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.
They'll Never Take Her Love from Me
Johnny Horton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is one who's smiling face the Gods would see
Cause she'll walk along beside me up to golden stairs
Oh they'll never ever take her love from me
What a fool I was to go and break the trust she gave
And to see her love turn into sympathy
It's the one regret I'll carry with me to my grave
Oh they'll never ever take her love from me
I'm so thankful for each golden hour of happiness
That we shared together in the used to be
Someone else's arms may hold her now in uncaress
But they'll never eever take her love from me
I thought I'd make her happy if I'd step aside
But I knew her love would never set me free
Even on the day that she became another's bride
Oh they'll never never take her love from me
In Johnny Horton's song They'll Never Take Her Love from Me, the singer expresses his regret for breaking the trust of the woman he loves. The song suggests that although he lost her love, it is impossible for anyone to take it away from him. The singer acknowledges his mistake, admitting that he was a fool to have let her go. The lyrics also imply that even though the woman has found someone new, she will always hold a special place in the singer's heart. He remembers the happy times they spent together and cherishes the memories of their past relationship.
The song speaks to the universal theme of lost love and heartbreak, and its lyrics are poignant and honest. It captures the sorrowful emotions one feels after losing someone they love and gives voice to the pain and regret that often follows. The song's elegance is in its simplicity, reflecting the singer's love for the woman with whom he shared his life's most beautiful moments.
Line by Line Meaning
If today the sun should set on all my hopes and cares
If everything I've ever wanted comes crashing down today
There is one who's smiling face the Gods would see
There is one person who brings me happiness and joy
Cause she'll walk along beside me up to golden stairs
She is always by my side and will remain loyal through our time in heaven
Oh they'll never ever take her love from me
No force can ever take away the love she has for me
What a fool I was to go and break the trust she gave
I regret breaking her trust and losing her love
And to see her love turn into sympathy
I regret causing her to feel sorry for me instead of loving me
It's the one regret I'll carry with me to my grave
I will always regret losing the love of my life
I'm so thankful for each golden hour of happiness
I cherish every moment of happiness we shared together
That we shared together in the used to be
We made beautiful memories together in the past
Someone else's arms may hold her now in uncaress
She may be with someone else now, but they can never replace the love we shared
But they'll never eever take her love from me
Even though someone else may have her physically, she will always love me in her heart
I thought I'd make her happy if I'd step aside
I thought leaving her alone would make her happy with someone else
But I knew her love would never set me free
I knew leaving her would not relieve me of the pain of losing her love
Even on the day that she became another's bride
Even if she marries someone else, there's no one who can replace her in my heart
Oh they'll never never take her love from me
No matter what happens, I will always have her love with me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Leon Payne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@miltonmoore5294
One regret I'll carry
with me to my grave is that Johnny Horton
left this world at
age 35.😭😭😭
(Google Johnny Tillotson on two
versions of WHY
DO I LOVE YOU
SO, (1) on the Catspjamas1 channel, (2) on the SVansay channel,
then Johnny on
HIS TRUE LOVE
SAID GOODBYE,
John Sandiford channel.😃😁😀
@ianfarmaner2538
Truly an iconic country singer Johnny never received the accolade he deserved, he was up there with the best.
@elgenacovington4753
He was the greatest
@bertcape1409
Probably one of the best true country singers. Died way too early.
@ronmcmunn1308
Johnny Horton for the real country music hall of fame. This is him at his best!
@clemonwa
My favorite Johnny Horton song!!! I was raised on him and know every song..my mother was the president of his fan club...her name was Billie Laabs and she started "As long as there is a Johnny Horton to play, never let his memory die"
@jerelfritts8880
One of the most beautiful songs that I ever heard and one of my favorite Johnny Horton recordings...
@shermanspurr7775
Jerel Fritts
@davidhudson6754
This is one of the very best songs Horton ever recorded. The results speak for themselves. It is very special traditional country music song and it was done in very special way by a great performer. It is another Hank Williams Sr. song that Johnny recorded. He just slowed it down a little from the original and made a ballad out of it and it turned out great. I honestly believe Hank was a huge influence on the music of Johnny Horton. Horton even married Hank's second wife after Hank died.
@vetvetdoug
Hank and Horton played many venues together and were good friends and it is an incontrovertible fact the both of them had an effect upon each other's performances.
@miltonmoore5294
Certainly the most gorgeously orchestrated version of this immortal song by
Leon Payne, although the version by Cal Smith is equally as powerful, touching, and beautiful. Don't
know how this
gem eluded me
all these years.
Thank you Mr.
Gauntt for helping to keep this song
alive!😃👍👏👍👏