Wallace was born in Guilford, Missouri. His better-known songs include "How the Time Flies" (1958), "Primrose Lane" (1959, written by Wayne Shanklin), "Shutters And Boards" (1963, written by Audie Murphy), "In The Misty Moonlight" (1964) and "Otoko no Sekai" ( "The World of the Man", English title: "The Lovers of the World" ?) (1970, his biggest selling single that was released in Japan only). His song "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" was featured in the 1972 Night Gallery episode "The Tune in Dan's Cafe," and the song subsequently became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart that August, spending two weeks at the top of the chart, crossing to #39 pop and #9 easy listening.
In 1972, he gained nomination for the Country Music Association Award as Male Vocalist of the Year, and his song "To Get To You" gained nomination for Single of the Year.
Wallace died on May 5, 2008 in Corona, California, after suffering congestive heart failure
If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry
Jerry Wallace Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you leave me tonight I will cry
Though you say we will soon meet again
For the hours I've spent here with you
Are like words from a poet's pen
[Chorus:]
Words like love, and truth, and goodness
I will never love another
Take my heart, take my heart, take my heart
(Take my heart)
Yes, the hours I've spent here with you
Are like words from a poet's pen
[Chorus]
Take my heart, take my heart, take my heart
(Take my heart)
The song "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" by Jerry Wallace is a heart-wrenching ballad about the fear and sadness of losing a loved one. The lyrics suggest that the singer is deeply connected to the person they are addressing, and that they are desperately afraid that the coming separation will be permanent. The line "If you leave, take my heart, take my heart" is especially poignant, as it conveys a sense of total vulnerability and surrender on the singer's part.
The chorus of the song is particularly powerful, as it employs poetic language to describe the depth of the singer's emotions. The phrase "Words like love, and truth, and goodness" suggests that the singer sees their relationship as a source of deep moral and emotional significance. The line "I will never love another" is also notable, as it underscores the singer's sense of total devotion to their loved one. The repetition of the phrase "Take my heart" at the end of each stanza reinforces the idea of surrender and vulnerability that pervades the song.
Line by Line Meaning
(If you leave, take my heart, take my heart)
If you decide to leave me tonight, I'll be absolutely heartbroken
Though you say we will soon meet again
Despite your words of reassurance that we'll see each other soon
For the hours I've spent here with you
The time we've spent together is precious and valuable to me
Are like words from a poet's pen
It's like the moments we've shared are poetry or art that can't be recreated
Words like love, and truth, and goodness
Our experiences together are filled with emotions and ideals like love, honesty, and morality
Words like Until death us do part
Our bond is so strong that even death can't separate us
I will never love another
You are the only person I will ever love
Take my heart, take my heart, take my heart
Please don't leave me and take my heart with you
(Take my heart)
Please understand how much you mean to me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: G. SANFORD, H. MOONEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim
I decided to do some research on this. I found some answers in the Newspaper archive.
Note- The episode first aired Jan. 5, 1972.
July 30, 1972 (Springfield Leader, Springfield MO)
Q - On a recent Night Gallery episode, one of the short stories was entitled "The Tune in Dan's Cafe." Could you please determine the title of the song and the name of it's performer for the show?Bob Crow- Springfield
A - Researchers at Universal City Studios report that the song "If You Leave me Tonight I'll Cry" (originally titled "Words"), which was performed by Jerry Wallace in the Night Gallery episode, has been recorded by him on Decca Records. The albums name is "To Get to You" and it should be available now at record stores.
Detroit Free Press Aug. 27, 1972.
Q- There was a song in "The Tune in Dan's Cafe" segment of "Night Gallery". What was it and where can I get that record?- D.C.F.
A- The tune was "Words," music by Hal Mooney, lyrics by Gerald Sanford. Jerry Wallace sang it in the show. The song is an original, written for the drama. It is not available commercially.
Note: The single was released in June of 1972.
August 2, 1973 (Indianapolis News)
The offer sounded like an absolute bust. Universal Studios wanted a male singer to cut a record for a television show. The singer had to sound like the late Nat King Cole and he had to agree to let Universal tamper with a 2:42 minute song he was to record.
The tampering was to include chopping the last minute and 50 seconds from the song, and at the end of 52 seconds, the record was to be stuck on the words " 'til death."Universal found that someone: Country-western star Jerry Wallace. The television show was Rod Serling's Night gallery.The song was "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry," from the 1972 show "The Tune in Dan's Cafe."
"it is the greatest song I have ever sung" Wallace said Sunday after his night performance at American Heritage Park near McCordsville."The song was written by Hal Mooney, and after it became a number one seller on the country-western charts, Mooney said he would have never believed it," Wallace said.
"What he couldn't believe was that he was a pop orchestra leader, yet he had written a country-western song that made it to the top of the charts," he said.In the television show, the first 52 seconds of the song played repeatedly on a jukebox in Dan's Cafe." It never was played to completion, "stuck" each time on the words "'til death...'til death...'til death.
"People who watched the show became obsessed with finding out who sang the song, and after 30 minutes of a song, the obsession became so strong the rest of the song had to be heard.That meant telephone requests to country-western radio station disc jockeys, and when the song was aired in it's entirety, people liked what they heard.
They liked it so well that they bought it - 800,000 copies. It was included in Wallace's album "To Get To You," and Wallace requested that the song title on side two of the album be followed with:
"From Rod Serling's Night Gallery, The Tune In Dan's Cafe."
"Actually, the song was a natural for me," Wallace said. "Nat King Cole was my idol, and it made me feel wonderful that Universal chose me as the one who sounded most like Nat King Cole." he added, "The tune had to have something that was universal. It was cleverly written. Wallace admits most people who heard the abbreviated song on Night Gallery couldn't identify the voice.
Herb Walker
I did some research and I found THIS:
After his song "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" was featured in the 1972 Night Gallery episode "The Tune in Dan's Cafe," the song became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart that August, spending two weeks at the top of the chart, crossing to No. 38 pop. "How The Time Flies" was Wallace's first big hit, reaching No. 11 pop and No. 11 R&B.
In 1972, he gained nomination for the Country Music Association Award as Male Vocalist of the Year, and his song "To Get To You" gained nomination for Single of the Year.
Wallace died on May 5, 2008 in Corona, California, after suffering congestive heart failure.A United States Navy veteran of World War II, Wallace was buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
Artifactsofmars
That is where I heard it, on Night Gallery. I love it.
Aquarius Moonbeam
It's the tune in Dans café!! It's kinda weird hearing it go past that certain point that it skipped in the episode. Definitely my favorite night gallery episode!! 😊😊
Ross Wood
Holy s*** I'm so glad you said that I remember watching that with my mother and this song always ran through my head where it skips on that part when it says till death I just pulled up the song today just if you leave me tonight and that's what I remember thank you for reinforcing it and letting me know what show it was on that's awesome
Tyrant Gregcag
I like Pickman's Model and Cool Air.
donald wilson
I agree...after all these many years I still expect it to skip like it did in Dan's Cafe!
Amm AAH
Let the legend of Red Serling live forever
dadoctah
I remember when this was featured on Night Gallery, and the next day radio stations all across the country got requests for it. Only problem was, they hadn't written an entire song, just enough to use in the TV show, which they filmed months earlier and sent Wallace home with his check. They had to quickly finish writing the rest of the song and bring Wallace back into the studio to record the finished version so they could release it as an actual single.
Super Singer
Me, too!! It became a hit over night, literally. I have looked this up today because, after all these years, this song came into my head a few nights ago when I could not sleep. At first, I could only remember the first couple of lines, and only part of the rest. After I went to sleep and woke up later, the entire song was there in my memory. Weird. Anyway, I looked for a video of the Night Gallery episode. I had not remembered that one of the actors was Pernell Roberts (what happened to his hair?/Adam Cartwright.) I always loved him, very talented. Makes me wonder what other wonderful things I've forgotten from my youth. sigh! I still miss those 45's. I think all of mine are gone.
lokeymexican
dadoctah The song kept repeating and skipping in the episode. That's how it stuck to my head. I was able to find it by knowing the first words. Still took a while though.