According to her record label, Liberty Records, Yuro moved with her family to Los Angeles, United States. There, she sang in her parents' Italian restaurant and in local clubs before catching the eye and ear of record executives. Signed to Liberty, she had a U.S. Billboard No. 4 single in 1961 with "Hurt", an R&B ballad that had been an early success for Roy Hamilton. On "Hurt" and on her Billboard No. 12 follow-up in 1962, "What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You?)", Yuro showed an emotional but elegant vocal style that owed a debt to Dinah Washington and other black jazz singers. Many listeners in the early 1960s thought Yuro was black. She opened for Frank Sinatra on his 1962 tour of Australia.
In 1963, Liberty released Make the World Go Away, an album of country and blues standards. The singer at her vocal peak, this recording includes a powerful title track of the same name, a beautifully understated version of Willie Nelson's "Permanently Lonely", and two different blues takes of "I'm Movin' On". Yuro was also known for soulful reworkings of popular American standards, such as "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "Smile", and "I Apologize".
By the late 1960s, Yuro had performed in venues from London to Las Vegas. However, her career soon lost its early momentum, and she quit the music business altogether after her marriage in 1972. When Yuro began to sing again in the 1980s, her doctors detected throat cancer. Her larynx was eventually removed and in 2004 she succumbed to cancer. Her last recording was the 1984 CD Timi Yuro Sings Willie Nelson, produced by her old friend Nelson.
Yuro's work is admired in the United States as well as in Great Britain and the Netherlands. According to the obituary in the Las Vegas Sun, her hometown paper, Yuro's most famous fan was probably Elvis Presley, who commanded his own table at the casino where Yuro sang in the late 1960s. (Presley had a Top 10 country hit with his 1976 version of "Hurt".) In April 2004, Morrissey announced Yuro's death on his official website, describing her as his "favorite singer". (Morrissey also recorded a version of Yuro's "Interlude" with Siouxsie Sioux in 1995.) P.J.Proby knew Timi Yuro from their time in Hollywood, and often mentions it during his performances of "Hurt".
Yuro found success on the dance floors of northern Britain in the 1970s and 1980s when Northern Soul DJs championed her up-tempo tracks of "It'll Never Be Over for Me" and "What's a Matter Baby". The latter was rereleased on Kent Records in the 1980s.
Don't Take Your Love from Me
Timi Yuro Lyrics
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Tear a petal from the rose and the rose weeps too
Take your heart away from mine and mine will surely break
My life is yours to take, so please keep the spark awake
Would you take the wings from birds so that they can't fly?
Would you take the ocean's roar and leave just a sigh?
All this, your heart won't let you do
Don't take your love from me
All this, your heart won't let you do
This is what I beg of you
Don't take your love from me
Don't take your love from me
In "Only Love Me," Timi Yuro pleas with her significant other not to take their love away from her. Yuro's powerful vocals project the desperation and heartache in her voice as she delivers the lyrics. The song explores the depths of love, and the critical role it plays in human existence. It talks about how love can be life-giving but when taken away, can break one's heart and leave them shattered.
The opening line of the song, "Tear a star from out the sky and the sky feels blue," sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The line speaks to the universal truth that everything around us is interconnected, and each piece impacts the others. When a star is removed from the sky, it affects the color of the sky, just as taking love away from someone can alter their entire perception of life. Similarly, when a petal is removed from a rose, the rose can no longer express its full beauty. Just as taking someone's love away can rob them of their inner radiance.
Yuro's request to her significant other not to take their love away speaks to the idea that love is an irreplaceable resource that cannot be taken for granted. It's only through the presence of loving relationships that we can truly thrive, which is why Yuro begs for her lover's love to remain with her.
Line by Line Meaning
Tear a star from out the sky and the sky feels blue
If you take something that seems small, like a star from the vast sky, it can have a big impact on everything around it, like the sky turning blue.
Tear a petal from the rose and the rose weeps too
Even a simple act of taking a petal from a rose can cause an emotional response, almost like the rose is weeping because it has lost a part of itself.
Take your heart away from mine and mine will surely break
The heart is the core of our emotions and when someone takes their heart away from ours, it can feel like our own heart is breaking.
My life is yours to take, so please keep the spark awake
The singer is willing to give their all to the loved one, entrusting their life to them, and hopes they will keep the passion and love alive.
Would you take the wings from birds so that they can't fly?
Like taking away a bird's ability to fly, taking away something integral to someone's being can be devastating and unfair.
Would you take the ocean's roar and leave just a sigh?
If the powerful roar of the ocean is taken away, only a small, weak sigh remains, just like the feeling of losing a strong love.
All this, your heart won't let you do
Even though it may be painful, the heart will not let someone take away the love they have for another person.
This is what I beg of you
The singer is pleading with their loved one to keep their love strong and not let it fade away.
Don't take your love from me
The ultimate message of the song is a plea to their lover to not take away their love, as it would be too painful to bear.
Lyrics © INDANO MUSIC COMPANY, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henry Nemo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind