and presidential candidate.
Hodges made his professional acting debut on stage in Willson's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man. He made his film debut in the 1959 film A Hole in the Head with Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson, in which Hodges and Sinatra performed a song called High Hopes. Hodges did not perform on Sinatra's hit recording of the song.
Hodges made eight feature films and numerous TV guest appearances. He is probably best remembered for the title role in Michael Curtiz's 1960 film The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is considered one of the best of the many attempts to film Mark Twain's classic. Both Hodges and his co-star as Jim, Archie Moore, received generally positive reviews for their performances. He also appeared in the 1963 Disney film Summer Magic.
Guest appearances on network TV productions included Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Cimarron Strip and The Dick Van Dyke Show, among others. He was also a Mystery Guest on What's My Line?
At the age of 14, Hodges recorded for Cadence Records and his biggest hit was "I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door" in 1961. He also scored a minor hit with "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love," a song written by Phil Everly and originally recorded by The Everly Brothers. He recorded for several other record labels. Before he left Hollywood, he was a union musician, record producer, song writer and music publisher. He collaborated with Tandyn Almer ("Along Comes Mary") with whom he wrote and published several songs and owned his own music publishing business. Hodges continues to write songs today but is no longer involved in the music business. He also appeared in the 1963 Disney film Summer Magic and the 1967 film The Happiest Millionaire.
Hodges was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. After he was discharged, he returned to Hollywood and became disillusioned with show business. He decided to return to his native Mississippi and entered the The University of Southern Mississippi where he received his B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling. He became and is still a mental health counselor. He is divorced and has two grown children and three grandchildren. He occasionally gets in touch with his old show business friends and still writes songs. Hodges rode out Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and informed his fans that he was fine after being missing for 19 days when the utilities were restored.
I Make Believe It's You
Eddie Hodges Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I make believe it's you
Shooting down with dear
I make believe it's you
Everytime I'm at a dance
Dance with someone care
I close my eyes and make believe it's you
I make believe it's you
Fooling us please with lust
I make believe it's you
Everytime I get the chance
To romance someone care
I close my eyes and make believe it's you
When you tells me her soothes
I am a broken hearted loser
Makes no difference who I'm weak
One thing I know it's true
Cross my heart and hope is to die
I can't stop loving you
I may kiss a lot of girls
But darling when I do
I close my eyes and make believe it's you.
The lyrics of Eddie Hodges's song "I Make Believe It's You" detail a longing for a lost love and the inability to forget them despite moving on with life. The singer describes how in various situations, such as going on a date or dancing with someone, they make believe it's their former significant other who they still love. Even when comforting words are offered, the singer acknowledges that their heart is still broken and they cannot stop loving their ex. The final lines of the song reveal that despite kissing other people, the singer always imagines it is their lost love, suggesting that they have not truly moved on.
The lyrics convey a sense of unrequited love and the pain of trying to move on from a former lover. The singer is still deeply attached to their ex and cannot help but compare any romantic encounters with them. The repeated phrase "I make believe it's you" emphasizes the fantasy and illusion the singer is creating in order to cope with the loss of their love. The final lines suggest both the persistence of this fantasy and the sense that the singer may never fully recover from their heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
When I'm on a date with her
Despite being with someone else, I imagine that I'm with you.
I make believe it's you
I pretend that the person I'm with is actually you.
Shooting down with dear
Ignoring my current company, I think of you as my beloved.
Everytime I'm at a dance
Whenever I attend a dance party.
Dance with someone care
I dance with someone who might care for me.
I close my eyes and make believe it's you
I close my eyes and pretend that I'm dancing with you instead.
Holding hand with sweet lace kiss
When I hold hands and kiss someone sweetly
Fooling us please with lust
Even though it's just a physical attraction, I imagine it's you.
To romance someone care
When I try to pursue someone who might care for me romantically.
When you tells me her soothes
When you talk about your love interest to me.
I am a broken hearted loser
It hurts me a lot to hear about it.
Makes no difference who I'm weak
No matter who I'm with, I still feel weak and have feelings for you.
One thing I know it's true
I know for a fact that I still love you.
Cross my heart and hope is to die
I swear on my heart and my life.
I can't stop loving you
I can't help but continue to love you.
I may kiss a lot of girls
Even if I kiss many girls.
But darling when I do
But when I do, my mind wanders to you instead.
I close my eyes and make believe it's you.
So I close my eyes and imagine I'm kissing you instead.
Writer(s): rhodes, saffer
Contributed by Hudson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.