Early life
Croce was born in South Philadelphia. He graduated from Upper Darby High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania in 1960 where in 1976, he was the first former student to be added to the high school's Wall of Fame. Then, while attending Villanova University (1965 graduate), Croce became interested in becoming a professional musician and met his future wife, Ingrid, at a hootenanny at Convention Hall in Philadelphia, where he was a judge for the contest.
Early career
During the early 1960s, Croce formed a number of college bands and performed at coffee houses and universities, and later with his wife Ingrid as a duo in the mid-1960s to early 1970s. At first their performances included songs by Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, and Woody Guthrie, but in time they began writing their own music, such as "Age", "Hey Tomorrow", and "Spin, Spin Spin" which later led to Croce's hit songs in the early seventies.
At the same time, Croce got his first long-term gig at a rural bar and steak house in Lima, Pennsylvania, called the Riddle Paddock. There, over the next few years, Croce developed a very engaging rapport with tough audiences and built his musical repertoire to over 3,000 songs. His set list included every genre from blues to country, rock 'n roll to folk, with tender love songs and traditional Bawdy Ballads, always introduced with a story and an impish grin.
In 1968, Jim and Ingrid Croce were encouraged to move to New York City to record their first album with Capitol Records. For the next two years, they drove over 300,000 miles playing small clubs and concerts on the college concert circuit promoting their album Jim & Ingrid Croce.
Then, disillusioned by the music business and New York City, Croce sold all but one guitar to pay the rent, and they returned to the Pennsylvania countryside where Croce got a job driving trucks and doing construction to pay the bills. He called this his "Character Development Period" and spent a lot of his time sitting in the cab of a truck, composing songs about his buddies and the folks he enjoyed meeting at the local bars and truck stops.
Success
In 1970, Croce met classically trained pianist/guitarist, singer-songwriter Maury Muehleisen from Trenton, New Jersey. Initially, Croce backed Muehleisen on guitar at his gigs. But in time, their musical strengths led them each to new heights. Muehleisen's ethereal and inspired guitar leads became the perfect accompaniment to Croce's down-to-earth music.
In 1972, Croce signed to a three record deal with ABC Records releasing You Don't Mess Around with Jim and Life & Times in the same year. The singles "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)" and "Time In A Bottle" (written for his newborn son, A. J. Croce) helped the former album reach #1 on the charts in 1974. Croce's biggest single "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", hit number 1 on the US charts in the summer of 1973, selling two million copies.
Sudden death
Croce, 30, and Muehleisen, 24, died in a small commercial plane crash on September 20, 1973 in Natchitoches, Louisiana one day before releasing his third ABC album, I Got a Name. The posthumous release included three hits, "I Got A Name", "Workin' At The Car Wash Blues" and "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song."
Musical legacy
In 1990, Croce was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In the late 1990s, Ingrid Croce, Croce's widow, and their son, A.J. Croce obtained the publishing rights for Croce's entire catalog of songs. Since then they have released Jim Croce Home Recordings, Facets, Jim Croce: Classic Hits, and the first-ever DVD of Jim's television performances on "Have You Heard – Jim Croce Live", with their most recent release in January 2006 of a CD of the same title. They also co-produced a PBS special, with archive footage from the Croce family collection, along with excerpts of their DVD Have You Heard – Jim Croce Live.
In 1985, Ingrid Croce opened "Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar", located in the historic Gaslamp District in San Diego, California, partially as a tribute to her late husband.
Quotes
His personal motto: "If you dig it, do it. If you really dig it, do it twice."
On his roots: "I never really thought of my neighborhood in South Philly as being a neighborhood, it was more a state of mind. For people who aren't familiar with those kind of places, it's a whole different thing. Like 42nd Street in New York City is a state of mind."
Walkin' Back to Georgia
Jim Croce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm walkin' back to Georgia
And I hope she will take me back
Nothin' in my pockets
And all I own is upon my back
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl
Mm-mm
I'm walkin' back to Georgia
She's the only one who knows
How it feels when you lose a dream
And how it feels when you dream alone
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl
Mm-mm
Georgia can you hear me callin'
Oh, I'll be home in just a while
And if I had to I'd be crawlin'
Just to share another mornin' smile
But you're the girl who said you loved me
On that hot dusty long ago
And if you're still around, I'm gonna settle down
With you, my hard lovin' Georgia girl
Mm-mm
Because I'm walkin' back to Georgia
And I hope she will take me back
Nothin' in my pockets
And all I own is upon my back
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot, dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl.
Mm-mm, mm-mm
The main theme of Jim Croce's song "Walkin' Back to Georgia" is about the pursuit of lost love - a universal tale of seeking redemption and forgiveness. The lyrics depict a man who, having lost everything, is wandering back to Georgia to find the only love he ever knew. He recognizes that he had made a mistake and is hopeful that she will take him back. He is willing to give up anything including his pride and dignity, even crawling, to be with the one he loves.
Croce describes his journey back to Georgia, with nothing but the clothes on his back, as he reminisces about the memories he shared with her. He highlights the significance of the time they spent together on the dusty Macon road and how much it meant to him. He admits to being lost without her and her love and acknowledges that only she knows what it feels like to lose a dream.
The song's rawness and honesty connect with the listener and is one of the reasons why it became so popular. Jim Croce's unique storytelling ability and folk-style music have helped make "Walkin' Back to Georgia" a classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Mm-mm
The song starts with humming sounds conveying an emotional state of the singer and setting the tone of the song.
I'm walkin' back to Georgia
The singer is returning to Georgia, a place where he had experienced love and happiness earlier in his life.
And I hope she will take me back
The singer is hopeful that the girl he loves still has feelings for him and will accept him back into her life.
Nothin' in my pockets
The singer has nothing on him, which could signify that he has lost everything or is starting his life anew.
And all I own is upon my back
The singer has very few possessions, which he carries on his back, perhaps indicating that he is traveling light or that he is starting from scratch.
But she's the girl who said she loved me
The singer is referring to a particular girl who had expressed her love for him earlier in life, and he still has feelings for her.
On that hot dusty Macon road
The singer recalls a specific moment in the past when the girl he loves had expressed her feelings on a particular road that connects Macon and Georgia.
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
The singer has made up his mind that if the girl he loves still loves him back, he will settle down with her in Georgia and make it his permanent home.
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl
The singer describes the girl he loves as a tough but loving person, who embodies the spirit of Georgia state, and Georgia serves as a symbol of the place where he was truly happy before.
She's the only one who knows
The singer believes that the girl he loves is the only person who could relate to his feelings of losing a dream and the pain of dreaming alone.
How it feels when you lose a dream
The singer references a common human experience of losing a dream, as in not being able to achieve your ambitions or desires, which could lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair.
And how it feels when you dream alone
The singer relates to the emotion of dreaming alone, which could signify an individual feeling lonely, disconnected, or alienated from the world around them.
Georgia can you hear me callin'
The singer addresses Georgia, calling out to the state, asking if they can hear him approaching and hear his call of love to the girl he loves.
Oh, I'll be home in just a while
The singer assures Georgia that he is on his way back home and will be there soon. Home being the place that represents love, happiness, and a sense of belonging.
And if I had to I'd be crawlin'
The singer expresses his willingness to do whatever it takes to go back home and be with the girl he loves, even if it means crawling back to Georgia.
Just to share another mornin' smile
The singer desires to be with his love in Georgia to share another morning, to wake up and see her beautiful smile again.
But you're the girl who said you loved me
The singer directly addresses the girl he loves, reminding her that she had expressed her love for him earlier and that he still remembers it fondly.
On that hot dusty long ago
The singer recalls a specific moment from the past, emphasizing the effect it had on him and how he continues to cherish the memory.
And if you're still around, I'm gonna settle down
The singer once again repeats his desire to settle down with the girl he loves if she is still around and reciprocates his feelings.
With you, my hard lovin' Georgia girl
The singer describes the girl he loves in a way that recognizes her strength and resilience, which resonates with the spirit of Georgia state.
Mm-mm
The song ends with the same humming sounds as the beginning, symbolizing the singer's cyclical journey back to where he felt happy and complete before.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: James Croce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jordananogueira2858
Mmm, mmm
Walkin' back to Georgia
And I hope she will take me back.
Nothin' in my pockets,
And all I own is on my back.
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road,
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl,
Mmm
I'm walkin' back to Georgia;
She's the only one who knows
How it feels when you lose a dream
And how it feels when you dream alone.
She's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl.
Mmm
Georgia can you hear me callin';
I'll be home in just a while.
And if I had to I'd be crawlin'
Just to share another mornin' smile.
You're the girl who said you loved me
On that hot dusty long ago,
And if you're still around, I'm gonna settle down
With you, my hard lovin' Georgia girl.
Mmm
Because I'm walkin' back to Georgia,
And I hope she will take me back.
Nothin' in my pockets
And all I own is on my back.
She's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot, dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl.
Mmm, mmm
@snicolle76
Jim’s music makes me wanna take a road trip across America with the windows down.
@wjazz1496
@Jeff Eiskina You'll get there. Just hang in there.
@dCaddyshk
1983...
@gringostarr9935
I'm on highway 50. regularly travel 3,000 miles a time. jim and maury are def on my playlist. cheers to you getting out on the road!
@jamesharris627
Amen brother!
@EnclaveSgt
maybe once it's warmer than -35
@ajbarsanti
Really amazing how you can hear the sincerity in his voice with each lyric, but for me, particularly with "but you're the girl who said you loved me..." I think all men know how much we hold onto those words from girls like this, no matter how long it may have been.
@schmanderich
This
@kyleroy1630
Couldnt agree more . All of us guys think about the one that got away. Especially when her name was georgette !!
@gwynnielsen5081
Croce's music represents a much simpler time when small things meant a lot.