Wynona Merceris Carr was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where she started out as a gospel singer, forming her own five-piece group The Carr Singers around 1945 and touring the Cleveland/Detroit area. Being tipped by The Pilgrim Travelers, who shared a bill with Carr in the late 1940s, Art Rupe signed her to his Specialty label, giving Carr her new stage name “Sister” Wynona Carr (modelled after pioneering gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe) and cutting some twenty sides with her from 1949 to 1954, including a couple of duets with Specialty’s biggest gospel star at the time, Brother Joe May.
Not having too much success on the charts (except for “The Ball Game” (1952), which became one of Specialty’s best selling gospel records), Carr grew increasingly unhappy with the straight gospel direction of her career and pleaded with Rupe to let her record “pops, jumps, ballads, and semi-blues”. Rupe relented and from 1955 to 1959 Carr recorded two dozen rock & roll and R&B sides for Specialty, which, like her gospel songs, she mostly wrote herself. Despite scoring an R&B hit with “Should I Ever Love Again?” in 1957, overall the change from spiritual to secular music didn’t help Carr much in terms of sales or recognition. Unfortunately she also contracted tuberculosis around this time, which kept her from doing the necessary promotional work and touring for two years, effectively ending her tenure with Specialty in the summer of 1959.
In 1961 Carr signed with Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Records and released an unsuccessful pop album. She moved back to Cleveland, sinking into obscurity and suffering from declining health and depression; she died there in 1976.
Carr’s contralto vocals have a sensual, husky quality quite unusual (or even inappropriate) for gospel singers in her day, which made her eventual switch to R&B and rock & roll seem a logical choice in retrospect. The same goes for her idiosyncratic use of metaphors and themes in her gospel songs: Baseball (“The Ball Game”), boxing (“15 Rounds For Jesus”) and a popular TV show (“Dragnet For Jesus”). This penchant for novelty-like songs also shows in Carr’s later R&B repertoire, for instance “Ding Dong Daddy”, “Nursery Rhyme Rock” and “Boppity Bop (Boogity Boog)”.
Carr’s gospel recordings are very much influenced by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, incorporating blues and jazz stylings and already touching on R&B with her take on Roy Brown’s / Wynonie Harris’ “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, entitled “I Heard The News (Jesus Is Coming Again)”. Her early R&B material (for which she is probably best remembered now) was often uptempo, rock & roll-styled and similar in sound to fellow R&B / rock & roll artists on the Specialty roster like Little Richard, Lloyd Price and Larry Williams, with a strong New Orleans-style backbeat and a rich, warm production. Her final Specialty sessions, conducted by Sonny Bono in 1959, cut down on the rock & roll influences.
Both Carr’s gospel and R&B recordings went largely unappreciated during the time they were released, but found a new audience when Specialty Records released two CDs, covering Carr’s entire output on the label and adding previously unreleased material, such as a recording with Rev. C.L. Franklin (father of Aretha Franklin) and his New Bethel Baptist Church Choir in Detroit.
Sister Wynona Carr
Dragnet For Jesus (Specialty SPCD-7016-2, 1992)
Wynona Carr
Jump Jack Jump! (Specialty SPCD-7048-2, 1993)
Should I Ever Love Again?
Wynona Carr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As if we saw each other yesterday
잘있었냔 인사가 무색할 만큼
jalisseossnyan insaga musaeghal mankeum
Putting my "How are you" to shame
괜한 우려였는지
gwaenhan ulyeo yeottneunji
My worries were unnecessary
seomeoghan naega doelyeo eosaeghae sseulkka
I was awkward for being awkward
어제 나의 전활 받고서
eoje naui jeonhwal badgoseo
Saying that you're in a mess because after getting my phone call
밤새 한숨도 못 자 엉망이라며 수줍게 웃는 얼굴
bamsae hansumdo motja eongmang ilamyeo sujubge utneun eolgul
You couldn't sleep all night, while smiling shyly
어쩌면 이렇게도 그대로일까
eojjeomyeon ireohgedo geudaeroilkka
How can you be so same
그땐 우리 너무 어렸었다며
geuttaen uri neomu eolyeosseossdamyeo
Saying that we were too young back then
지난 얘기들로 웃음짓다가
jinan yaegideullo useum jitdaga
Laughing with stories of the past
아직 혼자라는 너의 그 말에
ajig honjalaneun neoui geu mare
Upon hearing that you're still alone
불쑥 나도 몰래 가슴이 시려
bulssug nado mollae gaseumi silyeo
My heart secretly begins to ache
다시 사랑한다 말할까
dasi saranghanda marhalkka
Should I say I love again?
조금 멀리 돌아왔지만 기다려왔다고
jogeum meolli dolawattjiman gidaryeowattdago
That I took a long path but I've been waiting
널 기다리는게 나에게 제일 쉬운 일이라
neol gidarineun ge naege jeil swiun ilila
That waiting for you was the easiest thing for me
시간이 가는 줄 몰랐다고
sigani ganeun jul mollattdago
And I didn't even feel the passage of time
다시 사랑한다 말할까
dasi saranghanda marhalkka
Should I say I love again?
여전히 난 부족하지만 받아주겠냐고
yeojeonhi nan bujoghajiman bada jugenyago
That would you accept me even though I'm still far from perfect
널 사랑하는게 내 삶의 전부라 어쩔 수 없다고 말야
neol saranghaneun ge nae salme jeonbula eojjeol su eobtdago marya
That I cannot help it because my entire life is about love for you
그땐 사랑인줄 몰랐었다며
geuttaen saranginjul mollasseottdamyeo
Saying that you didn't know it was love back then
가끔 내 소식을 들을때마다
gakkeum nae sosigeul deuleul ttaemada
And upon hearing that when you hear about me
항상 미안했단 너의 그 말에
hangsang mianhaen dan neoui geu male You always felt sorry
불쑥 나도 몰래 눈물이 흘러
bulssug nado mollae nunmuli heulleo
I secretly begin to drop tears
다시 사랑한다 말할까
dasi saranghanda marhalkka
Should I say I love again?
언젠가는 내게 돌아올 운명이었다고
eonjenganeun naege dolaol unmyeongieottdago
That you were destined to return to me some day
널 잊는다는 게 나에게 제일 힘든 일이라
neol ijneundaneun ge naege jeil himdeun ilila
That forgetting you was the hardest thing for me to do
생각 조차 할 수 없었다고
saenggagjocha hal su eobseottdago
So I couldn't even think about it
다시 사랑한다 말할까
dasi salanghanda marhalkka
Should I say I love again?
좋은 친구처럼 편하게 받아주겠냐고
joheun chingucheoreom pyeonhage badajugenyago
That would you accept me as if I was a good friend
다시 태어나도 널 사랑하는게
dasi taeeonado neol saranghaneun ge
That loving you even in afterlife
내 삶에 이유란 말야
nae salme iyuran marya
is the meaning of my life
다시 사랑한다 말할까
dasi saranghanda marhalkka
Should I say I love again?
조금 멀리 돌아왔지만 기다려왔다고
jogeum meolli dolawattjiman gidaryeowattdago
That I took a long path but I've been waiting
널 기다리는게 나에게 제일 쉬운 일이라
neol gidarineun ge naege jeil swiun ilila
That waiting for you was the easiest thing for me
시간이 가는 줄 몰랐다고
sigani ganeun jul mollattdago
And I didn't even feel the passage of time
다시 사랑한다 말할까
dasi saranghanda marhalkka
Should I say I love again?
여전히 난 부족하지만 받아주겠냐고
yeojeonhi nan bujoghajiman bada jugenyago
That would you accept me even though I'm still far from perfect
널 사랑하는게 내 삶의 전부라 어쩔 수 없다고 말야
neol saranghaneun ge nae salme jeonbula eojjeol su eobtdago marya
That I cannot help it because my entire life is about love for you
The song "Should I Ever Love Again?" by Wynona Carr is a ballad that explores the uncertainty and fear of reigniting a past love. The opening lines of the song describe the awkwardness and anxiety of reuniting with someone whom the singer hasn't seen in a long time: "As if we saw each other yesterday, putting my 'How are you?' to shame. My worries were unnecessary. I was awkward for being awkward." It's clear that the singer is hesitant to express their feelings and unsure of how the other person will react.
Throughout the song, the singer reminisces about the past and wonders if they should take the chance and confess their love. The chorus repeats the question "Should I say I love again?" and the singer goes on to describe the depth of their feelings: "That loving you even in afterlife is the meaning of my life." However, the singer still doubts themselves and asks if the other person would accept them even though they are imperfect: "Would you accept me as if I was a good friend? That waiting for you was the easiest thing for me. I didn't even feel the passage of time."
Overall, "Should I Ever Love Again?" is a poignant and introspective song that captures the weight of love and loss. It explores the complexities of emotional vulnerability and the difficulty of trusting that someone will reciprocate your feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
As if we saw each other yesterday
It feels like we just saw each other yesterday
Putting my "How are you" to shame
Your greeting is so much better than mine
My worries were unnecessary
I was worried for no reason
I was awkward for being awkward
I felt uncomfortable because I was already acting awkward
Saying that you're in a mess because after getting my phone call
You're telling me that you're in trouble after I called you?
You couldn't sleep all night, while smiling shyly
You were up all night smiling because of me, but you were also feeling nervous
How can you be so same
You haven't changed at all
Saying that we were too young back then
You think we were too young to understand love before
Laughing with stories of the past
We are having fun reminiscing about old times
Upon hearing that you're still alone
When you told me that you're still single
My heart secretly begins to ache
I'm secretly starting to feel sad and disappointed
Should I say I love again?
Is it the right time to confess my love?
That I took a long path but I've been waiting
It took me a while, but I've been waiting for you
That waiting for you was the easiest thing for me
It was easy for me to just wait for you
And I didn't even feel the passage of time
Time flew by so fast, I didn't even realize it
That you were destined to return to me some day
I believe that you were meant to come back to me eventually
That forgetting you was the hardest thing for me to do
It's so hard for me to forget about you
So I couldn't even think about it
It was too painful to even think about forgetting you
That would you accept me as if I was a good friend
Would you be okay with me loving you like a good friend?
That loving you even in afterlife is the meaning of my life
Loving you forever is the most important thing to me
Contributed by Brody O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MrKoolkat333
One of the best Rythm'n Blues/Rock'n Roll performers from the 50's,what a voice !! She cames too hearly and wake up too late... like many of "looser" in the rock'n'roll area ..! One of my fav' anyway !!! Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps made a fabulous cover too.Vive la France !!!
@robertspitzbart7610
Simply outplaying everyone in the last decades (Adele, Winehouse, Houston, and so on, even Bassey) , even each mediocre songs becomes a pearl when she gives her voice to it - that 's only my opinion,
but I would not wonder if many share!
@albertosilvabrito-fq4cb
Essa tem o estilo da Eta James....
Canta muitoooo......
@samantamatzke
OH, it is beautiful
♥
@jambrown2204
YES...Be wise and be open...Never stop loving....GOD is LOVE and he created us to LOVE.
@pauljoseph8691
Glad I found this. I underestimated her. Didn't know she could rock. Will listen for the rest of the day and then the rest of the week to catch up.
@chipchapin5092
Be sure you catch her 1956 "Hurt Me" ....
@Nyack101
Listen to Our Father, make sure you sitting down.
@arizonadoowopper148
Why didnt this lady become the super star that she is? Great song.
@gaynorthomassenneeharding2660
I'm guessing it's because most of her stuff is religious.