Pitney, a pop rock pioneer, had his greatest success overall in Britain, first travelling there after his first self penned hit in 1961. "I Wanna Love My Life Away" hit #26 on the UK singles chart & just broke into the top 40 in the US.
His early music recorded for the "musicor" label was romantic, lonely and dramatic, fitting in alongside contemporaries like Buddy Holly, Neil Sedaka, Roy Orbison & serves as an audio time capsule of a more innocent time.
Gene Pitney - Yesterday's Hero...
Gene was a Brill Building songwriter who even before his singing career took off, had written one of Ricky Nelson's biggest hits "Hello Mary Lou". He had been helped out initially in his career by Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and later recorded some of their songs which became big hits like "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and the classic "Only Love Can Break A Heart". At the time his "Only Love..." recording was a #2 chart hit, he had written the number 1 song that week; "He's A Rebel" (A Phil Spector production recorded by The Crystals). All in all Pitney himself recorded 16 top 40 songs in the US from 1961 to 1968.
Gene's biggest popularity was in England, where he used the Rolling Stones publicist Andrew Loog Oldham to get his fame established, which lasted there to the day of his death. In the UK, Gene had 40 top-40 charting hits through 1974. He finally hit #1 in the UK in 1990, performing a duet with Marc Almond of Soft Cell. Pitney died April 5 on tour in 2006. He was found by his tour manager fully clothed on his bed at a Hilton Hotel in Cardiff , shortly after performing a concert.
Mecca
Gene Pitney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And though they say that East is East and West is West
And never the twain shall meet
Each morning I face her window and pray that our love can be
'Cause that brownstone house where my baby lives
Is Mecca (Mecca, Mecca, Mecca) Mecca (Mecca, Mecca) to me.
Oh she's my dream goddess and her ruby lips are so divine
I worship at her shrine
Each morning I face her window and pray that our love can be
'Cause that brownstone house where my baby lives
Is Mecca (Mecca, Mecca, Mecca) Mecca (Mecca, Mecca) to me.
Each morning I face her window and pray that our love can be
'cause that brownstone house where my baby lives
Is Mecca (Mecca, Mecca, Mecca) Mecca (Mecca, Mecca) to me.
Gene Pitney's song Mecca is a story of two lovers who live on opposite sides of the street. The lyrics express the desire of the singer to be with his love interest, who lives in a Brownstone house on the East side of the street. Despite the differences in their living arrangements, the singer sees his lover's house as his Mecca, a holy place he longs to be.
The lyrics have a religious connotation, as the word Mecca is primarily associated with the Islamic religion. Mecca is the holy city of Islam, which Muslims worldwide see as a pilgrimage destination. In the song, the singer uses Mecca as the embodiment of his desire for his lover, representing the pilgrimage he must take to be with her. He sees his lover's house as a haven where he can worship and devote himself to her, symbolizing the spiritual connection between lovers.
The chorus is the highlight of the song, where the singer repeatedly sings "Mecca, Mecca, Mecca." It serves as a reminder that his lover's house is his ultimate destination and a place where he must be to feel complete. The song's lyrics, combined with Gene Pitney's soulful voice, make for a beautiful love song, with a spiritual undertone.
Line by Line Meaning
I live on the West side, she lives on the East side of the street
I reside on the opposite side of the street as my lover.
And though they say that East is East and West is West
Despite the saying that East and West are separated and cannot meet.
And never the twain shall meet
And that they will never be able to combine.
Each morning I face her window and pray that our love can be
Every day, I face her window and hope that our love will work out.
'Cause that brownstone house where my baby lives
Because the brownstone house where my lover resides.
Is Mecca (Mecca, Mecca, Mecca) Mecca (Mecca, Mecca) to me.
Is like Mecca to me, a holy site that is sacred and important to my life.
Oh she's my dream goddess and her ruby lips are so divine
My lover is like a divine and beautiful dream goddess, with luscious lips.
And though her folks say we're too young to know of love
Even though her parents believe we are too young to understand love.
I worship at her shrine
I adore and am devoted to her, like a worshipper at a religious site.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN GLUCK JR, JOHN, JR. GLUCK, NEVAL ABOU NADAR, NEVAL ABOU NADER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AtlantaGymFan
There is no Gene Pitney song that isn't first rate and sung with sincerity and skill. How we miss him - heaven must be a tuneful place with him there
@JohnBernardon-py7wf
Even the people of Mecca think that he’s in heaven.
@Wolfsky9
Spring, '63, I was 16 y/o, and lost in another world every time I heard this masterpiece by one of the Best voices of the 60's. What drama, what production, what a vocal. Young people of today : hear what you're missing! Wolfsky9
@saratessier8167
Agree!!
@mariojohnston7147
100% Godbless 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
@waynedoyle8681
I was 11 listening on my little transistor
@JohnBernardon-py7wf
I was 15. I had the same feeling. One of the best arranged songs of the era of the a.m. rockers.
@JohnBernardon-py7wf
This was the era when we had our transistor radios in a shirt pocket for our entire waking hours. Then, when we went to bed, the radios went on the rock pillows so our parents wouldn’t know that we were still listening. I’m dictating this and I have to choke off the tears to do it.😢
@groovymovie84
When my friend texted me in 2006 that Gene passed away, I had to run out of my college class. I was crying. I'm a millennial that loves his sound. Great music that is sadly never reproduced...
@josephspiteri6178
The third day after he died I ended up with a headache. I simply could not accept it. He had put in so many happy hours in my life. R.I.P.