With a reputation as one of country music’s most diverse artists, Conway Twitty wasn’t afraid to take on any style – including sensual ones. One particular track in that category that really stuck with fans was “I’d Love to Lay You Down.”
Meaning Behind the Song
Conway Twitty kicked off the ‘80s with a Johnny MacRae track titled “I’d Love to Lay You Down.” It was the first single from his album Heart & Soul, which the Country Music Hall of Fame described as a signifier of a more contemporary-sounding era of Conway Twitty songs and a “more open, less guilt-ridden sexuality.”
The country superstar wasn’t a stranger to steamy songs, considering his earlier releases “You’ve Never Been This Far Before,” “I See The Want To In Your Eyes,” and “I’ve Already Loved You In My Mind.” But this one seemed to hit that sexiness a notch higher, rendering it quite controversial from the perspective of many men who called the track risque.
Here’s why: They interpreted the song as a man seducing a random woman for a night of fun. But that couldn’t be further from the message.
For You
The song was meant to be an intimate love song about a longtime married couple who wanted to keep the flame alive by expressing their love physically. But more importantly, this was a song that countered a recurring theme in the genre about cheating husbands and women growing less appealing as they age.
This was a man who was really in love with his woman – finding her attractive in her faded cotton gown and her hair all up in curlers and just as lovely even when her auburn hair was already turning silver and lines were already showing up on her face. And he kept reassuring her, telling her how much it meant for him to have her around.
Despite the controversy around it, “I’d Love to Lay You Down” was a chart-topper, earning Twitty his 24th career number-one single on the country charts. In 2002, fellow country singer Daryle Singletary covered the song and sent it to number 43.
If you’re a married man like the one in the song and you’re looking for a way to charm your wife, then “I’d Love to Lay You Down” by Conway Twitty is the perfect song to do so. Listen to it in the video below.
