As a teenager, DeVille had a band named Billy and the Kids. He moved to London looking to form a band, but was unsuccessful in finding like-minded musicians. Eventually he landed in San Francisco where he formed a band with bassist Ruben Siguenza and drummer Tom "Manfred" Allen. The band played under the names Billy DeSade & the Marquis and the Lazy Eights before settling on the name Mink DeVille. Later, DeVille took the band to New York City, where they helped to pioneer punk rock music and were one of the original house bands at CBGB, the New York nighclub where punk rock music was born in the mid-1970s.
The typical DeVille song -- if any of his songs can be called "typical" -- is filled with romantic conviction and yearning. Latin rhythms, Blues riffs, and strains of country music can be heard in DeVille songs. Spanish Stroll was a hit in the U.S. and the UK in 1978; Storybook Love (nominated for an Academy Award in 1987) is the theme song of the movie The Princess Bride.
DeVille suffered from drug addiction for many years, which stifled his career. Among fellow musicians and songwriters, he was widely respected. Songwriter Doc Pomus said about Deville, "He knows the truth of a city street and the courage in a ghetto love song."
DeVille died of pancreatic cancer during the night of August 6, 2009 in a New York hospital.
DeVille had homes in New Orleans and Mississippi.
Lover Please
Willy DeVille Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dont take that train goin down the track.
Dont please dont, dont leave me
Dont you leave me here in misery.
You would never hold me so near
You would never call me dear.
Dont you know Id die for you
Lover please, please come back
Dont take that train goin down the track.
Dont please dont, dont leave me
Dont you leave me here in misery.
Well, its an old, old story, not too long,
About a love that went all wrong.
Girl left the boy, oh so bad
Now she gone and she oh so sad.
Lover please, please come back
Dont take that train goin down the track
Dont please dont, dont leave me
Dont you leave me here in misery.
Oh, lover please, please come back
Dont take that train goin down on the track
Dont please dont, no dont leave me
Dont you leave me here in misery.
Lover please, please come back
Dont take that train goin down the track
Dont please dont, dont leave me
Dont you leave me here in misery
The lyrics to Willy DeVille's song, "Lover Please," tell the story of a love gone wrong. The singer pleads for his lover to come back and not leave him in misery by boarding a train going down the track. He expresses his love for her and how much he needs her back in his life. The lyrics reveal a deep sense of loss and heartbreak that come from the end of a relationship that was once full of promise.
The song's lyrics are simple, but they effectively convey the emotions of the singer. The repetition of the phrase "lover please" emphasizes the singer's desperation for his lover to come back to him. The lyrics are also a nod to classic American popular music that often featured train imagery, symbolizing new beginnings and endings.
The slow bluesy music adds to the emotion of the lyrics, and Willy DeVille's raw and emotional singing perfectly captures the heartache of a failed love. The song's universal theme of losing love and the pain that comes with it make it relatable to many people.
Line by Line Meaning
Lover please, please come back
The singer desperately wants their lover back
Dont take that train goin down the track.
They are urging their lover not to leave on a specific train
Dont please dont, dont leave me
The singer is begging their lover not to leave
Dont you leave me here in misery.
The artist will be miserable and unhappy if their lover leaves
You would never hold me so near
The artist's lover was never physically affectionate with them
You would never call me dear.
The singer's lover did not use endearing language with them
Dont you know Id die for you
The singer would do anything, even give their life, for their lover
Now youre gone and thats what Ill do.
Since their lover left, the artist is willing to die for them
Well, its an old, old story, not too long,
The situation of a failed love is not new
About a love that went all wrong.
The story is about a love that did not work out
Girl left the boy, oh so bad
The girl hurt the boy deeply by leaving
Now she gone and she oh so sad.
Now that she is gone, the girl is also miserable
Oh, lover please, please come back
The singer is pleading once again for their lover to return
Dont take that train goin down on the track
The singer does not want their lover to leave on any train
Dont please dont, no dont leave me
The singer is even more desperate for their lover not to leave
Dont you leave me here in misery.
The artist is expressing that their lover leaving will cause them great pain and unhappiness
Lover please, please come back
The final plea for the lover to come back
Dont take that train goin down the track
The singer is still urging their lover not to leave on any train
Dont please dont, dont leave me
The singer is still begging their lover not to leave
Dont you leave me here in misery.
The final expression of how unhappy the artist would be if their lover left
Contributed by Alexander R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Uta Kramer
Da fehlen mir echt die Worte, um zu beschreiben, wie ich ihn bewundere. Er war ein musikalisches Wunder!❣👏🎵
Suzycat1000
Wonderful. Willy was quite hearbreakingly handsome then and reached both high and low notes with no effort at all.
john clarke
Only Willy could make this work. Great
Alice Noot
what a great video... you can see and almost smell the fun they have in singing this.. shall love Willie forever
Marlene A. Ryan
Such a great Artist, gone too soon. Love ya Willy💕
conchi dominguez
No solo era un grandísimo artista, también era un hombre de una enorme" empatía"🕶️🎩🎶
Titi Sinapellido
QUE ATRACTIVO!!!!!! SENCILLO Y TREMEDO TALENTO Y A PESAR DE TENER UNA VOZ RONCA IGUAL ALCANZA UNOS ALTOS LLENOS DE MELODIA ESTILO WILLI DEVILLE.
FANTÁSTICO!!!!!!!!! ME ENCANTA.
Brian Murphy
Man... You find a video of a guy like this... It's fucking precious
Judi Grunstra
So happy to discover these YouTube clips of an artist I've enjoyed for a long time.
conchi dominguez
Oooole!! Fantástico Willy 💜