It Was I

Album

Single

Label

Brent

Genre

Dance-pop

Composer(s)

Gary Paxton

Entered Chart

Jun 22, 1959

Peak Date

Aug 31, 1959

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Brent 7002

B-Side

Lunch Hour

"It Was I" is a song written by vocalist Gary S. Paxton that reached No. 11 in 1959 when Paxton released it as part of a duo with Clyde Battin called Skip & Flip. The song was ranked No. 84 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1959. It was later covered by American guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and his then girlfriend Carol Ann Harris. The song would become the second single off his debut album, Law and Order. Unlike Buckingham's previous single, Trouble, "It Was I" was not a big hit for Buckingham, failing to match the success of the original. The song only reached No. 10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart, an extension to the Hot 100. "It Was I" fared slightly better in Australia, where it managed to reach the No. 74 spot. Despite only achieving minor success, "It Was I" performed better in Australia than any of its successors, including "Go Insane", which only reached No. 100

You're tellin' everybody I'm the one
To blame for all the wrong that you have done
The day that you walked out and left, didn't say goodbye
Who was home alone to sit and cry?
It was I, it was I-I-I-I-I

I gave you all the love I ever had
The only things I got from you were bad
The times you didn't show up, the times you didn't call
Who was left alone through it all?
It was I, it was I-I-I-I-I

My love was always yours to treasure and to hold
But when you let a love grow idle it will soon grow cold
Temptation is too strong to hide, are you really satisfied
With my love the way it is? Let me tell you how it is

Please come back and try to start anew
I know that it's the proper thing to do
Darling, if we make up I know we'll never break up
Then I know it's only me and you
Me and you