Besides these two songs, five more of Montgomery's singles have reached the top of the country charts: "I Love the Way You Love Me", "Be My Baby Tonight", "If You've Got Love", "I Can Love You Like That", and "The Little Girl", while thirteen more have reached Top Ten. Montgomery's recordings of "I Swear" and "I Can Love You Like That" were both released concurrently with R&B versions by the group All-4-One. Montgomery has also released eleven studio albums, counting a Christmas album.
John Michael joined the family band (which also included his brother, Eddie Montgomery, who would later join Troy Gentry in the duo Montgomery Gentry) as guitarist before taking the lead singing role when his parents divorced. Afterwards, he made a frugal living on the local honky-tonk scene as a solo artist playing what he referred to as "working man's country." Eventually, Atlantic Records signed him.
Loving and Letting Go
John Michael Montgomery Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been there before
I don't want to hang around if all
I'm doing is losing ground just say no more
I don't want to live a lie I'd rather just say goodnight
And carry on
If you love me like you say then clear this cloud of doubt away
Oh and stop this loving and letting go
I can't take it anymore
See I love you baby more than you know
And stop this hurting game inside
It ain't no kind of life
This loving and letting go
Darling when you came along I thought my heart had found a home
And I opened it up
But broken dreams don't have a cure and that's why I need to be sure
It's really love
Oh and stop this loving and letting go
I can't take it anymore
See I love you baby more than you know
And stop this hurting game inside
It ain't no kind of life
This loving and letting go
If we can let's try to work it out 'cause I don't want to live without you in my life
Oh and stop this loving and letting go
I can't take it anymore
'Cause I love you baby more than you know
And stop this hurting game inside
It ain't no kind of life
This loving and letting go
This loving and letting go
The song "Loving and Letting Go" by John Michael Montgomery is a pleading ballad about a person who is stuck in a relationship that feels like a never-ending cycle of love and heartbreak. The verses are full of doubts and disillusionment while the chorus is a cry for emotional stability and unconditional love. The main theme of the song is the need for clarity in romantic relationships and the desire for a lasting commitment.
The first verse sets up the tone of the song by expressing the singer's reluctance to always be the one doing the holding on in the relationship. He does not want to continue losing ground without a sense of purpose, and therefore, wants his partner to clearly indicate whether or not their love is real. The second verse is a plea for transparency and honesty. The singer is tired of the uncertainty and would instead prefer to end the pretense and move on. The chorus is a double-edged sword: he loves his partner deeply, but the constant cycle of loving and letting go is taking a toll on his heart. He wants the relationship to either progress or end altogether.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to be the one who always does the holdin' on
I don't want to be the only one putting effort into this relationship
I've been there before
I have experienced this situation in past relationships
I don't want to hang around if all I'm doing is losing ground just say no more
I don't want to stay in a relationship that is going nowhere, so please be honest about your feelings
I don't want to live a lie I'd rather just say goodnight And carry on
I don't want to pretend everything is okay when it's not, so I would rather end things now
If you love me like you say then clear this cloud of doubt away And prove me wrong
If you truly love me, then show me and dispel any doubts I have about our relationship
Darling when you came along I thought my heart had found a home And I opened it up
When I met you, I thought you were the one, so I let myself be vulnerable and open up to you
But broken dreams don't have a cure and that's why I need to be sure It's really love
Past heartbreaks have taught me that broken dreams are hard to mend, so I need to know if our love is real before I commit
If we can let's try to work it out 'cause I don't want to live without you in my life
If it's possible, I want us to try and fix our relationship because I can't envision a life without you
Oh and stop this loving and letting go I can't take it anymore
I can't handle the constant cycle of loving and losing, it's too painful
See I love you baby more than you know And stop this hurting game inside It ain't no kind of life This loving and letting go
I love you more than you realize and this constant cycle of hurting each other isn't living, it's just a game
This loving and letting go
The constant pattern of loving and losing
Contributed by Julian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.