Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss, June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) and Mary Ford (Iris Colleen Summers, July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) were introduced to each other by Gene Autry in 1946 and married in 1949.
They first appeared in the pop charts in 1950. Between the years 1950 and 1954, Les Paul and Mary Ford had 16 top-ten hits. They had five top-ten hits within nine months. "Tennessee Waltz", "Mockin' Bird Hill", "How High the Moon" (#1 for nine weeks), "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" and "Whispering". From August 1952 to March 1953 they had five more top-ten hits; "My Baby's Coming Home", "Lady of Spain", "Bye Bye Blues", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Vaya Con Dios" (#1 for 11 weeks). Their 1954 version of "I'm a Fool to Care" went to #6, and was featured in a memorable Southern Comfort commercial in 2013 that got over 1 million views on YouTube.
In 2009, they were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Les Paul and Mary Ford are famous for creating a makeshift recording studio in their garage. In their garage studio, they used multitrack recording to record many of their hits including ‘Lover’, ‘Nola’, ‘Brazil’ and ‘Whispering' with only the two of them.
YouTube has a large selection of clips from their syndicated TV show "Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home" (1954-'55).
Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced acrimoniously in December 1964, which also ended the collaboration between the two.
The duo have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Les Paul had hosted a 15-minute radio program, The Les Paul Show, on NBC in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford, and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humour between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented dazzling re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood," "Little Rock Getaway," "Brazil," and "Tiger Rag." Several recordings of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.
The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show (aka Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home) with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine, it was widely syndicated during 1954–55 and was only five minutes long (one or two songs) on film and therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in on programming schedules. Since Les created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to up-to-date quality at the time of his death.
I Surrender Dear
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sworn enemy of love
Kept my lips from saying
Things I was thinking of.
But now my pride you've humbled,
I've cast it to the winds,
Broken, beaten, sick at heart
My confession begins.
We've played the game of stay away
But it cost more that I can pay.
Without you I can't make my way,
I surrender, dear.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I surrender, dear.
Little mean things we were doing
Must have been part of the game,
Lending a spice to the wooing,
But I don't care who's to blame.
When stars appear and shadows fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
To you my love, my life, my all
I surrender, dear.
We've played the game of stay away
But it cost more that I can pay.
Without you I can't make my way,
I surrender, dear.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I surrender, dear.
Little mean things we were doing
Must have been part of the game,
Lending a spice to the wooing,
But I don't care who's to blame.
When stars appear And shadows fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
To you my love, my life, my all
The lyrics to Les Paul & Mary Ford's song "I Surrender Dear" speak to the pain and vulnerability of love. The singer confronts the pride that has kept them from expressing their true feelings, admitting that it has been a "sworn enemy of love" and that it has prevented them from saying the things they were truly thinking. However, the singer has been humbled by their love for the other person and has cast their pride aside, confessing their true feelings.
The song also delves into the game of love, acknowledging that the couple has been playing the game of stay away, but that it has come at a cost that the singer cannot pay. The little mean things that they were doing were all part of the game of love, but now the singer doesn't care who is to blame because they are ready to surrender everything to the other person. The song is a plea for the other person to reciprocate their feelings, as the singer says that without them they cannot make their way.
Overall, "I Surrender Dear" is a powerful representation of the lengths that people will go to in order to express their love and devotion to another person. It speaks to the fear that many people have of being vulnerable and the ways in which pride can stand in the way of true feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Pride, sad, splendid liar,
My pride has made me a deceitful person and now it makes me feel melancholic.
Sworn enemy of love
My pride has kept me from expressing my feelings of love.
Kept my lips from saying
I refrained from expressing what I felt due to my pride.
Things I was thinking of.
I had many things that I wanted to express, but my pride kept me from doing so.
But now my pride you've humbled,
I finally realized how much my pride is affecting my life and it has made me humble.
I've cast it to the winds,
I have discarded my pride and have become willing to express my true feelings.
Broken, beaten, sick at heart
The experience of hiding my feelings and being burdened by my pride has left me feeling broken, defeated and heartbroken.
My confession begins.
I am finally willing to confess my true feelings.
We've played the game of stay away
We tried to stay away from each other to avoid expressing our true feelings.
But it cost more that I can pay.
It was not sustainable to continue hiding our feelings from each other.
Without you I can't make my way,
I cannot live without you by my side.
I surrender, dear.
I give up on hiding my true feelings and I am ready to be with you.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
I may seem proud and confident, but that's just a facade.
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
I am not really as confident and headstrong as I appear to be.
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
My true feelings are deep down in my heart.
Little mean things we were doing
We were intentionally causing small problems to give some excitement in our relationship.
Must have been part of the game,
Our actions were just a part of our relationship game but I realized now that it was totally unnecessary.
Lending a spice to the wooing,
Our actions made the wooing process more interesting and exciting for both of us.
But I don't care who's to blame.
I'm no longer interested in blaming anyone but just want to accept our fault and be with each other.
When stars appear and shadows fall,
Whenever the sky gets dark and the stars start to appear, my heart starts to call for you.
Why then you'll hear my poor heart call,
At that moment, you will hear my heart calling for you.
To you my love, my life, my all
I am willing to surrender everything to you, my love, my life, and everything that I am.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Integrity Music
Written by: GORDON CLIFFORD, HARRY BARRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind