It's Over

Album

Single

Label

Monument Records

Genre

-Pop

Composer(s)

Roy Orbison;Bill Dees

Entered Chart

Apr 11, 1964

Peak Date

May 23, 1964

Released

April 1964

Recorded

March 10, 1964[2] Studio Fred Foster Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee[2]

Catalog #

Monument 45-837

B-Side

Indian Wedding

Roy Orbison shed some light on this song when he spoke with the NME in 1980. Said Orbison: "'It's Over' is a lonely type song, but it's not over if you listen to the lyrics very closely. Well, in fact it is over, but I don't know it, and I'm telling everyone it's over. I was trying to say that certain things are over before you realise it, before anybody realizes it." When this topped the UK charts on June 25, 1964, Roy Orbison became the first American to reach #1 in the UK since Elvis did it in December 1962. There was a run of 16 consecutive British #1s. Bill Dees presented Roy Orbison with his song "It's Over At Last." Roy Orbison combined it with two others to make "It's Over." Bill Dees wrote or co-wrote 64 songs with Roy Orbison that The Big O recorded, including possibly his most well-known song "(Oh) Pretty Woman." Bill Dees also sang high harmony on "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and many other Orbison tunes. Structurally, this is similar to Roy Orbison's 1961 hit "Running Scared," in that both songs build from a whisper to a scream, and have a bolero-like beat in the verses. However the melodies of the two hits are completely different. This operatic rock ballad has also been recorded by many other artists including Glen Campbell, Gene Pitney and Bonnie Tyler. Michael Caine sung it in the 1998 film Little Voice. Producer Fred Foster commented on this on the Roy Orbison: In Dreams radio special: "The great writer has the ability to bare his soul unabashedly. Hank Williams did it. Can you imagine saying I can't help it if I'm still in love with you? You know? And Roy, only the lonely know the way I feel tonight. You know, we all feel that way sometimes, but we can't put it into words, or we're embarrassed, or we think we're showin' weakness if we do. But Roy knew what he was talkin' about. And when he played me It's Over, it, it touched me deeper than anything I'd ever heard." (Courtesy: Public Radio Exchange. Thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above) In 1964, when artists like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones dominated the UK charts, Orbison was the only American artist to reach the top spot. He did it with both "It's Over" and "(Oh) Pretty Woman."

Your baby doesn't love you any more

Golden days before they end
Whisper secrets to the wind
Your baby won't be near you anymore

Tender nights before they fly
Send falling stars that seem to cry
Your baby doesn't want you any more
It's over

It breaks your heart in two
To know she's been untrue
But, oh, what will you do?
When she says to you
There's someone new
We're through, we're through

It's over, it's over, it's over

All the rainbows in the sky
Start to weep, then say goodbye
You won't be seeing rainbows anymore
Setting suns before they fall
Echo to you that's all that's all
But you'll see lonely sunsets after all

It's over, it's over, it's over