During 1960, Horton had two other successes with "North to Alaska" for John Wayne's movie, North to Alaska, and "Sink the Bismarck". Horton is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Johnny Horton had several top ten songs in the late 50's and early 60's and was on the verge of becoming one of the top stars of the 60's when he met with tragedy.
He was born John Gale Horton in Los Angeles in 1925. He was raised in Tyler, Texas. Horton worked in the fishing industry in Alaska and California, and attended Seattle University. He worked for a while as a carpenter, and played basketball at Baylor University. He worked at a local radio station in East Texas and at the Hometown Jamboree in California. He did some recording with little success for the Abbott, Mercury, and Dot labels and picked up the nickname the Singing Fisherman. Horton became a regular on the Louisiana Hayride.
Johnny married Billie Jean Jones, the widow of country music legend Hank Williams. He sang country songs and signed a recording contract with Columbia, where he would achieve his greatest success. Some of his first hits included Honky Tonk Man, I'm A One-Woman Man in 1956, Coming Home in 1957 and All Grown Up in 1958. He topped the country charts in 1959 with When It's Springtime In Alaska.
Johnny Horton then began to record a series of saga songs that crossed over to the pop charts. He covered Jimmy Driftwood's The Battle Of New Orleans in 1959. The song topped the country charts and it reached number one on the pop charts, where it remained for a solid six weeks. The song was a tribute to the final battle of the War of 1812. He also recorded Sink The Bismarck in 1960, a song that was suggested by the film of the same title; it went top ten country and pop. Johnny Horton was a star. He sang the title song for the John Wayne movie North To Alaska and it too made the top ten in both charts during the same year.
On November 5, 1960, while North To Alaska was still climbing the charts, Horton was killed in an automobile accident in Milano, Texas following an appearance at the Skyline Club in Austin. He is buried in Hillcrest Cemetary in Haughton, LA.
Following Horton's death some of his earlier hit songs made the charts once again. Albums of his recordings were compiled and issued in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's, and they are still selling.
His biography was published in 1983 under the title Your Singing Fisherman.
I'm a One Woman Man
Johnny Horton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you let me hold you, honey, I'd holler out loud
I'll never love another, even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby, I'm a one woman man
Won't you let me, baby, just to kinda hang around
I'll always love ya, honey, and I'll never let ya down
I'll never love another, even if I can
I'd climb the highest mountain if it reached up to the sky
To prove that I loved you, I would jump off and fly
I'd even swim the ocean from shore to shore
To prove that I love just a little bit more
Won't you let me, baby, just to kinda hang around
I'll always love ya, honey, and I'll never let ya down
I'll never love another, even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby, I'm a one woman man
Won't you let me, baby, just to kinda hang around
I'll always love ya, honey, and I'll never let ya down
I'll never love another, even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby, I'm a one woman man
The lyrics of Johnny Horton's song "I'm A One Woman Man" express the singer's deep devotion and commitment to one woman. He sings that if she told him she loved him, he would feel proud, and if she let him hold her, he would holler out loud. The singer then declares that he will never love another, even if he could. He calls on the woman to come to him because he is a "one woman man."
The singer goes on to make extravagant declarations of love, saying he would climb the highest mountain, jump off a cliff, or swim the ocean to prove his love. He ends the song with a plea to the woman to let him hang around, as he will always love her and never let her down.
Line by Line Meaning
If you told me that you loved me, I would feel so proud
If you expressed your love for me, I would be delighted and honored.
If you let me hold you, honey, I'd holler out loud
If you allowed me to embrace you, I would be thrilled and exuberant.
I'll never love another, even if I can
I will remain faithful and devoted to you, even if I had the opportunity to love someone else.
Oh, come to me, baby, I'm a one woman man
Please be with me, as I am completely committed to one woman only.
I'd climb the highest mountain if it reached up to the sky
I would undertake any challenge, no matter how immense, to demonstrate my love for you.
To prove that I loved you, I would jump off and fly
I would perform any action, no matter how impossible, to prove my love for you.
I'd even swim the ocean from shore to shore
I would cross any distance, no matter how vast, to show my love for you.
To prove that I love just a little bit more
To demonstrate my affection for you exceeds what mere words can convey.
Won't you let me, baby, just to kinda hang around
Can I please spend time with you, my darling?
I'll always love ya, honey, and I'll never let ya down
I will always cherish and adore you, and will never disappoint or betray you.
Oh, come to me, baby, I'm a one woman man
Please be mine, my love, as I am committed to loving only one woman for the rest of my life.
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Horton, Tillman Franks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Justin Curless
If you told me that you love me I would feel so proud
If you let me hold you honey I'd holler out loud
I'll never love another even if I can
Oh, come to me baby I'm a one woman man
Won't you let me baby just kinda hang around
I'll always love you honey and I'll never let you down
I'll never love another even if I can
Oh, come to me baby I'm a one woman man
I'd climb the highest mountain if it reached up to the sky
To prove that I love you I would jump off and fly
I'd even swim the ocean from shore to shore
To prove that I love you just a little bit more
Won't you let me baby just kinda hang around
I'll always love you honey and I'll never let you down
I'll never love another even if I can
Oh, come to me baby I'm a one woman man
James Mancuso
I'm a huge Johnny Horton fan. He's taught me more about history than I learned in school.
jennifur sun
loved himn too. one of those singers i would have paid money to see sadly i was still in grade school when he died. darn those drunk drivers(my family was hit by one when i was 13)
Stacey Barlow
Got that right!
Rachel Brogan
Great comment 👏👏
Edward
He taught me that when it’s springtime in Alaska it’s 40 below
Edward
Also that John Paul Jones, who was a fighting man and sailed to both the east and the west, killed a sailor aboard a ship while employed by the British Admiralty. I guess he changed his name to his initials, JP, and headed to Ameri-KEE to help set them free.
Wayne Mullin
My Dad (RIP) was the biggest Johnny fan and made me fall in love with this music.
jennifur sun
+Wayne Mullin mine too ,can still hear him singing in my mind. if he had lived his birthday would have been this week
Nick A
I remember singing with my papa sink the Bismarck rip on of the best
brownbuffalo lonebear
one of the best songs ever.. Wish there was more of it unlike today's garbage..