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.
If I Could Build My Whole World Around You
Tammi Terrell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whole world around you, darling
First I'd put heaven by your side
Pretty flowers would grow wherever you walk
Honey
And over your head would be the bluest sky
Then I'd take every drop of rain
And wash all your troubles awayI'd have the whole world wrapped
Up in you darling
And that would be all right, oh yes it would
If I could build my whole world around you
I'd make your eyes the morning sun
I'd put so much love where there is sorrow
I'd put joy where there's never been none
Then I'd give my love to you
For you to keep for the rest of your life
Oh, and happiness would surely be ours
And that would be all right, oh yes it would
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Oh, If I could build my
Whole world around you
I'd give you the greatest gift
Any woman could possess
And I'd step into this world you've created
And give you true love and tenderness
And there'd be something new
With every tomorrow
To make this world better as days go by
That is if I could buildMy whole world around you
If I could build my whole world around you
And that would be all right, oh yeah
If I could build my whole world around you
If I could build my whole world around ya
And that would be all right, oh yeah
If I could just build my world, baby
If I could build it, build it all around ya
And that would be all right, oh yeah
In Tammi Terrell's song "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You," the singer expresses the depth of love and adoration that she has for her partner. She takes on a metaphorical exercise of trying to create a world that would singularly exist around her partner's essence. She indicates that, at first, she'd want Heaven by his side and that the bluest sky would be over his head. This shows that the singer desires to create a peaceful and serene environment for her partner to live in. As she continues to sing, she suggests that she would want him to be the center of every good thing that happens in the world.
In the second verse, the singer describes her romantic plans in more detail. She wants to make everything better in his world by taking away any pain and replacing it with love and happiness. She further states that the love she wants to give him is for him to keep forever. Finally, she admits that the only thing stopping her is that she cannot create a world all about him, but she loves him regardless.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, if I could build my whole world around you, darling
Expressing a strong desire to create a perfect world for the person being addressed
First I'd put heaven by your side
Placing the idea of paradise close to the addressed person
Pretty flowers would grow wherever you walk, honey
Creating a world where beauty and grace would follow wherever the addressed person goes
And over your head would be the bluest sky
Emphasizing that the addressed person deserves nothing less than the best
Then I'd take every drop of rain
Expressing a desire to relieve the addressed person of pain and sorrow
And wash all your troubles away
Promising to be there for the addressed person when they are feeling low
I'd have the whole world wrapped up in you, darling
Showing that the addressed person is the center of the singer's universe
And that would be alright, oh yes it will
Promising that everything in the perfect world would be alright for the addressed person
If I could build my whole world around you
Repeating the desire to create a perfect world for the addressed person
I'd make your eyes the morning sun
Elevating the beauty of the addressed person to the level of natural wonders
I'd put so much love where there is sorrow
Emphasizing the importance of love and its power to heal
I'd put joy where there's never been none
Promising to bring happiness to the addressed person's life
Then I'd give my love to you
Offering love and devotion to the addressed person
For you to keep for the rest of your life
Promising that the love and devotion is not transient but lifelong
Oh, and happiness would surely be ours
Asserting that happiness can be achieved by the singer and the addressed person together
And that would be alright, oh, yes it would
Repeating the promise of a wonderful world where everything is alright
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Musical interlude
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Musical interlude
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Musical interlude
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Musical interlude
Oh, if I could build my whole world around you
Reiteration of the central theme
I'd give you the greatest gift any woman could possess
Promising to give the addressed person something of immense value, possibly love or devotion
And I'd step into this world you created
Acknowledging the importance of the addressed person in creating the perfect world
And give you a true love and tenderness
Reemphasizing the artist's desire to offer love and care to the addressed person
And there'd be something new with every tomorrow
Underlining the promise of a dynamic and evolving world, with new experiences to cherish
To make this world better as days go by
Asserting that the perfect world will continue to improve with the passage of time and shared experiences
If I could build my whole world around you
Repetition of the central theme
That would be all right, oh yeah
Emphasizing the artist's conviction that everything will be alright in this world
If I could just build my world, baby
Reiteration of the central theme, addressing the person affectionately
If I could build it, build it, all around you
Stressing the determination of the singer to create a perfect world for the addressed person
And that would be alright
Closing statement, repeating the assertion that everything will be alright in the perfect world
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AizhanaKerimkulova
Oh, if I could build my whole world around you, darling
First I'd put heaven by your side
Pretty flowers would grow wherever you walk, honey
And over your head would be the bluest sky
Then I'd take every drop of rain
And wash all your troubles away
I'd have the whole world wrapped up in you, darling
And that would be alright, oh yes it will
If I could build my whole world around you
I'd make your eyes the morning sun
I'd put so much love where there is sorrow
I'd put joy where there's never been none
Then I'd give my love to you
For you to keep for the rest of your life
Oh, and happiness would surely be ours
And that would be alright, oh, yes it would
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Do-do-do-doo-doo
Oh, if I could build my whole world around you
I'd give you the greatest gift any woman could possess
And I'd step into this world you created
And give you a true love and tenderness
And there'd be something new with every tomorrow
To make this world better as days go by
That is, if I could build my whole world around you
If I could build my whole world around you
That would be all right, oh yeah
If I could build my whole world around you
If I could build my whole world around you
Then that would be all right, oh yeah
If I could just build my world, baby
If I could build it, build it, all around you
And that would be alright
@carrienixon6663
I love the whole song, but when Marvin told Tammi, โ then Iโd take every drop of rain and wash all your troubles awayโ, that part right there put the icing on the cake. Yes yes yes. โค
@SamuelGriffin-u8d
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were the sweethearts of Motown
@chriscole4094
In my humble opinion out of all the females Marvin duetted with, Tammy Terrell's voice suited him more than the others. No doubt they're in heaven belting out these tunes.
@SamuelGriffin-u8d
It's Sunday morning and this song has pure harmony while cooking my breakfast
@palcanon6888
Damn!!! It is oh so so sad that youngsters aren't growing up listening to beautiful wholesome music like this y'all!!
@Glee_kev
I'm 23 Mann I remember all the house parties and cookouts with this blasting on the speakers yea we this type of black over here
@hummycarton
Today was the first play of this on the ground-breaking Retro Charts Radio, as we continue to add No.41's and 42's to the complete archive of UK Top 40 hits 1952-1999๐
#HistoryInTheMaking
#6WeekNoRepeatPolicy #NoAds
#MarvinGaye #TammiTerrell
@JBoogie1
I remember being 7 years old and me and my mother would sing this together. I was Marvin and she was Tammi..This was the first song that I remembered all the words. Memories...Thanks Marvin & Tammi for beautiful duets (RIP)
@budlift
nice memory. i had a musical relationship with my older sister, 10 years older. she taught me to sing two part when I was 5.
@rogerkincaid931
No other duets can top them!