Ray T. Peterson (April 23 1935 - January 25 2005) was an American pop music… Read Full Bio ↴Ray T. Peterson (April 23 1935 - January 25 2005) was an American pop music singer.

Ray Peterson was born in Denton, Texas. Blessed with a 4-octave singing voice, he idolized the vocal sounds of fellow Texan, Roy Orbison. Peterson moved to Los Angeles, California where he was signed by RCA Victor Records in 1957. He recorded several songs that were minor hits until "The Wonder of You" made it into the Billboard Top Thirty list. The song would later be recorded by Elvis Presley with whom he became close friends.

In 1960 Ray Peterson scored a Top 10 hit with "Tell Laura I Love Her," and followed that success with "Corrina, Corrina, and I Could Have Loved You So Well." By the mid-1960s he had become something of a phenomenon on the west coast of the United States, appearing live in numerous rock concerts with Paul McCartney lookalike, Keith Allison.

His performances at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, produced by Fred Vail, beginning in 1963 helped fuel a revival of "The Wonder of You" as well as launch his new relationship with MGM Records, an alliance that produced two albums, "The Very Best of Ray Peterson" featuring most of the Dunes singles, and "The Other Side of Ray Peterson", which included many of his nightclub songs. He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee and by the 1970s when the hit records stopped coming, Peterson became a Baptist Church minister and occasionally played the oldies music circuit.

Ray Peterson died of cancer in 2005 in Smyrna, Tennessee and was interred in the Roselawn Memorial Gardens cemetery in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

I'm Gone
Ray Peterson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I never thought that it would be
That anyone could capture me

You got me going, I'm going, I'm gone

I never thought I'd find such bliss
In such a sweet and tender kiss

But now I'm going, you got me going, I'm gone

I never realized when I looked in your eyes
That the spark of love was burning so bright
But since you made me fall I'm gonna give my all
And I'll never let you out of my sight

So just in case you didn't know
I thought I'd better tell you so

You got me going, I'm going, I'm gone

Overall Meaning

In Ray Peterson's song "I'm Gone," the singer expresses his surprise at being captured by someone he never thought could do so. The lyrics imply that he was caught off guard by the intensity of their connection and is now completely enraptured by his new love interest. He marvels at the "bliss" he's found and how simple "a sweet and tender kiss" was all it took.

The chorus of the song, "You got me going, I'm going, I'm gone," tells of the singer's surrender to love. He notes that he never knew what was possible until this experience, but now that he's found it, he's all-in. The lyrics suggest a sense of inevitability, that once love has taken hold, there's no turning back. The singer vows to never let his new love interest out of his sight, encapsulating the effect that this newfound love has on him.

Overall, the song is a celebration of the power of love and how it can catch us off guard when we least expect it. It speaks to the profound effect that a connection can have on us and the ways in which it can transform our lives when we let it.

Line by Line Meaning

I never thought that it would be
I didn't expect it

That anyone could capture me
That someone could take hold of my heart

You got me going, I'm going, I'm gone
You have me falling in love and I am completely lost

I never thought I'd find such bliss
I never expected to experience such happiness

In such a sweet and tender kiss
From something as simple as a kiss

But now I'm going, you got me going, I'm gone
Now that I have tasted this love, I am completely under your spell

I never realized when I looked in your eyes
I was unaware of the intensity of emotion I would feel when seeing you

That the spark of love was burning so bright
That the passion and love in my heart for you was so strong

But since you made me fall I'm gonna give my all
But now that I have fallen for you, I am willing to give everything I have

And I'll never let you out of my sight
And I'll always keep you close, never wanting to let you go

So just in case you didn't know
In case you were unaware