Throughout Patsy Cline‘s short career, and the nearly 100 songs she recorded from 1955 through her death in 1963 at 30, she primarily relied on a collection of some of the era’s best songwriters to deliver her hits.
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Born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, Cline started singing at 15 on her local radio station WINC and later appeared on the Town and Country TV series by the early 1950s. Soon after getting her first record contract with 4 Star in 1954, Cline had her first hit single “Walkin’ After Midnight,” followed by her national TV debut on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. Written by Alan Block and Don Hecht, “Walkin’ After Midnight” was also a crossover hit for Cline, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 12 on the Hot 100.
Just four years before Patsy Cline had her biggest hits with “I Fall to Pieces,” written by regular collaborators Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard, and the Willie Nelson-penned “Crazy,” her heyday of other hits throughout the early 1960s, including “Leavin’ on Your Mind,” “She’s Got You,” and “When I Get Thru With You (You’ll Love Me Too),” was preceded by a few songs she also wrote under her birth name.
[RELATED: A Look Behind the Death of Patsy Cline and Her Lasting Legacy Today]
Though Cline later left the majority of the songwriting to other writers for the three albums within her lifetime—Patsy Cline (1957), Showcase (1961), and Sentimentally Yours (1962)—and the dozens of singles and other songs released posthumously, she also co-wrote and recorded two songs, credited as Virginia Hensley, in 1957.
Here’s a look at the only two songs Cline wrote before her big breakthrough.
1. “Don’t Ever Leave Me Again” (1955)
Written by Virginia Hensley (Patsy Cline), James Crawford, and Lillian Claiborne
Released on Cline’s self-titled debut in 1957, “Don’t Ever Leave Me Again” is the story of two lovers who have been separated once before but cannot stand to be left apart again, and speaks to the universal fear of abandonment and loss.
Wake up every morning, heart’s full of pain
Looked out the window and it’s pouring down the rain
And I cry, “Baby, oh, baby, don’t ever leave me again”
I miss your loving, your kisses too
Ain’t nothing on earth, I wouldn’t do for you
And I cry, “Baby, oh, baby don’t ever leave me again”
When rain starts falling and I start calling
Oh baby, how I love you
My heart is crying, I feel like dying
Baby you know, I want you so
Tell me that you’re mine till the end of time
And I cry, “Baby, oh, baby, don’t ever leave me again
Don’t ever leave me again”
When rain starts falling and I start calling
Oh baby, how I love you
My heart is crying, I feel like dying
2. “A Stranger in My Arms” (1957)
Written by Virginia Hensley, Ethel Bassey, Charlotte White, Mary Lu Jeans
Also composed under her name, Virginia Hensely, “A Stranger in My Arms” follows the slow and steady ending of a love affair, and is the second song Cline co-wrote and recorded in 1957.
“A Stranger in My Arms” and “Don’t Ever Leave Me” were also released on a posthumous Cline compilation, Encores, in 1963.
Tho’ you try you can’t conceal it
Love has brought us only storms
I can see your eyes revealin’
Your a stranger in my arms
Say goodbye to our romancing
We have lost the flame that warms
Tho’ I hold you while we’re dancing
Your a stranger in my arms
Ev’ry story has an ending
This is where our story ends
Please don’t hurt me by pretending
For lovers never can be friends
Thru the years your love will haunt me
And I’ll dream about your charms
Still I know you’ll never want me
Your a stranger in my arms
Photo: GAB Archive/Redferns
