Lopez made his name on the club circuit of the Southwestern United States before being 'discovered' in 1962 playing at the club PJ's in Hollywood, California, by record producer Don Costa. Costa was taken with Lopez's latinized versions of contemporary hits and signed him up to Frank Sinatra's record label, Reprise Records. His debut album, Trini Lopez Live at PJ's, was released in 1963. The album included a version of If I Had a Hammer, which reached number one in 36 countries (No. 3 in the United States) and was a radio favorite for many years. He also performed his own version of the traditional Mexican song La Bamba on the album; his recording of the tune was later re-issued as a single in 1966.
His popularity led the Gibson Guitar Corporation to ask him in 1964 to design a guitar for them. He ended up designing two: The Trini Lopez Standard, a rock and roll model based on the Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow body, and the Lopez Deluxe, a variation of a Gibson jazz guitar designed by Barney Kessel. Both of these guitars were in production from 1964 until 1971 and are now highly sought after amongst collectors. Some owners of the guitar include Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.
He scored 13 chart singles through 1968, including "Lemon Tree" (1965), "I'm Comin' Home, Cindy" (1966) and "Sally Was a Good Old Girl" (1968). On the adult contemporary chart, he ranked up 15 hits, including the Top 10 singles "Michael" (1964), "Gonna Get Along Without Ya' Now" (1967) and "The Bramble Bush" (1967). Beyond his success on record, he became one of the country's top nightclub performers of that era, regularly headlining in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During the 1960s and 1970s Lopez moved into acting, though his film career was not as successful as his music. His first film role was in Marriage on the Rocks (1965), in which he made a cameo appearance in a nightclub scene; Lopez's soundtrack song, "Sinner Man", became a hit single (No. 54 pop/No. 12 adult contemporary). He was one of The Dirty Dozen (1967) and starred in Antonio (1973). He made two appearances (playing different characters) on the television program, Adam 12. He continued his musical career with extensive tours of Europe and Latin America during this period; an attempt to break out by releasing a disco album in 1978 proved a flop.
Since then, Lopez has done charitable work and received honors such as being inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2003. He was still recording and appearing live in the early 2000s. Recently he took part in a benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Unchain My Heart
Trini Lopez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause You Don't Care, Help Me, Set Me Free
Unchain My Heart, Baby Let Me Go
Unchain My Heart, Cause You Don't Love Me no More
Everytime I Call You On the Phone
Some Fellow Tells Me That You're Not At Home
Unchain My Heart, Set Me Free
Unchain My Heart, Baby Let Me Be
Unchain My Heart, Cause You Don't Care About Me
You Got Me Sewed Up Like a Narrow Case
But You Let My Love Go to Waste
Unchain My Heart, Set Me Free
I'm Under Your Spell, Like a Man in a Trance, Oh Yeah
Oh But You Know Damn Well, That I Don't Stand a Chance
Unchain My Heart, Let Me Go My Way
Unchain My Heart, You Were Mean That Day
Why Lead Me Through a Life of Misery
When You Don't Care a Bag of Beans For Me
Unchain My Heart, Oh Please, Let Me Be
I'm Under Your Spell, Just Like a Man in a Trance, Baby
But You Know Damn Well, That I Don't Stand a Chance
Please Take My Heart, Let Me Go My Way
Unchain My Heart, You Were Mean That Day
Why Lead Me Through a Life of Misery
When You Don't Care a Bag of Beans For Me
Unchain My Heart, Oh Please, Set Me Free
Trini Lopez's "Unchain My Heart" is a song about a man who is in love with a woman who does not reciprocate his feelings. He is pleading with her to let him go and unchain his heart because he knows that she doesn't care about him. The song starts with him asking the woman to set him free because he's aware that she doesn't care about him. He then goes on to say that every time he calls her, someone tells him that she's not at home, which suggests that she's deliberately avoiding him.
He likens himself to a man under her spell, who is unable to break free, while the woman holds the key to his heart. He feels that she is sewing him up like a narrow case, thereby wasting his love, which he thinks is a tragedy. The man begs the woman to unchain his heart so he can be free from her spell of misery. He pleads with her to set him free because she was mean to him, and he doesn't see why he should be led through a life of misery when she does not care for him at all.
In summary, "Unchain My Heart" is a song about a man who is trapped in a one-sided love affair with a woman who does not love him back. He wants her to unchain his heart, so he can be free from her spell of misery and move on with his life. The song is an emotional portrayal of unrequited love that is relatable to anyone who has ever been in a similar situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Unchain My Heart, Baby Let Me Be
Release me from the chains of love and let me go
Cause You Don't Care, Help Me, Set Me Free
Please set me free as you don't care about me anymore
Unchain My Heart, Baby Let Me Go
Release me from your hold and let me move on
Unchain My Heart, Cause You Don't Love Me no More
Let me go as you don't love me anymore
Everytime I Call You On the Phone
Every time I try to reach out to you
Some Fellow Tells Me That You're Not At Home
Someone else informs me that you're not available
Unchain My Heart, Set Me Free
Unbind my heart and set me free from this emotional turmoil
You Got Me Sewed Up Like a Narrow Case
You have me locked up in your love, unable to break free
But You Let My Love Go to Waste
You're letting my feelings go to waste as you don't reciprocate them
Unchain My Heart, Cause You Don't Care About Me
Release the shackles of love from me as you don't care for me
I'm Under Your Spell, Like a Man in a Trance, Oh Yeah
You have me under your influence, lost in a mesmeric state
Oh But You Know Damn Well, That I Don't Stand a Chance
You're aware I have no chance with you despite being smitten
Unchain My Heart, Let Me Go My Way
Untether my heart and let me pursue my path
You Were Mean That Day
You were harsh and cruel on that day
Why Lead Me Through a Life of Misery
Why make me go through a life of agony and pain
When You Don't Care a Bag of Beans For Me
When you don't care for me even a little bit
Oh Please, Let Me Be
Please allow me to be free from this emotional hold
Please Take My Heart, Let Me Go My Way
Take my heart and let me pursue my dreams
Unchain My Heart, You Were Mean That Day
Release me from your hold as you were unkind to me
When You Don't Care a Bag of Beans For Me
When you don't have even a shred of concern for my well-being
Oh Please, Set Me Free
Please unshackle me from these chains of love and liberate me
Writer(s): Bobby Sharp, Robert L.Sharp Jr, Teddy Powell Copyright: Music Sales Corporation, Sparta-florida Music Group Ltd.
Contributed by Ellie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Steve Erickson
Rest in peace Trini. You influenced my singing and guitar playing style. You were a superstar.
Rosa Flores
Hermosa canción trae tanta nostalgia
armando chirinos cuneas
una hermosas melodía q debe volver, m trae una nostalgia de los años 60, de mi infancia y niñez
Colin Taylor
Trini...so much talent!
Moises Leon
No lo había escuchado este gran tema. genial el rock tiene que seguír grande Trini lopez
adiolaechea
En memoria a mi hermanito que partió al cielo con esa canción en los oídos
julio martinez
Pedazo de versión.. Si Ray Charles lo pudiera ver... 😎🙏
maria elena cerrel chavez
ES LA MEJOR INTERPRETACION DE ESTE TEMA.
armando chirinos cuneas
mi infancia los años 60 cuando mi padre me sacaba a pasear por el parque Castilla lince, qué hermosa época
Anto20220
Je possède ce 45t et d'autres, qui tournent dans mon juke-box. C'est un plaisir d'écouter TRINI LOPEZ depuis + de 50 ans. Qui dit mieux aujourd'hui ????