Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was a country… Read Full Bio ↴Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was a country music singer.

Foley was born in Blue Lick, Kentucky. He began playing the guitar and the harmonica as a young boy and at age seventeen he won first prize in a statewide talent show. Ultimately he signed with Decca Records in 1941. His hit songs include Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy, Old Shep, Sugarfoot Rag, and Tennessee Saturday Night. Peace in the Valley, backed up by The Sunshine Boys, in 1951 became the first gospel record to sell a million copies, and One By One, a duet with Kitty Wells, became a chart topper in 1954.

For more than two decades, Foley was a major star of country music, selling in excess of twenty-five million records. During 1962-63, Foley was a regular cast member along with Fess Parker in the television series, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Red Foley was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967. For his contribution to the music industry, Red Foley also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6225 Hollywood Blvd.

He died unexpectedly in 1968 in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the age of fifty-eight from a heart attack. He is interred in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

His daughter from his second marriage to Judy Martin (nee: Eva Alaine Overstake) is Shirley Lee Foley who is married to singer Pat Boone. His granddaughter is singer Debby Boone.

Peace In The Valley
Red Foley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh well, I'm tired and so weary but I must go along
Till the Lord will come and call, call me away, oh yes
Well, the morning's bright and the lamb is the light
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, someday
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow, oh my Lord and no trouble, I'll see

There will be peace in the valley for me

Oh well, the bear will be gentle and the wolf will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beast from the wild will be laid by a child
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray

There'll be no sadness, no sorrow, oh my Lord and no trouble, I'll see
There'll be peace in the valley for me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Red Foley's "Peace in the Valley" express a longing for peace and a hope for a better future. The song speaks to the weariness and struggles of life but finds solace in the belief that one day there will be peace. The first stanza speaks of weariness, but despite that, the singer knows they must carry on until the Lord calls them away. The singer views the morning as bright with the lamb serving as a guiding light, but the night is dark as the sea. This juxtaposition of light and dark imagery is used to contrast the present struggles of life with the hope of a peaceful future.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh well, I'm tired and so weary but I must go along
Although I am exhausted and worn out, I still have to keep moving forward.

Till the Lord will come and call, call me away, oh yes
I will continue to live and work until the Lord appears and takes me away.

Well, the morning's bright and the lamb is the light
The morning brings a new light and hope, symbolized by the gentle lamb.

And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes
The darkness of night can be overwhelming, like the endless depths of the ocean.

There will be peace in the valley for me, someday
I believe that one day there will be peace in my life.

There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
I pray that there will be peace in my life someday.

There'll be no sadness, no sorrow, oh my Lord and no trouble, I'll see
In that peaceful time, I will no longer experience the pain, sadness, or trouble that I encounter now.

Oh well, the bear will be gentle and the wolf will be tame
Nature itself will be harmonious and without violence.

And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
Even the fiercest predator will be at peace with its former prey.

And the beast from the wild will be laid by a child
The once dangerous creatures of the wild will now live comfortably among children.

And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes
This new world will change me into something better than what I am now.

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
This hope for a peaceful future helps me endure the struggles of today.

There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
I pray for this future peace that will make life worth living.

There'll be no sadness, no sorrow, oh my Lord and no trouble, I'll see
This peace means I will no longer have to suffer through the hardships of life.

There'll be peace in the valley for me
This chorus is the soothing reminder of the hope that keeps me moving forward.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Bluewater Music Corp., Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Thomas A. Dorsey

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Ron 4578

50w

Red was backed up on this song by: "The Sunshine Boys."

Whose personnel were as follows:

Fred Daniel: 1st Tenor Larry Wallace: 2nd Tenor
Ace Richman: Lead Vocal
J.D. Sumner: Bass Vocal

The only 2 instruments on this recording are:

Piano: Eddie Wallace
Guitar: Grady Martin

All comments from YouTube:

Thad Killian

3y↑15

When I was younger, my dad listened to this song from Oklahoma to New Jersey and I loathed it. He passed away recently and I actually listened to the song and starting bawling. I miss you pop and would pay anything to have you play this song one more time.

Leon Childs jr

8y↑15

listening to this song makes my heart melt. praise God!

hackberry flat

5y↑34

Every afternoon The Red Foley Show would come on the radio and this was the theme song...I remember it even though I listened to it nearly 75 years ago. Oh me.

Shay Katz

1y↑1

I'm 76 now & I remember his show as my parents listened to it. I especially remember this song & Red Foley. Elvis recorded a version but this version is the BEST!

DocHollidayRet

2y↑5

A real message in this song.

Carl Fisher

4y↑13

By far the best version of the song

JABBERWOCKEE

Nah Johnny & June @ Folsom

Carolyn Belshe

49w

Suçh a peaceful expression for 65+ years

Sic Synch

4y↑8

Such beauty and majesty. The spiritual everyone we've ever loved who we've lost heard in their ascension to the heavens.

Mike Maloney

8y↑27

This the first gospel song recording to sell a million records. Words and music by Thomas Dorsey.

NuxVom

7y↑9

Superb sound quality. Thanks for the upload.

Shay Katz

1y↑2

I was outside listening to this on the radio as my baby brother was inside crying. Dad was still in air force then & wish I knew where he was stationed as we were living in base housing. I was about 3 to 4 yrs old but for some reason that memory & song have stayed with me.

Wylie Fulton

2y↑4

They don't do Gospel any better than this one by Red Foley! It was one of the first records I had (old 78 rpm10-inch disk) ... for my very FIRST record player, when I was about 10 years, circa 1949!

Donnie Hodge

3y↑2

Wonderful song 🙏

Sparky

3y↑2

Over the years, Red Foley was largely forgotten, but he was big time in his day. His "Ozark Jubile" was a bright light in the early days of television, when pro wrestling was most of what was worth watching (Not that there's anything wrong with that).
It was Red Foley's version of "Peace in the Valley" which influenced Elvis' version on Ed Sullivan's show. ...In fact, although written by Tommy Dorsey & performed by both he & Mahalia Jackson in 1937, it was Foley's version, which elevated it as a Gospel standard/classic.

Robert Ricketts

5y↑3

Still great this many years later

Fred Pickett

3y↑8

One Of the best By/ One of the best/ My Father use to sing this to Me. R.I.P. Dad/Thanks for all You did for Me.

Wayne Burks

Mine too. My mom and dad sang this a lot in church. Rip mom and dad

Fred Pickett

What a voice.

Leon Childs jr

7y↑3

love those tenors backing him up.

Ron 4578

50w

Robert Shrewsbury

2y↑1

I was about a year of age when this song was sang by Red Foley.

Donnie Hodge

3y↑2

Beautiful Thank you 🙏

hackberry flat

4y↑8

As a small boy, afternoons on the radio, this was the theme song of a country music program. Maybe Bill Mack out of Wichita Falls, Txs. Wonderful time in my life.

Kent Teffeteller

4y↑6

The producer and director of Decca in Nashville, Paul Cohen hated this song. He didn't want Red Foley to record it, he walked out, and Owen Bradley the then engineer finished the session, and took over Paul Cohen's role as head of Decca's Nashville operations. And the best selling Decca artist then, and this classic sold 1,000,000 copies on 78 and 45 RPM, the first gospel record to ever do this.

Ranch Radio

4y↑1

Thanks for the info.

ginny white

wow

YouTube is overly sensitive and my dumbass uses it

His inner demons probably were like run away

TheStraffy

3y↑1

Owen Bradley is the GOAT

Bob Denson

Love this song I know 💞

Clint Walls

Love & miss you Red,🤗😎💯🌹

Marcia McDonald

Thank you lord

American savage

Still have a lot of his records 😂

WingWangSauce

2y↑1

i miss my loved one 💔

ginny white

who played that pretty opening guitar part. written by the same man who wrote Take My Hand Precious Lord

Bob Abney

That was Thomas Dorsey. Read his story on how and why he wrote Take My Hand Precious Lord.....if you don't already know it. That'll bring tears to a totum pole. True story.

ginny white

@Bob Abney I have and totally understand his lapse of faith went through that after I lost my dad to cancer and less than a year my mom got it great story

Karen Zilverberg

:-)

ginny white

4y↑5

found out the name of the guitar player the late Grady Martin

Casper1tfg

4y↑1

Grady Martin played guitar for many of the stars back then. He was not only a great guitarist, but also a a musical genius. His many inventions for the music industry changed so much of how music sounds today. He is the one credited with the 'fuzzy' sound on Marty Robbins song "Don't Worry About Me." They had a bad tube in the amp on Grady's bass guitar and when he played it, it gave off that sound that everyone now knows. They had considered scrapping the song and doing a re-take, but Marty said leave it. The rest is history. Grady also play guitar on several Johnny Horton songs such as "I'm A Honkytonk Man" and "I'm A One Woman Man". You can hear his distinct style of playing in both these songs. He also played guitar for Merle Haggard and Jerry Reed on several occasions. He was a great asset to country music and to music in general.