Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she entered the music business at the age of 13, regularly performing live. In 1961 she was signed to the fledgling Scepter Records (later Wand Records), recording under the name "Tammy Montgomery". After coming to the attention of James Brown she recorded one single apiece for Brown's own Try Me record label and, in 1964, Checker Records. The year after that, she was spotted by Berry Gordy Jr. while playing live, and signed to his Motown label. Attractive and talented, she became romantically linked with both James Brown and David Ruffin, lead singer of The Temptations.
Tammy Montgomery changed her name to "Tammi Terrell" at the time of her Motown signing, and was teamed with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol. After releasing a pair of minor R&B chart hits, "I Can't Believe You Love Me" and "Come On and See Me," Terrell was chosen to replace Kim Weston as Marvin Gaye's duet partner. The duo recorded a number of successful hits which remain popular today: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "You're All I Need to Get By", all written (and in the case of the latter two, produced by) Ashford & Simpson.
While on tour with Gaye in Virginia in mid-1967, Terrell fainted on stage, and was later diagnosed as having a malignant brain tumor. While Terrell endured several operations and continued to record new material, her health steadily deteriorated. Fuqua and Bristol resorted to having Gaye overdub archived Terrell solo tracks to fill out the Gaye/Terrell duets albums. The final album attributed to Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, "Easy" (1969), actually features co-producer Valerie Simpson subbing for Terrell on all but two of the tracks.
Twelve of Tammi Terrell's solo Motown recordings, including "I Can't Believe You Love Me", "Come On and See Me," and a minor hit cover of The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", were issued as Terrell's only solo album, "Irresistible," in January 1969. Terrell died of brain cancer at age 24 on March 16, 1970.
I Cried
Tammi Terrell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keep me in pain
I cried, I cried
For a heart full of misery
Oh, yes, I cried
And now it's your turn
To cry, to cry for me
So many days gone by
So many days gone by
All, all I could ever
Seems like yesterday
Was cry, sit right there
You keep me
Do you know it
You keep me in pain
Cause I cried over you
And I'll never, I'll never
Never love again
No, no, no, no
I cried over you
Yes, I cried over you
But you know that
That I've always been true
True, tell me what I'm singing
I'm singing
Yes, I am
Said listen to me
See where I'm coming from
Listen to my rap
Turn your record
Player down real low
Brother jockey
Turn yours down too
You know that
I'm only human
And if you see my
My little darling
Tell her, tell her
Don't make me over
No, no, no, no
Any day now
Can you hear me now
Can you hear me now
You know what I'm saying
Don't make me over, please
When you got all the time
You need to try me
Don't make me over
The song "I Cried" by Tammi Terrell is a soulful ballad that speaks of heartbreak and tears caused by a failed relationship. The opening lines "Keep me in pain, keep me in pain" suggest that the singer is willing to endure pain and suffering by holding on to the memories of her past love. She is consumed with misery and frustration, and it is evident from the repetition of the phrase "I cried," which emphasizes the depths of her sadness.
The lyrics convey that even though the relationship is over, the singer is still holding on to the pain and hoping that her ex-lover feels the same way. She wants to inflict the same misery she experienced on him. The lines "And now it's your turn to cry, to cry for me. Oh, help me now" depict the singer taking pleasure in the fact that her ex-lover might also be feeling the anguish she has been feeling.
Towards the end of the song, the tone changes, and the singer pleads with her ex-lover not to "make me over," implying that she is still in love with him and wants to be accepted as she is. Overall, the song is a poignant portrayal of heartache and the lingering pain of a failed love affair.
Line by Line Meaning
Keep me in pain
I want to stay in pain because the pain reminds me of you.
Keep me in pain
I want to stay in pain because the pain reminds me of you.
I cried, I cried
I cried and shed tears because my heart is full of misery.
For a heart full of misery
I am crying because my heart is full of misery and sadness.
Oh, yes, I cried
I cried because I am in pain and sadness.
And now it's your turn
Now it's your turn to feel the pain and misery that I went through.
To cry, to cry for me
Now you should also cry for me to feel what I went through.
Oh, help me now
Please help me overcome this pain and misery.
So many days gone by
It has been so many days since you left me.
So many days gone by
It has been so many days since you left me.
All, all I could ever
All I ever did was cry over you.
Seems like yesterday
It feels like it was just yesterday that you left me.
Was cry, sit right there
All I did was cry and sit in one place because of the pain.
You keep me
You keep me in pain because of the memories of you.
Do you know it
Do you know the pain you have caused me?
Cause I cried over you
I am in pain and misery because I cried over you.
And I'll never, I'll never
I will never love again because of the pain you caused me.
Never love again
I will never love again because of the pain you caused me.
Yes, I cried over you
I cried and shed tears because of the pain and sadness you caused me.
But you know that
You know that I loved you and was true to you.
That I've always been true
I have always been truthful and loyal to you.
True, tell me what I'm singing
What I am singing is true and comes from my heart.
Yes, I am
Yes, I am in pain and sadness because of you.
Said listen to me
Listen to me and understand the pain I am going through.
See where I'm coming from
Understand my perspective and the pain that I am going through.
Listen to my rap
Listen to my story of pain and sadness.
Turn your record
Lower the volume of the music and listen to what I am saying.
Player down real low
Lower the volume so that you can hear me.
Brother jockey
Please also lower the volume so that you can hear me.
Turn yours down too
Lower the volume of your music too so that you can hear me.
You know that
You know that I am telling the truth.
I'm only human
I am only human and can feel pain and sadness.
And if you see my
If you happen to see my loved one,
My little darling
My beloved one who also meant the world to me,
Tell her, tell her
Please tell her not to hurt me and cause me pain like you did.
Don't make me over
Don't change me or hurt me like you did.
Any day now
It could happen any day now.
Can you hear me now
Are you listening to what I am saying now?
Can you hear me now
Are you listening to what I am saying now?
You know what I'm saying
Do you understand the pain and sadness that I am going through?
Don't make me over, please
Please don't change me or hurt me like you did.
When you got all the time
You have all the time you need, so please try not to hurt me.
You need to try me
Please try to understand and be there for me.
Don't make me over
Please don't change me or hurt me like you did.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVEN JAMES BROWN, JUSTIN JOHN EDWARD GREENE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Minerva Smith
Oh My Goodness,
Listen to the radio since birth, way way back n the 50's before we had a TV, before BET, VHI, MTV
All my life I never heard this song anywhere,,,,
This is sheer perfection ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I just watch Tammi Terrell short life video,
I am just horrified and what she had to endure by men, Black men..
This Young Lady suffered on this earth,
But she left behind a lifetime of Beautiful Music❤❤❤❤❤
She was here for this reason and she completed her mission ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Fly with the Angels Tammi 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
DaPiscesQueen
She left us so young. Vibrant voice and beautiful soul. Everything about her is amazing and unique. When I hear the crazy stories, whether they are true or not, she did not deserve any abuse from those men. RIP beautiful lady!
Marna Squires
Fragile egos they knew they couldn’t compete with Tammi smh
Calvin Lampley
It was true, they were egotistical evil 😈 SOB'S to her and to this day it still angers me!!
TheJustjammin
Had Tammi lived, this lovely lady's career sucesses would have more than likely surpassed The BOSS, Diana Ross.
dnett57
Beautiful voice, but c'mon. That's just silly...
Gwill301
Yes she had a voice on her, better than Diana ass!! And she was gorgeous...sung from the heart/soul!!
Xpipian12
they do the same thing with Aaliyah & Beyonce as far as comparing
Mr.tophatYT
yep so true
Delois Jackson
I been there, nothing but abuse from men. i cried, that’s why I’m single. I’m so done with relationships. This is a beautiful, but sad 😞 song 🙏🏽🎶❤️
deeks1970
She was an awesome singer and so beautiful. She was gone too soon. She had so much more to give.💐