Roy Orbison's Crying Meaning

The ballad Crying, which Roy Orbison co-wrote with Joe Melson, was one of the early successful creations of the incomparable American artist. According to him, the history of the composition began with a chance meeting on the street. Roy ran into an ex-lover, for whom he continued to have feelings.

The history of creation and the meaning of the song Crying – Roy Orbison

He later recounted:

I met with one girl, but we quarreled. I went to the hairdresser’s to get a haircut, looked across the street, and there was this girl I broke up with. I wanted to come up and say: “Let’s forget about what happened and move on.” But I was stubborn. So I just got in the car, drove two blocks down the street, and then I said to myself, “Boy, you’re making a mistake. You did something completely wrong.” Of course, this brought tears to my eyes, and so I came up with “Crying”.

1000 UK #1 Hits

Inspired by that incident, Orbison began to compose a composition under the working title Once Again. But it had to be changed when Joe Melson suggested the phrase “Once again I’m crying, once again I’m crying”, which formed the basis of the future hit.

Roy recalled that the emotional ending, in which he pours out his soul, was not planned and arose spontaneously:

Suddenly I thought of past experiences and just put them into words – that’s how it appeared. It was a retelling of what happened between me and the girl. I’m not even ready to say now what notes I took at the end of the song.

NME, 1980

Release and achievements

Crying was released as a single by Monument Records in July 1961. In the US, it topped the Cashbox chart and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

The composition opens the Roy Orbison album of the same name, published in 1962. The track is included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Clip Crying – Roy Orbison

You can watch the live music video for Roy Orbison’s Crying below.

Crying cover versions

In 1987, Orbison, along with kd lang, recorded a new version of the song, intended for the soundtrack to the film Hiding Out (“Hide and Seek”). The track rose quite high in the charts and was awarded a Grammy in the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals category (“Best Country Collaboration with Vocals”).

Crying was performed by many popular musicians, including Don McLean, whose version of the song topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.

Interesting Facts

A Spanish version of the song, sung by Rebeca Del Rio under the title Llorando, is featured in the cult thriller Mulholland Drive directed by David Lynch. The same version of the composition can be heard in one of the episodes of the third season of the television series “Escape”.

Crying Lyrics

I was all right for a while, I could smile for a while
But I saw you last night, you held my hand so tight
As you stopped to say, “Hello”
Aw you wished me well, you couldn’t tell
That I’d been crying over you, crying over you
Then you said, “So long”, left me standing all alone
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying
It’s hard to understand but the touch of your hand
Can start me crying

I thought that I was over you but it’s true, so true
I love you even more than I did before but darling what can I do
For you don’t love me and I’ll always be

Crying over you, crying over you
Yes, now you’re gone and from this moment on
I’ll be crying, crying, crying, crying
Yeah crying, crying, over you

Crying Lyrics – Roy Orbison

For a while I was fine and could even smile
But last night I saw you, you held my hand so tight
Stopping to say “hello”
You wished me luck, but you didn’t understand
That I shed tears for you, I shed tears for you
Then you said “bye” and left me alone
Alone and in tears, in tears, in tears, in tears
It’s hard to realize that the touch of your hand
Can make me shed tears

I thought I was done with you, but it’s not, not at all
I love you even more than before, but darling, what can I do
You don’t love me, but I will always love you

I shed tears for you, I shed tears for you
Yes, you left and from now on
I will shed tears, shed tears, shed tears, shed tears
Yes, shed tears, shed tears for you