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.
They Tell Me It's Summer
The Fleetwoods Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I know it's a lie
Cause summer's for laughing
So why do I cry? (cry)
They tell me it's summer (it's summer)
And the sun shines, it's true
But it just can't be summer
They tell me to call you
But I still have my pride
I remember the things you said and all the nights that I cried
They tell me it's summer (it's summer)
So I look to the sky
But I can't see the sun shine
Cause there's tears in my eyes
The days don't grow longer (longer)
As in summer they do
It's the nights that are longer
Cause they're nights without you (they tell me it's summer)
The days don't grow longer (longer)
As in summer they do
It's the nights that are longer
Cause they're nights without you (they tell me it's summer)
The lyrics to The Fleetwoods' song, "They Tell Me It's Summer", convey a sense of heartbreak and longing that contradicts the assumed carefree season. The singer is told that it's summertime, but their own emotions deny the reality of it. They reference the expected joys of summer such as laughter and sunshine, but are unable to enjoy them because they are consumed by their own sorrow. The repetition of the line "They tell me it's summer" emphasizes the singer's disbelief and highlights the contrast between their internal emotional state and the external world around them.
The second half of the lyrics focus on the singer's feelings towards their lost love. They feel too proud to reach out to their former partner, despite their deep sadness. The days and nights are described in contrast to the usual representations of summer. The days don’t grow longer, the nights are longer, and there is a sense of darkness and loneliness. The singer cannot see the sun because of the tears in their eyes.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of heartbreak and the feeling of being trapped in one’s own emotions. The external world is simply a backdrop for the internal experience of the singer. The contrasts between what is expected of a person in the season of summer and what the singer is actually feeling heighten the sense of dissonance and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
They tell me it's summer (it's summer)
People are telling me that it's summer
But I know it's a lie
I'm aware that their words are not reflecting the true season of summer
Cause summer's for laughing
The season of summer is usually associated with happiness and joy
So why do I cry? (cry)
But I can't help feeling sad and shedding tears instead
And the sun shines, it's true
Even though the sun is shining
But it just can't be summer
It still doesn't feel like summer
When I'm not with you (it's just can't be summer)
Because you are not with me
They tell me to call you
People are urging me to contact you
But I still have my pride
But I choose to maintain my self-respect instead
I remember the things you said and all the nights that I cried
I recall the hurtful words you said and how much they made me suffer in the past
So I look to the sky
I try to seek solace in the heavens
But I can't see the sun shine
However, I am unable to perceive the sun's rays
Cause there's tears in my eyes
My vision is blurred with tears
The days don't grow longer (longer)
The length of the days does not increase as they usually do during summer
As in summer they do
During the regular summer season, the days usually get longer
It's the nights that are longer
However, this time, it's the nights that seem longer
Cause they're nights without you (they tell me it's summer)
Because you're not here with me during this time that's supposed to be full of warmth and joy
Contributed by Charlie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.