Today’s classic song of the day takes us “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa,” courtesy of Gene Pitney. This song was released in October of 1963 and peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa” was written by the legendary team of Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (words). It was the seventh top twenty hit for the duo, following “The Story of My Life” (for Marty Robbins), “Magic Moments” (for Perry Como), “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance” (for Gene Pitney), “Make It Easy on Yourself” (for Jerry Butler), “Only Love Can Break a Heart” (for Gene Pitney), and “Blue on Blue” (for Bobby Vinton). They’d have ten more before breaking up in 1973.
Mr. David recalls how “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa” came about:
“I wrote that to a melody that Burt wrote and that’s what the melody said to me. Music speaks to a lyric writer, or at least it should speak to a lyric writer. And that’s what the music said to me. And why it did, I don’t know. I don’t think I had ever been to Tulsa. I’ve always kind of liked what I call ‘narrative songs’—story songs. And when I hear music, very often I hear a story. The fact that it was Tulsa, as opposed to Dallas, is not terribly meaningful, but the sound of ‘Tulsa’ rang in my ear.”
The song is all about temptation and infidelity. The protagonist is driving from wherever home to Tulsa and stops at a small motel for the night. There he meets a young woman, they share dinner and a dance, and he loses all control. The song is his letter to his wife explaining what happened:
Oh the jukebox started to play
And night time turned into day as we were dancing closely
All of a sudden I lost control as I held her charms
And I caressed her, kissed her
Told her I’d die before I let her out of my arms
Oh I was only 24 hours from Tulsa
Ah only one day away from your arms
I hate to do this to you
But I love somebody new
What can I do
And I can never never never go home again
And that’s the story.
(I particularly like the little stop bit in the middle where it goes, “She took me to a cafe/I asked her if she would stay/She said/Okay.” Genius songwriting there.)
“Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa” has been covered by a bevy of other artists, but my favorite version is from British songstress Dusty Springfield. The lyrics seem to fit a female lead quite well and Dusty sells the hell out of it. It’s worth a listen.
