Valli scored over twenty-five Top-40 hits with The Four Seasons, a handful of Top-40 hits dubbed as a solo act in the late 1960s, one dubbed as The Wonder Who? in 1965, and again as a solo act in the mid to late 1970s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with The Four Seasons in 1990.
Valli started his singing career in 1952. He cut his first single in 1953 as "Frankie Valley" –-a name he adopted from Jean Valley, his favorite female singer. In the mid-1950s he split up with The Travellers and joined The Variety Trio, which consisted of Tommy DeVito, twin brother Nick, and Hank Majewski. They redubbed themselves The Variatones, and later as The Four Lovers. Under this moniker, they scored a Top 40 hit with "You're the Apple of My Eye" in 1956. After a few more name changes, the group finally settled on The Four Seasons in 1960. About the same time, Valli Italianized his name to its current form. Nick DeVito and Majewski left the group in 1960 or 1961. Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi replaced them.
With Valli as its lead singer, The Four Seasons had a series of hits, including five number one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Their first chart-topper was "Sherry" in 1962. They scored their final number one single in the U.S. in 1975 with "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)." The song enjoyed a second run on the U.S. charts in 1994 (credited as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) when a remixed version hit #14 on the Hot 100.
By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Frankie Valli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And she'll find that note that I left hanging on the door
And she'll laugh when she reads the part
That says: "I'm leaving"
Cause I've left that girl so many times before
And by the time I get to Albuquerque, she'll be working
And she'll take off time just to give me a call
And she'll hear that phone keep right on ringing and ringing
And by the time I make Oklahoma, she'll be sleeping
She'll turn softly in her sleep and call my name out low
And then she'll cry just to think that I'd really leave her, I left her
But time after time after time I tried to tell her so
But she just didn't know That I would really go
That I would really go
The song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" by Frankie Valli is a testament to the pain and difficulties that come with a rocky and unstable relationship. The lyrics describe the journey of the singer from one city to the other, as he contemplates leaving his partner once again. The first line of the song, "By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising," hints at the idea that the singer has left his partner before, and she may be expecting it to happen again.
As the song continues, it becomes apparent that the cycle of leaving and returning has become all too familiar to the singer and his partner. The note that he leaves on the door implies that he has already made the decision to leave, and the fact that she'll find it while he's still on the road demonstrates the inevitability of the situation. He predicts that she'll laugh when she sees the note - perhaps because she's grown accustomed to his departures.
When the singer makes it to Albuquerque, he imagines that his partner will take time off work just to call him. But the phone will keep ringing without an answer and it's implied that she has moved on. Similarly, by the time he reaches Oklahoma, she'll be asleep and dreaming of the times they've shared together. The heartbreaking moment comes when she wakes up and realizes that he has left for good. Despite his attempts to tell her that he might leave at any time, the singer acknowledges that his partner never took him seriously, and she always thought he'd come back.
Overall, the song revolves around the theme of a broken relationship - one that has been strained beyond repair. The singer tries to come to terms with the fact that he needs to move on, but he struggles to leave for good.
Line by Line Meaning
By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising
It will take me so long to get to Phoenix that it will be morning when I arrive
And she'll find that note that I left hanging on the door
I left a note for her to find explaining that I am leaving
And she'll laugh when she reads the part
She will react with amusement when she sees the part where I say I am leaving
That says: "I'm leaving"
The note I left says that I am leaving her
Cause I've left that girl so many times before
I have left this girl many times previously
And by the time I get to Albuquerque, she'll be working
By the time I reach Albuquerque she will be at work
And she'll take off time just to give me a call
She will take time off work just to call me
And she'll hear that phone keep right on ringing and ringing
She will hear my phone ring repeatedly
On the wall, yeah oh, that's all
That's all she'll hear - the phone ringing and ringing
And by the time I make Oklahoma, she'll be sleeping
By the time I reach Oklahoma, she will be asleep
She'll turn softly in her sleep and call my name out low
She will murmur my name quietly in her sleep
And then she'll cry just to think that I'd really leave her, I left her
She will cry to consider the idea that I would really leave her, as I have left her before
But time after time after time I tried to tell her so
I have tried to warn her many times before
But she just didn't know
However, she never believed me
That I would really go
That I truly intended to leave her
Contributed by Anna Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.