In 1974 and 1975, she recorded for Avco Records, and, in 1981, recorded for Plantation Records, her most recent record label. Page's most recent single to appear on any Billboard chart was the 1982 #80 country single, "My Man Friday". (She last appeared on the pop chart in 1968, with her version of O.C. Smith's hit, "Little Green Apples", and on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Give Him Love" in 1971.)
Page made the country chart in up to 1983, with her biggest hit during that time being "Hello, We're Lonely," a 1973 #14 duet with Tom T. Hall.
In the 1990s, Page started her own label, C.A.F. Records. In 1998, she won a Grammy as "Best Traditional Pop Singer". Page continued to record into the new millenium with the CDs BRAND NEW TENNESSEE WALTZ, SWEET SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS (2002), CHILD OF MINE (2003) and her last 2009 release BEST OF COUNTRY. Many of her songs have a strong beat to them that prelude rock 'n' roll. These titles include "Mister and Mississippi", "Detour" and "Cross Over the Bridge". In 1956, she married choreographer Charles O'Curran. They adopted two children, a daughter, Kathleen, and a son, Daniel O'Curran.
Georgia On My Mind
Patti Page Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that have dried upon some line
That keeps you in the back roads
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind
It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Or something that somebody said because
They thought we fit together walkin'
It's just knowing that the world
Will not be cursing or forgiving
When I walk along some railroad track and find
That you're movin' on the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind
Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
'cause she turned and I was gone
I still might run in silence
Tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see
You walkin' on the back roads
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind
I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron
In some train yard
My beard a rustlin' coal pile
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
That you're waitin' from the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind
In Patti Page's song Georgia on My Mind, the singer reflects on a past love and the feelings and memories that still linger. The lyrics express how the person's open and welcoming nature made the singer feel free and unshackled from past obligations or expectations. The singer finds comfort in the thought that this person still walks the back roads by the rivers of their shared memories, and this knowledge keeps them ever gentle on the singer's mind.
The lyrics also highlight the distance between the singer and the person, as other things come between them such as wheat fields, clothes lines, junkyards, and highways. The singer acknowledges that they might be gone, but in their silence, they still think of this person and hold onto the memories they shared. The singer describes a moment when they are traveling and stopping in a train yard to eat soup, and in that moment, they imagine holding the person close and finding comfort in the thought that the person still walks the back roads by the rivers of their shared memories.
Line by Line Meaning
It's knowin' that your door is always open
Knowing that I am always welcome at your home
And your path is free to walk
And you never force me to walk a certain way
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag
This makes me want to leave my sleeping bag behind
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And put it behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled
And the fact that I am not tied down
By forgotten words and bonds
By old words or commitments
And the ink stains that have dried upon some line
And the marks left behind by ink on paper
That keeps you in the back roads
This is what keeps you on the lesser-known paths
By the rivers of my memory
In the part of my memory that is reminiscent of a river
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind
This is what keeps you present in my gentle thoughts
It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
This is not about holding onto things that cannot grow
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Things that are now trapping me
Or something that somebody said because
Or any words that anyone else said
They thought we fit together walkin'
When they thought we looked good walking together
It's just knowing that the world
It's just know that the world
Will not be cursing or forgiving
Will not condemn or believe in me
When I walk along some railroad track and find
If I walk along a railroad track and find you gone
That you're movin' on the back roads
Knowing you're taking the less-traveled paths
By the rivers of my memory
In the part of my memory that is reminiscent of a river
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind
And you are in my thoughts for hours, gently floating like a river
Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines
And even if there are wheat fields and clotheslines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And even if we are separated by junkyards and highways
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
And even if another woman is crying to her mother
'cause she turned and I was gone
Because I left her
I still might run in silence
I may run through silence
Tears of joy might stain my face
And there may be joyful tears on my face
And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind
And the hot summer sun might burn my eyes until I cannot see
But not to where I cannot see
But it will never make me unable to see you
You walkin' on the back roads
You walking on the lesser-known paths
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind
In the part of my memory that is reminiscent of a river, gently floating in my thoughts
I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron
I take my cup of soup back from a bubbling, sputtering pot
In some train yard
At a train station
My beard a rustlin' coal pile
My beard is messily resembling a pile of coal
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face
I have a dirty hat pulled low over my face
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
I pretend to have you in my hands around a tin can
I pretend to hold you
I pretend to have you
To my breast and find
And I validate this through finding
That you're waitin' from the back roads
That you are waiting for me on the lesser-known paths
By the rivers of my memory
In the part of my memory that is reminiscent of a river
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind
And you are always smiling and gently on my mind
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Hartford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joseph Amari
on You Are the One
Wrong song