The Velvets were an American doo wop group from Odessa in Ector County in W… Read Full Bio ↴The Velvets were an American doo wop group from Odessa in Ector County in West Texas. The African American quintet was formed in 1959 by Virgil Johnson, a high school English teacher, with four of his students. Roy Orbison heard the group and arranged for them to be signed to Monument Records in 1960. Their first release was the standard "That Lucky Old Sun" but their biggest hit single was "Tonight (Could Be the Night)", which hit #26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. "That Lucky Old Sun" (#46) and "Tonight (Could Be the Night)" (#50) made brief appearances in the UK Singles Chart in 1961. The follow-up to "Tonight", "Laugh", peaked at number 90 and after a half-dozen further singles but no more hits the group disbanded.

Their complete recorded output comprises just thirty songs, which were collected onto one compact disc and released on Ace Records in 1996

1. Tonight: (Could Be The Night) more
2. Time And Again more
3. Spring Fever more
4. That Lucky Old Sun more
5. Laugh more
6. Lana more
7. The Love Express more
8. Don't Let Him Take My Baby more
9. Let The Good Times Roll more
10. The Light Goes On, The Light Goes Off more
11. Crying In The Chapel more
12. Dawn more
13. Here Comes That Song Again more
14. Nightmare more
15. If more
16. Let The Fool Kiss You more
17. Baby The Magic Is Gone more
18. Be Ever Mine more
19. You Done Me Bad more
20. Kiss Me more
21. Alicia more
22. Bird Dog more
23. My Love more
24. Who Has The Right more
25. I'm Trusting In You more
26. Almost But Not Quite more
27. Husbands And Wives more
28. I Can Feel It more
29. Poison Love more
30. That's Out Of My Line more

Group Members were Virgil Johnson, Will Solomon, Mark Prince, Clarence Rigsby (1947 -1978, died in a car accident) and Bob Thursby. Johnson sometimes appears in nostalgia concerts.

If
The Velvets Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If they made me a king I'd be but a slave to you.
If I had everything I'd still be a slave to you.
If I ruled the night, stars and moon so bright.
Still I'd turn the light to you.

If the world to me bowed yet humbly I'd flee to you.
If my friends were a crowd I'd turn in my need to you.
If I rulled the earth, what would life be worth

If I hadn't the right to you.

Overall Meaning

The Velvet's song "If" is a love song that speaks to the theme of unconditional love. The opening line, "If they made me a king I'd be but a slave to you," demonstrates that the singer is willing to give up all power and control to be with the one they love. This is then reinforced in the second line where the singer says, "If I had everything I'd still be a slave to you." It is not material possessions or power that the singer values, but rather the love they share with their partner.

The third line takes on a more metaphorical tone. The singer speaks of ruling the night, the stars, and the moon, all of which are symbols of power and dominance. However, even if the singer had all of this power, they would still turn to their partner. This illustrates the idea that love is more powerful than anything else, even the power and majesty of the cosmos.

The second verse continues with the theme of giving everything up for love. The line "If the world to me bowed yet humbly I'd flee to you" shows that the singer would even reject adulation and fame to be with their partner. This is then furthered by the following line, "If my friends were a crowd I'd turn in my need to you." Even the support and camaraderie of friends could not compete with the love that the singer feels.

The final line "If I rulled the earth, what would life be worth if I hadn't the right to you" brings the song full circle. The singer would give up everything, including power and control, fame, and friends to be with their love. The song is a powerful expression of the depth and strength of true love.

Line by Line Meaning

If they made me a king I'd be but a slave to you.
Even if I were a powerful ruler, I would still submit to you.

If I had everything I'd still be a slave to you.
Even if I possessed all the wealth and possessions in the world, I would still be devoted to you.

If I ruled the night, stars and moon so bright. Still I'd turn the light to you.
Even if I had control over the heavens and their luminaries, my focus would still be on you.

If the world to me bowed yet humbly I'd flee to you.
If the entire world acknowledged my greatness, I would still seek out your love and companionship.

If my friends were a crowd I'd turn in my need to you.
Even if I were surrounded by many friends, my true desire would be to rely on you.

If I rulled the earth, what would life be worth If I hadn't the right to you.
If I had complete power over the world, it would be meaningless without you by my side.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PHARRELL WILLIAMS, CHAD HUGO, CORNELL HAYNES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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