How One of Roy Orbison’s Finest Weepers Conquered Great Britain During Beatlemania in 1964

Nobody sang the heartbroken ballad quite like Roy Orbison. His vocals could be majestic, but he could also modulate them in a way that they conveyed vast troves of sorrow. And Orbison also understood how to write songs that landed right in his operatically sad wheelhouse.

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“It’s Over” found him in this mode for one of his last massive hit singles. Orbison and his collaborators telegraphed the song’s sorrow in the title and didn’t let up from there.

Orbisonian Excellence

Roy Orbison had been trying to make his way in the music business as both a member of various groups and a solo act for more than a decade before he finally broke through. Not even a stint at Sun Records in the company of folks like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash did anything for his prospects.

Perhaps it helped in a way that Orbison struggled to get his recording career going. It forced him to look for other avenues to make it in the music business. That included songwriting. By building up this skill, he didn’t have to rely on others for the material that would put him over the top.

Eventually, he carved out a niche with unique musical arrangements that veered between rock, country, and non-pop forms such as Spanish bolero music. And he transformed into the artist folks sought when they wanted to wallow in their misery. “Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)”, “Running Scared”, and “Crying”, all from 1960 and 1961, established him in this vein.

Betting on the “Over”

Even as the music industry changed drastically during this time, Orbison stayed true to his signature sound. Not even getting to know The Beatles in 1963 changed him at all. That allowed him to score yet again with “It’s Over” in 1964.

Orbison’s songwriting partnership with early collaborator Joe Melton had been severed by this time. “It’s Over” united him for the first time with Bill Dees, who would also go on to write “(Oh) Pretty Woman” with the artist. Fred Foster ladled the typical Orbisonian production touches on the track.

“It’s Over” soared to the Top 10 in the US upon its release. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that the song hit No. 1 in England. In the year 1964, which was dominated by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, he was the only American act to reach the top spot in the UK.

Examining the Lyrics of “It’s Over”

In “It’s Over”, Orbison turns his formula on its head a bit by singing in the second person. This allows him to commiserate with all the bereft folks in his audience. “Your baby doesn’t love you anymore,” he begins, a theme that’s echoed by the days, the nights, the rainbows, and the setting suns in the song’s verses.

Orbison hopes that the person he’s addressing can face up to these issues rather than hide away. “But oh, what will you do?” he asks. “When she says to you/There’s someone new/We’re through, we’re through.”

Orbison takes the title refrain into the ether as the song progresses, the final notes escalating as violins crash around him. He was singing “It’s Over”. But, as listeners, we never want weepers like this to end.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns