Marty Robbins – To Get to You: The Tenacity of a Devoted Heart
In the late 1960s, Marty Robbins continued to prove that he was the preeminent “Songwriter of the Heart.” “To Get to You,” a standout track from his 1967 album Tonight Carmen, is a soaring testament to the lengths a person will go to reclaim a lost love. While the album itself was a massive success, reaching Number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums chart, this song remains a favorite for its relentless rhythm and its unwavering emotional drive. It is a song for anyone who has ever realized that no distance is too far and no obstacle too great when the heart has a clear destination.
To listen to “To Get to You” is to hear Marty at his most “athletic” and determined. The story behind this recording is one of musical momentum. Written by the legendary Jean Chapel, the song was a departure from Marty’s slower, more mournful ballads. Working with the rhythmic precision of the Nashville Sound, Marty infused the track with a sense of urgency—a “gallop” that feels like a rider pushing his horse to the limit. Recorded during his highly creative “Latin-infused” period, the song carries a hint of that Spanish flair while remaining firmly rooted in the tradition of the great American road song.
The story within the lyrics is a vivid inventory of heroic persistence. The narrator describes a journey that sounds almost mythical: he would “walk a burning desert,” “swim a freezing sea,” and “climb the highest mountain” just to be back where he belongs. It is a narrative of absolute commitment. He isn’t just traveling across land; he is traveling back through his own mistakes and regrets, determined to prove that his love is stronger than any trial. It is the story of a man who has finally figured out what matters most and is willing to move heaven and earth to reach it.
The profound meaning of this track strikes a deep, resonant chord with a mature audience because it honors the value of the “long haul”:
- The Validation of Persistence: It acknowledges that love isn’t always a stroll in the park; sometimes it’s a grueling trek. For those of us who have fought for our relationships or our families, the song is a powerful anthem of “not giving up.”
- The Clarity of Retrospect: The narrator’s desperation reflects a maturity that comes from loss. It acknowledges the realization that we often don’t know the value of what we have until we are miles—or years—away from it.
- The Power of the Promise: There is a profound sense of “word as bond” in Marty’s delivery. It reflects a nostalgia for an era when a commitment was a sacred vow, and “getting back to you” was the only honorable course of action.
Marty Robbins delivers this performance with a voice that is bright, powerful, and full of forward motion. He hits the high, sustained notes of the chorus with a clarity that feels like a lighthouse beam cutting through the fog. The arrangement is quintessential late-60s Nashville Sound—featuring a driving, rhythmic acoustic guitar, a steady “four-on-the-floor” beat, and the triumphant, swelling harmonies of the Jordanaires. For our generation, “To Get to You” is a timeless piece of romantic determination; it reminds us that while the road may be long and the terrain rough, the destination makes every mile worth the effort.