Lyle Lovett is an americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, … Read Full Bio ↴Lyle Lovett is an americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, who has been described as "the thinking man's cowboy". While typically associated with the alt-country genre, his albums typically incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country & western styles. The Night's Lullaby Songfacts reports that after twenty-six years with Curb, Lyle Lovett released his eleventh and last album for the record label, Release Me, on February 28, 2012. The record is mainly made up of covers that Lovett has played, but never got round to recording.

The four-time Grammy winner has acted in a number of films and been a guest-star on television. Lovett was married to actress Julia Roberts for a short time in the mid-1990s. In 2002, he was gored by a bull while working on his uncle's farm in Texas, but soon recovered and resumed touring.

If You Were To Wake Up
Lyle Lovett Lyrics

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If you were to wake up
And I were beside you
Would you gently smile dear
And whisper my name
And would you remember
The way that I held you
And would you want me
To hold you again

Time reaches to you
Just like a willow
That bends to the water
And clings to the shore
And there was a time dear
That once you did love me
And there was a time
You loved me no more

Rain on your window
Light on your pillow
The way you lie sleeping
Is it like before
For there was a time dear
That once you did love me

And there was a time
You loved me no more

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Lyle Lovett's "If You Were To Wake Up" suggest the feelings of longing for a lost love. The song starts with an if-statement, imagining a scenario where the singer's lost love wakes up beside him. He wonders if she would remember the way that he held her and if she would want him to hold her again. The following lines compare time to a willow that bends to the water and clings to the shore, the singer reflecting on how time has changed their relationship. He points out that there was a time when she loved him and a time when she didn't. The final verse describes the imagery of rain on her window and light on her pillow, questioning if her sleeping habits have changed from when they were together.

The song could be interpreted as a reflection on a past relationship, specifically the feelings of regret and the desire to reunite with their lost love. The lyrics reflect the idea that time and distance can cause a loss of love, but the singer still has strong feelings for his former partner.

Line by Line Meaning

If you were to wake up
If you were to wake up from your sleep

And I were beside you
And I were lying next to you

Would you gently smile dear
Would you smile softly with love, my dear?

And whisper my name
And call out my name in a quiet voice

And would you remember
And would you recall

The way that I held you
The way I used to embrace you

And would you want me
And would you desire my presence

To hold you again
To embrace you once more

Time reaches to you
As time passes

Just like a willow
Like a willow tree bent by the wind

That bends to the water
That sways towards the water