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.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Gene Pitney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They asked me how I knew
My true love was true
I of course replied
"Something here inside
Cannot be denied"
They said someday you'll find
When your heart's on fire
You must realize
Smoke gets in your eyes
So I chaffed and I gaily laughed
To think they would doubt my love
Yet today, my love has flown away
I am without my love
Now laughing friends deride
Tears I cannot hide
So I smile and say
"When a lovely flame dies,
Smoke gets in your eyes.
The lyrics of Gene Pitney's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" speak to the painful consequences of love and affection that have ended, while trying to reconcile with the impact of memory that remains. The song begins with Pitney expressing his passion for his true love, which he believes to be undeniable. It is important to note that he does not elaborate on this spark or passion, but rather vaguely suggests an inner feeling or intuition that tells him this love is pure.
The song then continues with Pitney referencing that others have challenged the authenticity of his affection and warns him that love can often blind people to the realities of the situation. He dismisses these doubts and jokes about their accuracy. However, as the song continues, the reality of his love being gone hits him, and the memories of his past love begin to burn him like smoke in his eyes. Pitney explains that the pain of losing his love is too much for him to bear, and he cannot hide his tears from his peers and friends. Despite this, he understands that the flame that burned so bright is now extinguished, and it's only natural that smoke has arisen from that which was once ablaze.
The song is a poignant reflection on both the joy and the pain of love, written in a simple and straightforward manner that only adds to its emotional resonance. Pitney's voice conveys a sense of both strength and vulnerability, touching on the complex emotions that accompany love.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby,
Addressing the lover.
They asked me how I knew
People asked how I knew my love was true.
My true love was true
That my love for her was genuine.
I of course replied
I replied with confidence.
"Something here inside
I felt something inside me.
Cannot be denied"
That couldn't be ignored or denied.
They said someday you'll find
They told me that someday I'll understand.
All who love are blind
That love can make you blind.
When your heart's on fire
When you are deeply in love.
You must realize
You should understand that
Smoke gets in your eyes
Love can be deceiving like smoke getting in your eyes.
So I chaffed and I gaily laughed
I joked and laughed happily.
To think they would doubt my love
To think someone could doubt my love.
Yet today, my love has flown away
But now my love has left me.
I am without my love
I'm left without the person I love.
Now laughing friends deride
People who once laughed with me now make fun of me.
Tears I cannot hide
I'm crying and can't hide it from them.
So I smile and say
But I pretend to be happy and say
"When a lovely flame dies,
"When a beautiful love ends,
Smoke gets in your eyes.
It can be hard to see the truth, like smoke getting in your eyes.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nobama Gone
His voice is one in a million!
the king
Gene Pitney had a sound of his own. RIP
Tonithenightowl
Beautiful as only Pitney can do.
walkkey1
man I can't believe he had that many songs. He was my favorite. His Voice was one in a million! I love your songs you put on here. I hope you do more!
Eloisa Montana
Voce elegante, colma di sentimento.♥♥♥
Rose Balcom
RIP Gene, you were blessed with an amazing talent thank you for sharing it with us
Lory Florio
I agree with you. Thanks for your words about Gene
Katze88 Katze88
Gene had a very special voice.
Anneke Krikke
Een geweldige zanger en mens. Een man om van te houden. Wat een stem .
sharon sherwin
My favorite male singer singing one of my all time favorite songs of my youth ❤️