Heard It In A Love Song by The Marshall Tucker Band

Album: Carolina Dreams (1977)

Charted: 14

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This is the Marshall Tucker Band's biggest hit on the Pop charts, and remains their best-remembered song. In spite of its up tempo, it's rather sad. Written by Toy Caldwell, the song is about a man who has lived on the road from town to town and affair to affair. Here, he's been with a woman who's been good to him and who he actually loves, but he can't stay with her because the call of the road is too strong. >>
Suggestion credit:
Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
Toy Caldwell, who died of heart failure in 1993, was the band's guitarist and wrote most of their songs. His wife Abbie Caldwell told us: "He didn't read music, and played by ear. He jotted down words on any piece of paper available."
Mark Chesnutt recorded this as the title track of his 2006 album Heard It in a Love Song.

Comments: 15

Camille from Toronto, OhDean from Hoover, Alabama, I heard this song the other day and was blown away by the piano. You are right, it is quite awesome!
Renard from OhioThe Marshall Tucker band got their name from the source of a Grand Piano. With most of the founding members gathered around a Grand Piano one of the members looked inside it. There in the corner was a business card that simply said, "Pianos tuned . Marshall Tucker."
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 19th 1977, the Marshall Tucker Band played at the Jimmy Carter presidential inauguration ball in Washington, DC...
A little under two months later on March 6th their "I Heard It In a Love Song" would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #78...
{See the next post below}.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 6th 1977, "I Heard It In a Love Song" by the Marshall Tucker Band entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #78; and thirteen weeks later on June 5th, 1977 it peaked at #14 {for 2 weeks} and spent 21 weeks on the Top 100...
It reached #5 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart...
Between 1975 and 1980 the Southern rock/country sextet had seven Top 100 records; their next biggest hit was "Fire on the Mountain", which peaked at #38 in 1975...
Sadly, three of the six original members have passed away; lead guitarist & vocalist Toy Caldwell {1947 - 1993}, rhythm guitarist George McCorkle {1946 - 2007}, and bassist Tommy Caldwell {1949–1980}...
May they all R.I.P.
Ramon Avila from Orlando,fl.What can I say, one hell of a song to listen to.
Brent from Denair, CaThe opening flute and lyrics of "I ain't never been with a woman long enough for my boots to get old" is pure classic! This is a must have to any rock or country collection.
Dean from Hoover, AlI love the flute in this song too, but the piano is awesome too! Just a great, great song!
Kevin from Savannah, GaLove the lyrics (and the flute - if that's what you guys say makes that purty noise). But, I *still* don't have a clue about what it was he "heard in a love song". And now you tell me the guy what wrote it ain't alive no more. Well, crap. Now I'll never know. But, I do sorta get a kick out what you English majors think you've figgered out. :-)
Kim from Watertown, CtLove Love Love this song. I hope and imagine that a certain lost love thinks of me when he hears it. but recently i have heard it this way: that he makes admissions of loving her and wanting her because he heard these things said in love songs. may not feel anything.
Camille from Toronto, OhThe song is just fabulous. I agree, the dude sends mixed messages and I'm sure he never did leave, tho he thought he had good intentions of doing so. The flute, oh, the flute is what sets this apart from so many other pop/rock songs; makes it memorable. Every time my husband and I hear it on the car radio, we'll comment, "fabulous flute".
Kevin from Lodi, MoYes this was their most successful song commercially, but not near the top of my favorite Toy Caldwell-penned MTB songs. Toy was indeed a gifted songwriter. Songs such as "24 Hours At a Time", "Blue Ridge Mountain Sky", Take The Highway", but also ones that are beautifully written, often about being a good man - "Am I the Kind of Man", "Keeps Me From All Wrong", and one of my very favorites, a beautiful song called "In My Own Way" - a song no doubt written for his wife Abbie. Had the pleasure of meeting Toy in 1991 and he is still one of the greatest artists I have ever met. Toy was one of a kind, from his songwriting to his thumb-picking guitar slinging style. Rest in peace Toy and Tommy Caldwell. You both left us too soon.
Johnnys Cousin Steve from Villas, NjI agree with the 3 comments below...Like he doesn't want to leave, but he has to because that's what happens in all the "love songs" he's heard over the years...so, he figures this is what needs to happen.
It doesn't strike me as a sad song at all. Great tune - I play it at my gigs. I get a lot of requests for The Marshall Tucker Band.
Erin from Clarksville, Pa"we've been together so long now, they've both been re-soled." What a line. Great? Sad? Hilarious? All. It gets me every time...
Oldpink from New Castle, InI tend to agree.
He is doing a bit of a parody of all the love songs that can all too often be so trite.
Whatever he means, it's still a very nice song, and yes, the flute definitely adds to the song.
Joshua from La Crosse, WiHmmm... I had always interpreted this song as a dry attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor - each verse a string of mutually contradictory lines, sending mixed messages as to whether the man intends to leave or stay with his lover, with the chorus ("Heard it in a love song... can't be wrong") meant to explain away the obvious absurdity of it all.

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