This week for Song Lyric Sunday, Jim has asked us to find a song that mentions our names. After much thought, I decided on Susie Darlin’ by Robin Luke.

The Story

According to Songfacts, the Los Angeles born singer-songwriter Robin Luke has a sister named Susie who is 11 years younger, but this song is not about her. In 2010, he explained to Forgotten Hits: “I simply put her name on it to keep me out of trouble with the other girls at Punahou School (my high school and where President Obama graduated exactly 20 years after me in 1978). There have been many chat groups that say that I wrote this song upon her death, illness, and other gruesome such stories. Susie is alive and well and living in Columbia, Missouri!”

This song has been described as a “bedroom recording,” as it was literally recorded in a bedroom. Luke explained: “The bedroom was a bedroom (not a studio) and we used a primitive Ampex portable tape recorded with ‘sound on sound’ and one microphone. I would lay down a track and then put on earphones and sing over the original track(s) to put another one on. This went well until a mistake was made, and then we would HAVE TO START ALL OVER! It took about one month to get it right with seven tracks. That is why Susie Darlin’ sounds so ‘mushy’… because each time a track was laid down on top of the others it took a great deal of high fidelity away.”

There were 17 versions of this song, in four languages.

Versions

Susie Darlin’ written by Robin Luke English

	Susie Darlin’	Robin Luke	June 1958	First release Hit song
	Susie Darlin’	Clyde Beavers	September 1958
	Susie Darlin’	John Laws	September 1958
	Susie Darling	Hal Burton	October 1958
	Susie Darlin’	Chris Howland	1958
	Susie Darlin	The Q Brothers	1958
	Susie Darlin’	Johnny Devlin and His Devils	February 1959
	Susie Darlin’	Tommy Roe	September 1962
	Suzy Darlin’	Rocking Jo Jo and His Red Angels	1992
	Susie Darlin’	Sweet Mikey C	2009

Suzie darling written by Michèle Libert French

Suzie darling

Richard Anthony

1958

First release

Suzie Darling written by Eddy Roy French

Suzie Darling

Les Bel Air

1967

First release

Oh, Susie Darling written by Peter Moesser German

	Susie Darlin’	Tommy Kent – Horst Wende Tanzsolisten	1958	First release
	Susie Darling	Tony Sandler	1959
	Susie Darlin’	Benny	April 1976
	Susie Darling	Rudolf Rock & Die Schocker	1977

Querida Susy written by Óscar Madrigal Spanish

Querida Susy

Óscar Madrigal

1962

First release

The Lyrics

I stood a-watchin' all night long
I stood a-watchin' all night long
I stood a-watchin' till you went away

You were a girl of many charms
Oh, how I loved you in my arms
I never thought that you would ever go
Because I loved you so

Oh-uh, Susie darlin'
I thought that you knew
You were all the world to me
All my dreams come true

I stood a-cryin' all night long
I stood a-cryin' all night long
Cryin' and wishin' you'd come back to me
Thinking of all the dreams we knew
Now that you're gone they won't come true
My heart is empty without you
Nothin' there but misery

Oh-uh, Susie darlin'
I thought that you knew
You were all the world to me
All my dreams come true

Now-ow I stand a-watchin' all night long
I stand a-watchin' all night long
Knowing that life has nothing left for me

I'll wait around most patiently
Hopin' you will return to me
'Til that happy day I will always be
Watchin' all night long

Oh-uh, Susie darlin'
I thought that you knew
You were all the world to me
All my dreams come true

The Video