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.
The Road of No Return
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then she walked down that road of no return
If it hurts to see her go a broken heart must never show
For she's walked down that road of no return
She was mine through the years now I can't claim her
Though my heart's filled with tears I'll never blame her
Now another has her heart but from mine she'll never part
In my heart I believe that someday she will dream
But she walked down that road of no return
If someday a memory burns and in her heart for me she yearns
She'll regret that road of no return
She was mine through the years now I can't claim her
Though my heart's filled with tears I'll never blame her
Now another has her heart but from mine she'll never part
Though she's walked down that road of no return
"The Road of No Return" by Ray Price is a sorrowful ballad that explores the pain and heartbreak of a relationship coming to an end. The lyrics depict a moment of farewell, where the singer's love interest tearfully bids him goodbye and walks down a path from which there is no turning back. The singer, though deeply hurt, restrains his broken heart from showing, understanding that it would only make the situation more difficult for both of them.
The song expresses the singer's realization that he can no longer claim ownership of this person who was once his. Despite the tears and anguish in his heart, he refuses to hold her accountable for moving on with someone else. However, he still holds onto a glimmer of hope, believing that one day she may remember their time together and yearn for him again. He suggests that if she ever regrets her decision, it will be too late, as she has already embarked on the irreversible road away from their relationship.
Overall, "The Road of No Return" is a poignant exploration of love lost and the pain of watching someone you once held dear move on without you. It highlights the complexities of heartbreak and the bittersweet hope that lingers even in the face of irreversible decisions.
Line by Line Meaning
There were tears in her eyes as she told me goodbye
As she bid farewell, she couldn't hide her sorrow and it was evident through the tears in her eyes.
Then she walked down that road of no return
She made the irreversible choice to embark on a path that leads to a future from which she cannot turn back.
If it hurts to see her go a broken heart must never show
Even though it pains me to witness her departure, I must keep my broken heart concealed, preventing my true emotions from being revealed.
For she's walked down that road of no return
Because she has chosen to venture on a one-way path, there is no possibility of going back to the way things used to be.
She was mine through the years now I can't claim her
She used to belong to me during all those past years, but now I no longer have any right to possess or lay claim to her.
Though my heart's filled with tears I'll never blame her
Even though my heart is filled with sorrow, I will never hold her responsible or cast blame upon her for the choices she has made.
Now another has her heart but from mine she'll never part
While someone else now holds her affection, I will forever hold on to the love she once gave me, unwilling to let it go.
Though she's walked down that road of no return
Although she has embarked on the irreversible path without turning back, my love for her will remain steadfast and unchanging.
In my heart I believe that someday she will dream
Deep within my heart, I hold onto the hope that one day she will still hold aspirations or desires that involve me, and she will dream of our past together.
But she walked down that road of no return
Yet, despite my hopes, she has willingly chosen the unchangeable road that leaves no possibility for her to retrace her steps back to me.
If someday a memory burns and in her heart for me she yearns
If in the future a fond recollection ignites within her, and she longs for me deep within her heart...
She'll regret that road of no return
She will come to feel remorse for the irreversible path she chose to traverse, realizing the impact it had on our relationship and the opportunities lost.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: C.M. Bradley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind