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.
Unchained Melody
The Fleetwoods Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, my love
Oh, my love
Oh, my love, my darling (oh, my love)
I've hungered for your touch (oh, my love)
A long, lonely time (oh, my love)
(Need your love) Time goes by so slowly (need your love)
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me (my love)
Oh, my love
Lonely rivers flow (river flow, river flow)
To the sea, (to the sea, to the sea, to the sea) to the sea
To the open arms of the sea (the sea, the sea, the sea)
Lonely rivers sigh (rivers sigh, rivers sigh)
"Wait for me, (wait for me, wait for me, wait for me) wait for me
I'll be coming home, wait for me"
My love
Oh, my love
Oh, my love
My love
The Fleetwoods's song "Unchained Melody" is a timeless classic about the yearning for love and the desire to be reunited with a lost love. The song begins with the repeated phrase "Oh, my love, my darling" which highlights the powerful emotions that the singer is feeling. The use of the word "hungry" in the line "I've hungered for your touch" is a metaphor for the deep longing and desire to be with the loved one. The following line "a long, lonely time" emphasizes the extent of the separation and the deep sense of loneliness that the singer is experiencing.
The chorus of the song carries a sense of urgency as the singer asks, "Are you still mine?" This line is a question that every person who has been separated from a loved one can relate to. The singer pleads for the return of the lost love and expresses the need for their touch and affection. The line "God speed your love to me" is a powerful expression of the intensity of this need.
The second half of the song uses water as a metaphor for the separation and desire for reunion. The "lonely rivers" and the "open arms of the sea" represent the distance the singer has to travel to reunite with their love. The repeated phrase "wait for me" is a promise to return and a vow to never be separated again. The song ends with the words "Oh, my love, my darling" repeated once again, emphasizing the strength of the connection between the two lovers.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh
Expressing a feeling of wonder, surprise, or delight
Oh, my love
Referring to the singer’s significant other
Oh, my love
Referring to the singer’s significant other
Oh, my love, my darling (oh, my love)
Affectionate address to the artist’s significant other
I've hungered for your touch (oh, my love)
Expressing an intense desire to be physically close to the artist’s significant other
A long, lonely time (oh, my love)
Describing the duration of the separation from the significant other
(Need your love) Time goes by so slowly (need your love)
Feeling that time is moving slowly and that the separation is prolonged due to the absence of the significant other
And time can do so much (need your love)
Reflecting on how much can change and happen during the separation
Are you still mine?
Questioning if the significant other still belongs to the artist
I need your love
Reiterating the need for the significant other
I need your love
Reiterating the need for the significant other
God speed your love to me (my love)
Desiring the significant other's love to be sent to the artist as soon as possible
Oh, my love
Referring to the singer’s significant other
Lonely rivers flow (river flow, river flow)
Metaphorically represents the singer's emotional state as a result of being separated from the significant other
To the sea, (to the sea, to the sea, to the sea) to the sea
Symbolizes the vastness of the world and how far the significant other is from the singer
To the open arms of the sea (the sea, the sea, the sea)
Symbolizing the distant and vast nature of the world, and how the significant other could be lost in it
Lonely rivers sigh (rivers sigh, rivers sigh)
Continuing the metaphorical description of the artist's emotional state
"Wait for me, (wait for me, wait for me, wait for me) wait for me
Begging the significant other to wait for the singer's return
I'll be coming home, wait for me"
Expressing the singer’s intention of returning home to the significant other
My love
Referring to the artist’s significant other
Oh, my love
Referring to the artist’s significant other
Oh, my love
Referring to the artist’s significant other
My love
Referring to the singer’s significant other
Contributed by Scarlett D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.