About The Song
“One More Time” hit the country music scene as a single by Ray Price on February 29, 1960, released via Columbia Records. It came out as the A-side paired with “Who’ll Be the First,” following Price’s string of honky-tonk successes. The track didn’t originate from a new studio album but soon found its place on his 1961 compilation Ray Price’s Greatest Hits, which gathered his top performers from the late 1950s. Later reissues, like The Essential Ray Price 1951-1962 and The Complete Singles A’s & B’s: 1950-1962, kept it in circulation, highlighting its role in Price’s shuffle-beat era. Produced by Don Law, a Nashville staple who shaped many of Price’s early hits, the song runs about 2:45, featuring that signature 4/4 shuffle rhythm with steel guitar and fiddle accents that defined Price’s sound at the time. This production style, often called the “Ray Price beat,” emphasized emotional delivery over flash, making it a perfect vehicle for heartfelt narratives.
The song was penned by Mel Tillis, a rising songwriter in the late 1950s known for his knack for capturing everyday heartaches. Tillis, who battled a stutter in speech but flowed effortlessly in songwriting, crafted “One More Time” during his early Nashville days as a staff writer for Cedarwood Publishing. He sold it quickly to Price, marking one of his first major placements after tunes like “Tupelo County Jail” for Webb Pierce. Tillis later recorded his own version, but Price’s take came first and set the standard. In interviews, Tillis recalled how such songs stemmed from observing real-life romantic struggles in bars and on the road, turning personal vulnerabilities into universal appeals. For Price, it fit seamlessly into his repertoire of love-gone-wrong tales, coming right after hits like “Heartaches by the Number.”
At its core, the song tells of a man trapped in a cycle of toxic love. He questions the hold his partner has over him, enjoying fleeting moments before she’s gone, leaving only memories. Each departure sparks a vow to end it, but her return weakens his resolve: “One more time my lips may kiss you / One more time my arms will hold you / But it won’t be long until you’re gone / With a memory to haunt me one more time.” The lyrics blend resignation with longing, underscoring how nearness erodes willpower, leading to repeated falls. It’s a classic honky-tonk plea, where the protagonist admits defeat to passion, echoing themes in Price’s catalog like enduring loneliness amid fleeting joy.
Chart performance solidified its impact: it peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, charting for several weeks and adding to Price’s run of top-10 entries in 1960. This success helped bridge his honky-tonk phase toward the smoother countrypolitan sound he’d adopt later.
A side story from Tillis’s memoirs: he pitched it amid a flurry of demos, and Price grabbed it after hearing the demo’s raw emotion, reportedly saying it reminded him of late-night regrets from his touring days. Fans have shared tales online, like one from a 1960s radio listener who credited the song for giving him courage to reconcile after a fight, playing it as an apology. Over decades, it’s been covered by artists like Vince Gill and Paul Franklin on their 2013 album Bakersfield, paying homage to the era’s sound. Gill noted in interviews how Price’s version captured vulnerability without overstatement, influencing his own approach. Though not Price’s biggest crossover, “One More Time” endures as a snapshot of 1960s country, reminding listeners of love’s repetitive pull in an authentic, unpolished way.
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Lyric
I wonder what the power is that you hold over me
I never get to love you long just your memory
And I make a vow each time you leave that this will draw the line
Then you come back and just like now I’m falling one more timeOne more time my lips may kiss you
One more time my arms will hold you
But it won’t belong until you’re gone with a mem’ry left behind
And I just know that when you go I’ll be lonely one more timeYour nearness makes me weaken and I give into you
And I’m doing all the things I said that I wouldn’t do
And I make a vow each time you leave that this will draw the line
Then you come back and just like now I’m falling one more timeOne more time my lips may kiss you
One more time my arms will hold you
But it won’t belong until you’re gone with a mem’ry left behind
And I just know that when you go I’ll be lonely one more time