About The Song
In June 1969 Ray Price released “Each Time” on his Columbia album *Sweetheart of the Year*. The song had actually been recorded three years earlier in December 1966 during a Columbia session but remained unissued until its inclusion on this project. By the late 1960s the Cherokee Cowboy was balancing his signature traditional country shuffle sound with the more polished Nashville Sound production that dominated mainstream country radio at the time. The album mixed ballads and mid-tempo numbers, giving Price’s warm baritone room to explore the kind of intimate material that had built his reputation over nearly two decades.
Price had enjoyed one of the longest and most successful careers in country music up to that point. After breaking through in the early 1950s with the distinctive Ray Price Shuffle on hits like “Crazy Arms,” he took over leadership of Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys following Williams’ death in 1953 and continued scoring major hits through the 1960s. By 1969 he remained a major concert draw and consistent album seller, even as younger artists began reshaping the genre toward more contemporary sounds.
Unlike many of the songs Price recorded during this period, “Each Time” was an original composition written by Price himself. The Texas-born artist was not primarily known as a songwriter compared to contemporaries like Hank Cochran or Harlan Howard, but he did pen several strong album tracks throughout his career, and this heartfelt ballad ranks among his most personal contributions. A different 1966 recording of the same song, featuring a pure shuffle beat, later surfaced on archival releases and became a favorite among fans who prized the rawer, dance-hall style of his early work.
The song tells a simple yet powerful story of unresolved longing. Each time the narrator sees a picture of his former love, a flood of memories returns and he finds himself falling for her all over again despite his efforts to move on. He hides the frame to escape the pain, only to wake up searching for it in the dark, unable to forget. The lyrics capture the quiet torment of someone caught between trying to heal and being pulled back by lingering affection, delivered with the restrained dignity typical of classic country storytelling.
Musically the track features Price’s rich baritone set against a gentle, mid-tempo arrangement typical of late-1960s country balladry, complete with soft strings and steel guitar. Although “Each Time” was not released as a single and did not appear on the Billboard charts, it became a favorite among fans of Price’s more intimate recordings and fit comfortably within an album that reached the upper ranks of the country album chart.
Johnny Bush, who had been a member of Price’s band in the 1960s before launching his own successful solo career, later recorded his own version of the song, further spreading its reach within traditional country circles. Through these recordings and later appearances on compilations such as *The Honky Tonk Years*, “Each Time” stands as a reminder of Ray Price’s skill not only as a masterful interpreter but occasionally as a sensitive songwriter capable of distilling complex emotions into a concise country ballad that has quietly endured for more than half a century.
Video
Lyric
Each time I close my eyes
I get a little sense of love
It flows deep inside
But when I want to Tell those three words
I just cant face you
Just cant face you…
Its been such a long journey
Feels like were joined at the heart
Oh, what I wouldn’t give
For you to be in love with me
Would have been nice
In the very first start
When my heart begins to beat
The power takes over me
Ooh, if you only knew
How much I would do for you
Maybe you would love me, too
But, still…
Each time I close my eyes
I get a little sense of love
It flows deep inside
But when I want to Tell those three words
I just cant face you
Just cant face you, oh…
Its been such a long time
Since I felt love was true what I wouldn’t lose
For you to stare into my eyes
Just like you’ve done before
But I don’t think you knew
When my heart begins to beat
The power takes over me
Ooh, if you only knew
How much I would do for you
Maybe you would love me, too
But, still…
Each time I close my eyes
I get a little sense of love
It flows deep inside
But when I want to Tell those three words
I just cant face you
Just cant face you, oh…
Wish I could Let my lips move
But each time
I cant tell you
Just how I feel
Boy, its for real
Wish I could
Reach out to you
So I can say
That I love you
Want you to know
I want to be there
When you’re hurting…