Price, born in Perryville, Texas, served with the U.S. Marines from 1944–1946, and began singing for KRBC in Abilene, Texas during 1948. He joined the Big D Jamboree in Dallas in 1949. He relocated to Nashville in the early 1950s, rooming for a brief time with Hank Williams. When Williams died, Price managed his band, the Drifting Cowboys, and had minor success. He was the first artist to have a success with the song "Release Me" (1954), a top five popular music hit for Engelbert Humperdinck in 1967.
In 1953, Price formed his band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Among its members during the late 1950s and early 1960s were; Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Darrell McCall, Van Howard, Johnny Paycheck and Johnny Bush, Buddy Emmons, Pete Wade, Jan Kurtis, Shorty Lavender and Buddy Spicher. Miller wrote one of Ray Price's classics in 1958, "Invitation to the Blues", and sang harmony on the recording. Additionally, Nelson composed the Ray Price song "Night Life".
Price became one of the stalwarts of 1950s honky tonk music, with hit songs such as "Talk To Your Heart" (1952) and "Release Me". He later developed the famous "Ray Price Shuffle," a 4/4 arrangement of honky tonk music with a walking bassline, which can be heard on "Crazy Arms" (1956) and many of his other recordings from the late 1950s.
During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the so-called Nashville sound, singing slow ballads and utilizing lush arrangements of strings and backing singers. Examples include his 1967 rendition of "Danny Boy", and "For the Good Times" in 1970 which was Price's first country music chart No. 1 hit since "The Same Old Me" in 1959. Written by Kris Kristofferson, the song also scored No. 11 on the popular music chart and featured a mellower Price backed by sophisticated musical sounds, quite in contrast to the honky tonk sounds Price had pioneered two decades before. Price had three more No. 1 country music successes during the 1970s: "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me." His final top ten hit was "Diamonds In The Stars" in early 1982. Price continued to have songs on the country music chart through 1989. Later, he sang gospel music and recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", "Farther Along" and "Rock of Ages."
In 2006, Price was living near Mount Pleasant, Texas and still performing in concerts throughout the country. In 2009, Price made two performances for the Fox News show Huckabee. The first was with the Cherokee Cowboys and host Mike Huckabee, and he performed "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By The Number". Weeks later he performed with the Cherokee Cowboys and Willie Nelson (again with Huckabee playing bass guitar). This time they performed duets of "Faded Love" and "Crazy."
Price worked on his latest album, Last of the Breed, with fellow country music singers Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. This album was released on March 20, 2007 by the company Lost Highway Records. The two-disc set features 20 country classics as well as a pair of new compositions. The trio toured the U.S. from March 9 until March 25 starting in Arizona and finishing in Illinois. This was Price's third album with Nelson and first album with Haggard. After the tour, Haggard remarked, "I told Willie when it was over, 'That old man gave us a goddamn singing lesson.' He really did. He just sang so good. He sat there with the mic against his chest. And me and Willie are all over the microphone trying to find it, and he found it."
On November 6, 2012, Ray Price confirmed that he was fighting pancreatic cancer. Price told the San Antonio Express-News that he had been receiving chemotherapy for the past six months. An alternative to the chemo would have been surgery that involved removing the pancreas along with portions of the stomach and liver, which would have meant a long recovery and stay in a nursing home. Said Price, "That's not very much an option for me. God knows I want to live as long as I can but I don't want to live like that." The 87-year-old Country Music Hall of Famer also told the newspaper, "The doctor said that every man will get cancer if he lives to be old enough. I don't know why I got it – I ain't old!" Price retained a positive outlook and hoped to play as many as a hundred concert dates in 2013.
As of early February 2013, the cancer appeared to be in remission. Sometime in May 2013, Price was hospitalized with severe dehydration. On December 2, 2013, Price entered a Tyler, Texas, hospital in the final stages of pancreatic cancer, according to his son, then left on December 12 for home hospice care. Price died at his home in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, on December 16, 2013.
Intro San Antonio Rose
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A song of old San Antone
Where in dreams I lived with a memory
Beneath the stars all alone
It was there I found beside the Alamo
Enchantment strange as the blue up above
A moonlit pass that only she would know
Moon in all your splendor knows only my heart
Call back my Rose, Rose of San Antone
Lips so sweet and tender like petals fallin' apart
Speak once again of my love my own
Oh, broken song, empty words I know
Still live in my heart all alone
For that moonlit pass beside the Alamo
And calls my Rose of San Antone
Deep within my heart lies a melody
A song of old San Antone
Where in dreams I lived with a memory
Beneath the stars all alone
It was there I found beside the Alamo
Enchantment strange as the blue up above
A moonlit pass that only she would know
Still hears my broken song of love
Moon in all your splendor knows only my heart
Call back my Rose, Rose of San Antone
Lips so sweet and tender like petals fallin' apart
Speak once again of my love my own
Oh, broken song, empty words I know
Still live in my heart all alone
For that moonlit pass beside the Alamo
And calls my Rose of San Antone
The lyrics of Ray Price’s song “San Antonio Rose” tell the story of a man who remembers an idyllic relationship with a woman in the city of San Antonio. The song is filled with vivid imagery of the city, with its magical and enchanting places such as the Alamo, and the moonlit pass that only his love knows. The song is deeply personal, with the singer reminiscing about a relationship that had ended but still had a prominent place in his heart.
The opening lines of the song refer to a melody that is firmly implanted in the singer’s heart. The melody is a reminder of his relationship with his love in San Antonio. The singer reminisces about their romantic moments and how they had found a magical place beside the Alamo, which was so enchanting that only his love knew about it. He sings about the charm of the blue skies above, which had an almost magical effect on them. However, despite the memories, his love is now gone, and he feels that all he has left is his memories and an empty song.
The song is a poignant reminder of how powerful memories can be, and how they can create lasting impressions on our hearts. The vivid imagery of the city of San Antonio, and the magical places that the couple had discovered together, make this song a classic tribute to lost love. Through the lyrics of the song, Ray Price creates a powerful and emotional story of a love that endures even after it has ended.
Line by Line Meaning
Deep within my heart lies a melody
The singer carries a tune that represents the core of their being
A song of old San Antone
A ballad about a long-ago time in San Antonio
Where in dreams I lived with a memory
In their imagination, the singer recalls a past experience
Beneath the stars all alone
In a secluded and serene setting, the artist reminisces by themselves
It was there I found beside the Alamo
The Alamo is the location where the artist experienced something special
Enchantment strange as the blue up above
The enchanting experience is as strange and interesting as the sky above
A moonlit pass that only she would know
A pathway illuminated by the moon that only the singer's loved one would be aware of
Still hears my broken song of love
The artist's song of love still echoes through this place
Moon in all your splendor knows only my heart
The moon represents the artist's deep emotions, that only they truly understand
Call back my Rose, Rose of San Antone
The artist wishes their loved one, who they refer to as 'Rose', would return to San Antonio
Lips so sweet and tender like petals fallin' apart
The supposed lips of the loved one are soft and delicate like flower petals
Speak once again of my love my own
The artist longs to hear their loved one express their affection again
Oh, broken song, empty words I know
The singer acknowledges that their song of love is incomplete and imperfect
Still live in my heart all alone
But despite this, the song continues to reside in their heart, even though they are alone
And calls my Rose of San Antone
The song serves as an invitation for the singer's loved one to come back to San Antonio
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: James Robert Wills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind