Gary Troxel (b. November 28, 1939, Centralia, Washington) and Gretchen Christopher (b. February 29, 1940, Olympia, Washington) were two high school students waiting for Christopher's mother to pick them up after school. They started singing and humming a song together, and liked it enough to ask Christopher's friend and singing partner, Barbara Ellis (b. February 20, 1940, Olympia, Washington), to join them as a trio to perform it.
They performed the song twice at school functions, and their classmates wanted recordings of it so they could learn the song. After six months, they got the track recorded. They sang it a cappella, then dubbed the instrumental accompaniment, consisting only of Latin-styled acoustic guitar and the rhythmic shaking of Troxel's car keys. "Come Softly to Me" was also recorded by Frankie Vaughan and The Kaye Sisters, who had a chart hit in the United Kingdom with the song. The Fleetwoods' version of "Come Softly To Me" can be heard on a portable radio at one point in the 1986 movie, Stand By Me, which was set in Washington state.
Bob Reisdorf, the owner of Dolphin Records (later changed to Dolton Records), was responsible for the changes to the group name and song title. He thought that the title was too risque and not commercial-sounding enough, so he had it changed to "Come Softly to Me". He also thought that the group's original name wasn't commercial-sounding enough. The new name of the group, The Fleetwoods, was based on the telephone exchanges in the areas where the three members lived, Fleetwood2-xxxx and Fleetwood7-xxxx.
The Fleetwoods continued to record into the 1960s, with a number of other successes, although none so big as "Come Softly to Me". Their second hit, "Mr. Blue," was one of the few recordings by a white singing group to make the rhythm & blues chart. The beginning of the end for the group came when Troxel was drafted into the U.S. Navy. Additionally, the British Invasion of the mid 1960s ended the public's taste for sweet, melodic music.
By the late 1970s, Troxel was working in a plywood plant, Ellis was managing a trailer park in Canada, and Christopher was a housewife and modern dance teacher. In 2000, Troxel and his wife Jenifer lost a landmark grandparents' rights case before the Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that under the United States Constitution, non-parents seeking custody or visitation rights of a child against the wishes of the child's parents must prove that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child in refusing custody or visitation.
Come Softly To Me
The Fleetwoods Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
Mm dooby do
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come to me, stay)
(You're my obsession)
(For ever and a day)
I want, want you to know
I love, I love you so
Please hold, hold me so tight
All through, all through the night
(Speak softly, darling)
(Hear what I say)
(I love you always)
(Always, always)
I've waited, waited so long
For your kisses and your love
Please come, come to me
From up, from up above
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
I need, need you so much
Wanna feel your warm touch
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
The Fleetwoods' "Come Softly to Me" is a romantic ballad that was composed by Gary Troxel, Gretchen Christopher, and Barbara Ellis, and released in 1959. The song opens with a series of nonsensical vocalizations, suggesting that the couple's love transcends verbal communication. The sweet, simple melody soon gives way to a plea that the object of the singer's affection come to him ("Come softly, darling/ Come to me, stay/ You're my obsession/ For ever and a day"). The singer's desire is apparent as he professes his love ("I want, want you to know/ I love, I love you so") and asks the listener to hold him tight all night long.
The second half of the song emphasizes the importance of listening and understanding in a relationship. The singer implores his lover to "Speak softly, darling/ Hear what I say" and affirms his commitment ("I love you always/ Always, always"). He's clear about the depth of his feelings, having "waited so long/ For your kisses and your love," and begs his lover to "come softly" to him from above. The song ends with the same nonsensical vocalizations as in the beginning, suggesting that their love is beyond mere words.
Line by Line Meaning
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Mm dooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
(Come softly, darling)
Asking their lover to approach them gently and soothingly
(Come softly, darling)
Asking their lover to approach them gently and soothingly
(Come softly, darling)
Asking their lover to approach them gently and soothingly
(Come softly, darling)
Asking their lover to approach them gently and soothingly
(Come to me, stay)
Asking their lover to come and stay with them
(You're my obsession)
Telling their lover they are their obsession
(For ever and a day)
Telling their lover that their love will last forever
I want, want you to know
Telling their lover they want them to know something important
I love, I love you so
Telling their lover they love them very much
Please hold, hold me so tight
Asking their lover to hold them tightly
All through, all through the night
Asking their lover to hold them all through the night
(Speak softly, darling)
Asking their lover to speak softly to them
(Hear what I say)
Asking their lover to listen carefully to what they are saying
(I love you always)
Telling their lover that they will always love them
(Always, always)
Repeating that their love will always be there
I've waited, waited so long
Telling their lover they have been waiting for them for a long time
For your kisses and your love
Telling their lover they have been waiting for their kisses and love
Please come, come to me
Asking their lover to come to them
From up, from up above
Referring to their lover coming down to them like an angel from above
(Come softly, darling)
Asking their lover to approach them gently and soothingly
(Come softly, darling)
Asking their lover to approach them gently and soothingly
I need, need you so much
Telling their lover they need them very much
Wanna feel your warm touch
Telling their lover they want to feel their warm touch
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
No specific meaning. Just a filler line for the song
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GARY TROXEL, BARBARA ELLIS, GRETCHEN CHRISTOPHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind