Marty Robbins – To Be In Love With Her: The Sacred Weight of a Silent Devotion
In the vast, star-swept landscape of Marty Robbins’ discography, there are songs that feel like thundering gallops across the plains, and then there are those that feel like a single candle burning in a dark room. “To Be In Love With Her,” a hauntingly beautiful track from his 1962 masterpiece Portrait of Marty, belongs to the latter. As the album carved its place in history, reaching Number 7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, this song stood out as a profound meditation on the “burden” of a love so deep it becomes a person’s entire world. It is a song for the heart that doesn’t just “feel” love, but lives and breathes it as a spiritual vocation.
To remember “To Be In Love With Her” is to recall the exquisite craftsmanship of the Nashville Sound at its most poetic. When Marty performed this—his silhouette framed by the amber lights of the Grand Ole Opry—he didn’t just sing; he offered a confession. The story behind this recording is a testament to vocal intimacy. While the era was often defined by lush orchestras, Robbins and his producers allowed this track to breathe with a quiet, almost reverent atmosphere. With the Jordanaires providing a soft, ethereal hum that feels like the echoes of a cathedral, Marty’s velvet baritone became a vessel for a love that is as heavy as it is beautiful.
The story within the lyrics is an exploration of total emotional surrender. The narrator describes a love that is not a choice, but a destiny. He speaks of the “cost” of such a devotion—the sleepless nights, the constant worry, and the way her presence (or absence) dictates the very weather of his soul. It is a narrative of exquisite vulnerability. He isn’t describing a fleeting romance; he is describing a state of being where his identity is completely intertwined with hers. It is the story of a man who realizes that to love her is to walk through the world with his heart permanently exposed, finding a strange, masochistic glory in the “ache” of such a profound connection.
The profound meaning of this ballad strikes a deep, resonant chord with a mature audience because it honors the gravity of a lifelong commitment:
- The Weight of the “Only One”: It acknowledges that true love isn’t always “easy” or “light.” For those of us who have loved a partner through decades of change, the song validates the sheer emotional labor and the “burden of care” that comes with being truly devoted.
- The Beauty of Self-Sacrifice: There is a nostalgic dignity in the narrator’s acceptance of his fate. It reflects a time when “giving oneself over” to another was seen as a noble pursuit, rather than a loss of independence.
- The Persistence of Awe: Even after all the years, the narrator still speaks of her with a sense of wonder. It honors the “spark” that survives the mundane reality of daily life, proving that some loves never lose their power to move us to our core.
Marty Robbins delivers this performance with a voice that is as smooth as aged wine but carries a distinct, trembling “catch.” His signature vibrato is used here to emphasize the words “love” and “her,” making them feel like sacred icons. The arrangement is quintessential early-60s elegance—featuring a weeping pedal steel guitar that sounds like a distant sigh and a rhythmic, “ticking” acoustic guitar that suggests the steady, unwavering passage of a life dedicated to another. For our generation, “To Be In Love With Her” is a timeless sanctuary; it reminds us that while love may be a heavy cross to bear, it is the only thing that truly gives our journey meaning.