Born Savannah Valentine to Creole parents, she was raised in Brooklyn, and started singing in 1941 to support her family after her husband David Churchill was killed in a car accident. Her first recordings, including the risqué "Fat Meat Is Good Meat", were issued on Beacon Records in 1942. These were followed the next year by recordings on Capitol with the Benny Carter Orchestra, including her first hit "Hurry, Hurry".
In 1945 she signed with Manor Records, and that year "Daddy, Daddy" reached # 3 on the R&B chart. Two years later she had her only R&B # 1 with "I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)", which topped the charts for eight weeks. The record was billed as being with vocal group The Sentimentalists, who soon renamed themselves The Four Tunes. Subsequent recordings with The Four Tunes, including "Time Out For Tears" (# 10 R&B, # 24 pop) and "I Want To Cry", both in 1948, were also successful.
Billed as "Sex-Sational", she performed to much acclaim, and appeared in the movies Miracle in Harlem (1948) and Souls of Sin (1949). She toured widely with backing vocal group The Striders, including a visit to Hawaii in 1954. From 1949 she recorded with Regal, RCA Victor and Decca Records, recording the original version of "Shake A Hand", later a big hit for Faye Adams, and also recording with the Ray Charles Singers. In 1956 she was one of the first artists signed to the Argo label, set up as a subsidiary to Chess Records.
Tragedy struck later in 1956 to end her career. She was singing on stage in a club, when a drunken man fell on top of her from a balcony above, causing severe debilitating injuries from which she would never fully recover. Although she did some recording in 1960, her health declined greatly until her death in 1974, at the age of 53.
I Want to Be Loved
Savannah Churchill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But only by you
I shouldn′t be so crazy about you
But what can I do
This feeling has me sighing
My dreams you're magnifying
But they don′t ever come true
Oh can't you love me just a wee bit little
But by only you
I want to be loved
I want to be loved
But by only you
But by only you
I shouldn't be so crazy about you
But what can I do
This feeling has me sighing
My dreams you′re magnifying
But they don′t ever come true
Oh can't you love me just a wee bit little
Cause I want to be loved
But by only you
I want to be hugged real tight
Kissed day and night
But by only you
The lyrics of Savannah Churchill's "I Want To Be Loved" express the intense desire of the singer to be loved, but only by the object of their affections. The singer acknowledges the foolishness of being so focused on one person but is unable to control their feelings, which are obsessive and all-consuming. The yearning for love is so strong that it eclipses the reality of how things really are, and magnifies the hopes and dreams of the singer, which never come to fruition. The repeated refrain of "But by only you" highlights the exclusivity of the singer's feelings, expressing that love from any other source would be insufficient.
The lyrics also convey a sense of vulnerability and desperation, as the singer pleads with their love interest to show just a little bit of affection in return. This hint of desperation is emphasized in the lines "Oh can't you love me just a wee bit little," where the singer appears to be begging for any scraps of affection they can get. The longing for physical affection is expressed in the final lines, where the singer desires to be hugged and kissed, but once again, only by the person they are fixated on.
Overall, "I Want To Be Loved" is a song that captures the intensity of unrequited love and the frustration of wanting someone who doesn't feel the same way. It is a relatable theme that many people have experienced, which makes the song enduringly popular.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to be loved
I desire to be beloved
But only by you
However, exclusively by you
I shouldn't be so crazy about you
I shouldn't be so infatuated with you
But what can I do
But I cannot help it
This feeling has me sighing
This sensation causes me to sigh
My dreams you're magnifying
You amplify my fantasies
But they don′t ever come true
Still, they never materialize
Oh can't you love me just a wee bit little
Could you not love me even a tiny fraction?
Cause I want to be loved
Since I yearn to be adored
But by only you
But solely by you
I want to be hugged real tight
I long to embrace closely
Kissed day and night
And kissed continually
But by only you
But solely by you
Writer(s): Churchill Savannah
Contributed by Max O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mdmphd
Proof you can discover fantastic music at any time - thanks for posting (as usual) such a clean copy.
The78Prof
My pleasure!
k333nya
~LYRICS~
I want to be loved
But by only you
I shouldn′t be so crazy about you
But what can I do
This feeling has me sighing
My dreams you're magnifying
But they don′t ever come true
Oh can't you love me
Just a wee bit little
Cause I want to be loved
But by only you
I want to be loved
I want to be loved
But by only you
But by only you
I shouldn't be so crazy bout you
But what can I do
This feeling has me sighing
My dreams you′re magnifying
But they don′t ever come true
Oh can't you love me
Just a wee bit little
Cause I want to be loved
But by only you
I wanna be hugged real tight
Kissed day and night
But by only you
Braedon Stewart
I'm not sure what the numbers on the record mean but I have literally the exact one you have. Every number matches. I found it at goodwill today. What a catch
Austin Casey
Rare find!
Pepe Molina
me encanta como canta
Mike and Mandy Music
Wow.