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.
Take Me As I Am
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take me as I am or let me go
White lilies never grow on stalks of clover
Take me as I am or let me go
You're trying to reshape me like your old love
In the image of the one you used to know
But I won't be a stand in for an old love
You're trying to reshape me like your old love
In the image of the one you used to know
But I won't be a stand in for an old love
Take me as I am or let me go
The lyrics of Ray Price's song Take Me As I Am express a plea from an individual towards their lover to accept them for who they are or let them go. The song talks about the pressure that is being put on the singer to change and mold themselves into someone their lover wants them to be. The opening line, "Why must you always try to make me over," immediately conveys the frustration and exhaustion that the singer feels from constantly trying to please their lover.
The chorus, "Take me as I am or let me go" is a direct demand for their lover to either accept them unconditionally or to leave them alone. The metaphor of "White lilies never grow on stalks of clover" reinforces the idea that one cannot be forced into something they are not. It denotes that the lover is trying to transform the singer into something that they cannot become. The consequent repetition of the same verse emphasizes the singer's determination to remain who they are rather than a substitute for their lover's past flame.
The song highlights the importance of staying true to oneself in a romantic relationship. It underlines that the pressure to be perfect can only worsen the situation and eventually lead to a break-up. The song's message urges individuals to embrace and accept themselves and to stand up against any attempts to change them, especially in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Why must you always try to make me over
You constantly try to change me to fit your ideal image
Take me as I am or let me go
Accept me for who I am, or release me from your expectations
White lilies never grow on stalks of clover
Just as different plants have different characteristics, I have my own unique traits that cannot be changed
You're trying to reshape me like your old love
You are attempting to mold me into someone similar to your past lover
In the image of the one you used to know
You want me to fit the exact mold of your former romantic interest
But I won't be a stand in for an old love
I refuse to be a replacement for someone from your past
Take me as I am or let me go
Either accept me for who I am, or free me from your attempts to change me
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CARLY SIMON, MIKE MAINIERI, SID MCGINNIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind