Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio (30 March 1913 – 6 February 2… Read Full Bio ↴Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio (30 March 1913 – 6 February 2007), was an American singer and one of the more successful hit-makers of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Laine has had worldwide sales of over 250 million disks, and has earned 21 gold records. Originally a rhythm and blues influenced jazz singer, his energetic, passionate style has led some to consider him the first of the blue-eyed soul singers. Eventually he expanded to such varied genres as popular standards, gospel, folk, country, rock 'n' roll, and a hard-driving (and slightly campy) form of western/Americana.
... Throughout the 1950s, Laine enjoyed a second career singing the title songs of Hollywood films and television shows, including: Gunfight At OK Corral, 3:10 To Yuma, Bullwhip, and Rawhide. His rendition of the title song for Mel Brooks' 1974 movie Blazing Saddles won an Oscar nomination for Best Song, and his recording of "Rawhide" for the television series of the same name has become a classic of the genre.

Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Frankie Laine Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I'll find
Just where the trail will wind

Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn

I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Drifting, on and on

Moving, on and on
Wandering, on and on

Overall Meaning

Frankie Laine's "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" is a song about the singer's existential drift through the world as represented by the tumbling of tumbleweeds. The song opens with the image of the tumbleweeds tumbling down and pledging their love to the ground. This metaphor stands in for the singer's current predicament where he feels as if he is tumbling down and drifting along with no fixed place to call home. But despite his loneliness, he foresees a new world being born at dawn, offering him hope for a brighter future. The song comes full circle as he reaffirms his place in the range and his journey continues to the horizon.

The song employs strong imagery and metaphors throughout to evoke the sense of lingering in search of direction. The tumbleweeds serve essentially as a symbol for both the singers’ wandering lifestyle and the human condition in general. The song communicates an impression of the aimlessness of human existence and our unending search for meaning and purpose. Despite this lack of direction, there is a sense of optimism that pervades the song through its imagery, as the singer looks forward to the possibility of a new life and renewed purpose.

Line by Line Meaning

See them tumbling down
Observing the rolling tumbleweeds

Pledging their love to the ground
The tumbleweeds are free, surrendering to the earth

Lonely but free I'll be found
I may be alone, but I am also unconstrained

Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
I am moving aimlessly down the path with the rolling weeds

Cares of the past are behind
I am free from my past burdens

Nowhere to go but I'll find
I don't have any destination in mind, but I will discover it

Just where the trail will wind
I don't know where the journey will lead me

Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
I am continuing down the path with the rolling weeds

I know when night has gone
I am aware that darkness fades into light

That a new world's born at dawn
The day brings a completely new start

I'll keep rolling along
I will keep moving forward