Patsy Cline Song Peculiarities

From my earliest time as a Patsifan, I've always been interested in those little quirks in Patsy's songs... odd sounds (mistakes? heaven forbid) or musical mishaps that shouldn't normally be in a recording... or just fun little things to listen closely for in Patsy's songs.  Some are easily heard, others must be pointed out.  Some are heard only through certain types of equipment.

(There aren't many; Patsy's as perfect as they come!)

A Church, A Courtroom, and Then Goodbye
(CD#1, TPCC)
A wonderful opportunity to hear the moments just before the song was recorded.  We hear random piano notes and a little testing of the steel guitar.  Unintelligible speaking.  Then we hear, "Okay, rolling," then unintelligible speaking, and then "102 take 3" before the song launches at 0:11.

Crazy
At 0:46, Patsy's voice breaks on "me."  And this song wouldn't be the same without the little tongue flip at the very end at 2:40!

Regarding this song, a Patsifan has notified me that on CD#3 of The Patsy Cline Collection, at various times, you can vaguely hear what Patsy is about to sing a split-second before she sings it.  It is apparently best heard on headphones, not through the stereo.  Has anyone else experienced this?  I haven't yet myself, but am still trying!

W. Moffett from WCOJ (West Chester, PA) writes:  "I haven't listened to this -- as a peculiarity -- but if the recording was made to magnetic tape (likely by late 1950s), there is the possibility of printthrough.  If the tape is left wound on the reel improperly, the sound from one layer can make a small but audible impression on the layer next to it.  Usually this is more than a 'split second,' more like a full second, or even 1.5 sec, depending on the circumference of the tape remaining on the reel at the moment of the printthrough.  Another possibility is that it was mastered through a tape deck that had an extra playback head (intended for playback in the reverse direction).  The extra head should have been disabled.  But if it was live, you would get a second reproduction of the sound, faintly.  And it would be only about 1/15 or 1/30 of a second off, depending on the record/playback speed they used.

Crazy Arms
A rarity:  Patsy's voice breaks on the word "way" at 0:19.

Crazy Dreams
At 1:24 in the song, Patsy sings "once you were mind" instead of "once you were mine."

Faded Love
Is it just me, or do the violins in the beginning shift from left to center then back to the left, as I listen in my headphones?  And for those of you who are new to Patsiana, yes, Patsy is crying throughout the song ~ her sob at the end (3:30) was not created for mere effect; it is genuine.

From Stephanie Henry:  "On the CD 'Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits' at 1:02 there is a Patsy lipsmack before she starts singing 'I miss you darlin'...'  It's pretty audible with regular speakers! Hope you can find it."

Foolin Round
A lot of Patsifans wonder what Patsy is saying at the end in that little Cajun accent.  Beginning at 2:01 at the end of the song, you can hear her say, "Please come on home, baybee, I'm waiting for you, see?  Mm-hmm!  Just for you!  Fool around with me baybee!"  You really have to turn up the volume to catch that last sentence, and may even need headphones to hear it.

Gotta Lot of Rhythm in My Soul
At 1:26 in the song when Patsy sings "Ooo-whee" for the second time, she doesn't quite make it and her voice breaks.  That's okay, she makes up for it the final time at 2:01!

The Heart You Break May Be Your Own
Patsy's voice breaks unintentionally on the word "learn" at 0:21.

Honky Tonk Merry Go Round
(CD#1, TPCC)
What a treat to hear the moments in the studio just before the gang launches into the song!  The very first moment, it sounds like someone says, "Bobby, we're rolling."  The drummer is tapping with his sticks, the guitar is being strummed a bit, the fiddler is testing his strings, and Patsy is coughing and sniffling. Then someone says, "Allright, let's go."  Then there is further scolding (unintelligible) and 2 claps.  It sounds like the scolder may be trying to show the scoldee the proper rhythm of something by clapping it out, or it could be someone clapping just to get everyone's attention.  You then hear, "Here we go" and then "Okay, rolling, 103, take 5."  Then if you continue listening carefully, someone taps out the rhythm with his (her?) heel 3 times before the first fiddle note officially begins the song at 0:15.

Patsifan George Hewitt writes with the following:
During the studio announcement on TPCC copy of this song, if you listen closely, the most prominent voice is saying, "Bobby, we're rolling... we're rolling... this is a great song, folks. (Scolding) Bobby, no (what sounds like?) Kitty Wells... don't get messed up!  Okay, rolling, 103 (the song catalog number), take 5."  Whoever the studio announcer is (possibly Owen's assistant?) is most likely talking to Bob Moore, who was playing the acoustic bass on this session. Meanwhile, one of the other musicians (or possibly even Bill McCall, as he was likely supervising Patsy's first session) is reassuring her, saying, "Alright let's go... *clap clap* you go."  And it's almost like the two clapping sounds could more likely be this dude either patting her on the shoulder, or someone else, reassuring them.  Just a thought. :)

I Can't Forget
At the very beginning of the song, between the 4th and 5th piano notes at 0:04, if you listen closely, you can hear Patsy inhale and exhale deeply.

If I Could Only Stay Asleep
("Walkin' After Midnight" album by Razorback Records)
Meade Skelton writes with the following:
Not one of my favorites, but I was listening to "If I Could Only Stay Asleep" several times over because ~ and I'm not kidding ~ it sounds as if there are people talking in the background... very faint, but it sounds that way. It is noticeable especially at the very end when she pauses for "If I could only... only stay... asleep." I was thinking it could be my imagination, but then again it might not be. Perhaps they were going for an "atmosphere" effect, to make it sound as if she were singing in some uptown cafe' with martini glasses and rich folks mumbling in the background...?

I'll Sail My Ship Alone
At 1:31, Patsy's voice breaks on the word "hoping."

I'm Moving Along
Patsy chooses her own lyrics at times, thank you very much, and here's a perfect example.  When Patsy should be singing "I've got no love, no cares, no heartaches, I'm leaving them all behind," Patsy instead sings, "I've got no love, no cares, just heartaches" at 0:41.  The Jordanaires sing the proper lyrics (1:15).

I've Loved and Lost Again
(CD#1, TPCC)
As the track opens, we hear two guitar strums and "93-43, take 10" before the song launches at 0:03.

Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do
(CD#2, TPCC)
I have never been able to hear this oddity through my stereo system at home.  I first heard it in my car, and I am now able to hear it best through a cheap set of headphones, but never through my expensive set of headphones.  Once I became aware of it, it blew me away.  Try it with headphones first.  I don't know how else to describe it, but you are in Patsy's mike... in her head!  From the first instant, it sounds like everyone has just finished laughing about something.  There is tapping going on.  Then you hear, "Here we go... ready? 1-2-3-4" just before the song launches.  Between "here we go" and "ready" Patsy is making smacking sounds and then I swear to you she suppresses a burp or hiccup!  It starts after "ready" and she swallows during the count at "2" at 0:04.  It's the damndest thing.

Also, I wonder why Patsy sings "love me, love me, honey do" throughout the song?  Does anyone know who instigated the change, and why it is not reflected by a change of the song's title?

She's Got You
(CD#3, TPCC)
The track opens with the Jordanaires preparing their harmonies.  This is instantly interrupted by someone in the booth at 0:01 saying, "Okay, go, go, go," and as he switches his mike, you can actually hear the echoes of his "go's" in the studio.  Then if you listen carefully, you hear a count, "1-2-3," as someone taps it out (it almost sounds like a metronome, a sort of clicking sound), and the song launches at 0:07.

Stop, Look and Listen
(CD#1, TPCC, alternate take)
The track opens by cutting into what is being said, but it definitely ends with "take 4."  And there are 2 taps after that, just before the song launches at 0:03.

At 1:07, Patsy sings, "I-I'm afraid he'll burn his motor out!" while the lyrics as sung in the released version are, "But I'm afraid someday he'll burn his motor out!"

Sweet Dreams
This is a famous quirk, without which this song would not be the same.  Before launching into the second verse, you plainly hear a Patsy lipsmack as she opens her mouth to sing, "You don't love me" at 0:51.

That's How a Heartache Begins
(CD#4, TPCC)
At about 0:08, Patsy does a lipsmack before she begins singing. (Thanks to Madelyn!)

That Wonderful Someone
(CD#1, TPCC)
If you listen with headphones, when Patsy first sings "That wonderful someone," there is a brief shift in the L/R balance at about 0:09.  I haven't yet checked this song on other CDs for this quirk.

This input from George Hewitt:
You had mentioned that on TPCC Disc 1 copy, during the Anita Kerr introduction, the stereo balance shifts briefly between the L-R positions.  This is actually a glitch of the originial master tape, as for TPCC, the Country Music Foundation used "original mastering sources."  The digital mastering process reveals limitations in the original analogue source tape, uneven winding and tape degradation (causing this balance shift) being one of them.  Other tracks included on TPCC where this glitch is notable include: "I Don't Wanna," the alternate take for "Stop, Look and Listen," and "Hungry For Love," all of which can be best heard through headphones.  Another MCA album where this mastering glitch is even MORESO noticeable is the album "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" (MCAD-1463 on CD), most notably on "I Can See An Angel" and "I Love You, Honey."  These glitches could all be avoided if they downmixed her mono tracks back to "mono" on the digital tape after mastering, but they wanted to make every effort to preserve the original integrity of the songs, especially on the boxed set from 1991.

Then You'll Know
(CD#1, TPCC)
The track opens in the middle of a conversation "... have a little bit more from you Remo (?) on the first 2 chords, it's soft, 'cause they're soft (then a male clears his throat)  All right?  Go from 1...."  Patsy clears her throat, then a count starts, "1-2-3" and the song launches at 0:09.

There He Goes
(CD#2, TPCC)
At 00:9, a split second before Patsy starts to sing, there is a lipsmack and then she inhales.  It’s not hard to catch, but it is quick and faint, so you do have to listen closely. (Thanks to Theresa Shalaby!)

Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray
(CD#1, TPCC)
The track opens with someone guitar picking down the scale and unintelligible speaking.  Then at 0:04 we hear "Yeah," then at 0:07 "Allright, here we go (unintelligible)" and at 0:09 Patsy clears her throat.  At 0:11 the pianist gives the chord, then we hear "1-2" and a backup singer lipsmack as the song begins at 0:15.

I hate to say it, but Patsy almost starts to go flat at the end of her final note (rare as hen's teeth) starting at about 2:23.

George Hewitt gives his input:
Ever since first listening to the studio announcement on TPCC copy of this track, I've always had this 'nagging' feeling that this song took quite a long while to work out, probably taking the bulk of the time slotted for the session.  As it was, I have a feeling that there was, quite possibly, a lot of tension during this session.  After all, Bill went over Owen's head and moved Patsy to New York for this (and the previous) session, so Owen was probably not even there, or there and pissed right off, (just a thought LOL, as Paul Cohen was heading up this session), and Patsy was most likely tense, as the New York sessions produced the sound furthest from what she wanted her records to sound like, and also because by 1957 she would've been used to Owen's methods of doing things, and would be a little uneasy/unsure how to proceed with Paul Cohen.  Not only that, but I'm sure everyone in the studio was tired that day after the New York Decca A&R hopefuls had hauled in a brass section entirely for "Too Many Secrets."  At the track's opening, the studio announcer is caught discussing (most likely the progress of the song) with someone else in the studio, and agrees to something said with an unenthusiastic "Yeah," followed with a "Here we go, one more..." as Patsy clears her throat and a chord is heard on the piano.  If this was, say, a take 4 or 5, they wouldn't be saying an unenthusiastic "Here we go, ONE more," and rather, it sounds more like possibly a take 13 or 14.  Also I saw your little note about how Patsy struggles to keep from going flat on her note at the song's closing, possibly indicating that she's tired, or tired of the song, or just mad about doing that whole "wannabe pop/uptown" kinda thing.  Again, just another thought :)

Too Many Secrets
At the very moment of the song's completion, the drummer either drops his sticks or shifts them in his hands at 2:15.

Walking After Midnight (remake)
At the very end of the song, there is a tongue flip at 1:57.

When I Get Thru With You (You'll Love Me Too)
I'd love an answer to the question:   why does Patsy sing "true" rather than "too" in this song?  Actually, "true" makes more sense in the context of the song, but did Patsy decide to make the change, or was this someone else's decision?

Why Can't He Be You
CD#4 of the boxed set would not be the same if it didn't begin with the quirk of this song.  At 0:11, Patsy once again smacks those lovely lips as she opens her mouth to begin the song.

Yes, I Understand
I'm not sure if the lyric was written this way, but Patsy sings "stoled" instead of "stole" at 0:32.

Patsy gets just slightly out of sync while harmonizing with herself when she sings "a hundred years" the last time at 2:28.

You Belong to Me
I love this one because it is so rare:  Patsy sings "see the marketplace IND old Algiers" instead of "in old Algiers" at 0:41.