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.
Tears At The End Of A Love Affair
Tammi Terrell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah
I cry 'cause I hear your footsteps leaving from my door
& through my tears I can see you heading for her door
I gave you the best of my years
Sharing your laughter, drying your tears
Baby, this is all I've got, all I've got is...
(chorus)
Ooo our love was as sweet as the sun is warm
But like a sunny day that is with a storm
Baby, this is all I've got, all I've got is...
(chorus)
You kissed me goodbye & you're heading straight to her door now
My heart is broken 'cause I won't see you anymore now
I gave you a love so true
I expected so much from you
Baby, this is all I've got, all I've got is...
(over background vocals singing title):
Nothin' but tears now, baby
So many tears, oh baby yeah
So many tears just keep on fallin'
...& fade
The song “Tears at the End of a Love Affair” by Tammi Terrell is a heart-wrenching ballad that tells the story of a woman's heartbreak after her lover leaves her for someone else. Throughout the song, Terrell expresses her emotions through crying, as she watches her lover leave her for another woman. She laments the fact that her love was so great and true, but it was not enough to keep him from leaving her. She gave him the best years of her life, sharing his laughter and drying his tears, but all she is left with now are tears at the end of their love affair.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the sweetness of their love, but also the sadness and pain that has come with its end. Terrell describes their love as being as sweet as the sun, but this sweetness was eventually overtaken by the storm that has ended their relationship. The song ultimately ends with Terrell crying so many tears that she cannot help but feel empty and alone.
In summary, “Tears at the End of a Love Affair” is a poignant and emotional song that reflects the pain of a woman who has lost the love of her life. The lyrics capture the heartache of a broken relationship, as well as the feelings of regret and betrayal.
Line by Line Meaning
Tears at the end of a love affair (x3)
The singer is crying at the end of a love affair.
I cry 'cause I hear your footsteps leaving from my door
The singer is crying because they can hear their ex-lover leaving.
& through my tears I can see you heading for her door
Despite her tears, the singer can see her ex-lover heading towards someone else's door.
I gave you the best of my years
The singer gave her ex-lover the best years of her life.
Sharing your laughter, drying your tears
The singer was there for her ex-lover through the good times and bad.
Baby, this is all I've got, all I've got is...
The singer has nothing left to give.
Ooo our love was as sweet as the sun is warm
The singer remembers their love as being sweet.
But like a sunny day that is with a storm
Their love was like a sunny day that was ruined by a storm.
You kissed me goodbye & you're heading straight to her door now
The singer's ex-lover kissed her goodbye and is now heading to someone else's door.
My heart is broken 'cause I won't see you anymore now
The singer's heart is broken because she won't see her ex-lover anymore.
I gave you a love so true
The singer gave her ex-lover a true love.
I expected so much from you
The singer had high expectations for their relationship.
Nothin' but tears now, baby
All the singer has left now are tears.
So many tears, oh baby yeah
The singer has shed many tears.
So many tears just keep on fallin'
The tears keep falling.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARVEY FUQUA, JOHNNY WILLIAM BRISTOL, SYLVIA MOY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ian Hunter
Possibly the best Motown album I own. Irresistible!
Alan Bowater
The first few lines have got to be some of the greatest lyrics ever written.
Ujima Jame
The greatest shame of the Tammi Terrell is that her work as a solo artist continues to be overlooked and overshadowed by her work with Marvin Gaye. She did some outstanding work on Motown and Scepter!
Compare the music of this song with "Little Bright Star" by Diana Ross and The Supremes and "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" by The Velvelettes and you will see they recycled this melody several times. But being Motown, the quality of each song was so strong, they each were able to stand on their own! (Though "These Things" and "Tears At the End of A Love Affair" were both written by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, "Little Bright Star" was not, though Harvey Fuqua produced the track on The Supremes!)
christine Mcnulty
Very true
Gary
Awesome Tammi tune!
Steva Lind
Great song reminds me of my memories
brian cunningham
the voice of an angle
Al Gibbs
The best at motown
alexandermcbride
Thanks for posting.
Henry Williams
Sounds a lot like Diana Ross on this