Percy Sledge worked in the fields in Leighton before he worked as an orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield. By the mid-1960s, Sledge was touring the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends and working at the hospital. A former patient who was a friend of producer Quin Ivy introduced the two, an audition followed, and Sledge was signed to a recording contract.
Sledge's smooth voice was perfect for the series of soul ballads produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene, which rock critic Dave Marsh called "emotional classics for romantics of all ages."
"When a Man Loves a Woman" was the first song recorded under the contract (released in 1966), and it became not only an international hit (it reached #1 in the US) but was also the first gold record released by Atlantic Records. The magnificent soul anthem became the cornerstone of Sledge's career and was followed by "Warm and Tender Love," "Take Time to Know Her," and "Cover Me."
Sledge charted with "I'll Be Your Everything" and "Sunshine" during the 1970s, and has become an international concert favorite throughout the world, especially in the Netherlands, Germany, and on the African continent.
His career enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s when "When a Man Loves a Woman" re-entered the Top 10 in the UK after being used in a Levi's commercial.
Sledge was an inaugural Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award honoree in 1989. In 2005, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Just Out Of Reach
Percy Sledge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love that runs away from me
Dreams that just won't let me be
Blues that keeps on bothering me
Chains that just won't set me free
Too far away from you and all your charms
Each night in dreams, I see your face
Memories, time cannot erase
And I awake and find you gone
And I'm so blue and all alone
So far away from you, so sweet and warm
Just out of reach of my two empty arms
That lonesome feeling all the time
Knowing that you could not be mine
Dreams that hurt me in my sleep
Vows that we could never keep
So far away from you and all your charms
Just out of reach of my two empty arms
The lyrics of "Just Out of Reach" by Percy Sledge is a heartbreaking tale of unrequited love. The first stanza sets the stage with the singer expressing how love has eluded him, leaving him with two empty arms. The subsequent lines paint a vivid picture of his frustration with love and how various factors keep the object of his desire out of reach.
The singer pines for someone who is too far away, both physically and emotionally, and reminisces about the memories they shared. In the second stanza, he talks about how he dreams of his beloved almost every night and how these memories torture him. Even when he wakes up, he realizes that they were nothing but dreams, and she is still out of reach. The third and final stanza highlights his constant pain and sadness, knowing that he can never have her, that their vows will never come to fruition.
Overall, the song captures the longing and heartbreak that comes with chasing after someone who is just out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Out of reach of my two empty arms
The singer is expressing longing and loneliness as they are unable to hold their loved one in their arms.
Love that runs away from me
The singer feels like their love is fleeting and always slipping away.
Dreams that just won't let me be
The singer is haunted by dreams of their loved one and cannot escape their thoughts.
Blues that keeps on bothering me
The artist is suffering from sadness and melancholy emotions that continue to plague them.
Chains that just won't set me free
The artist feels trapped in their love for their partner who is no longer with them.
Too far away from you and all your charms
The singer is separated from their loved one by distance and is missing all the things they loved about them.
Each night in dreams, I see your face
The singer is longing so deeply for their loved one that they dream of them every night.
Memories, time cannot erase
The artist has cherished memories with their partner that will last forever and cannot be forgotten.
And I awake and find you gone
The artist wakes up to an empty bed and realizes their partner is no longer with them.
And I'm so blue and all alone
The artist is consumed with sadness and feels completely isolated without their loved one.
So far away from you, so sweet and warm
The singer longs to be close to their loved one again and to experience all the warmth and comfort they provided.
That lonesome feeling all the time
The artist is always feeling lonely without their partner by their side.
Knowing that you could not be mine
The singer understands that their love cannot be fulfilled as their partner is no longer with them.
Dreams that hurt me in my sleep
The singer's dreams are causing them pain and heartache as they cannot be with their partner.
Vows that we could never keep
The singer and their partner made promises to each other that cannot be fulfilled due to the distance between them.
So far away from you and all your charms
The artist is separated from their loved one by distance and is missing all the things they loved about them.
Just out of reach of my two empty arms
The artist is expressing their longing for their partner, who is just out of reach of their empty arms.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Virgil Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind