I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song

Jim Croce

Well, I know it’s kind of late
I hope I didn’t wake you
But what I got to say can’t wait
I know you’d understand
’cause every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

Yeah, I know it’s kind of strange
But every time I’m near you
I just run out of things to say
I know you’d understand
’cause every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

’cause every time the time was right
All the words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

Yeah, I know it’s kind of late
I hope I didn’t wake you
But there’s something that I just got to say
I know you’d understand
’cause every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

Notes

“I’ll Have To Say I Love You In a Song” was written by Jim Croce, 1973.

Jim Croce died in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, September 20, 1973.

"I'll Have To Say I Love You In a Song" hit #9 on the charts, posthumously, in 1974. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time In a Bottle" were both #1 hits.

His wife, Ingrid, has an autobiographical cookbook, "Thyme In a Bottle," in which she writes interesting anecdotes about Jim Croce.

In her book Ingrid shares the story behind "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song."

"One weekend, after being on the road for many months, Jim got a chance to come home to relax with his family. We settled in to enjoy our time alone together. Though Jim was expecting company the next day, avoiding confrontation he never told me that we were to be joined by an entire film crew! The next morning, fifteen people from Acorn Productions descended upon our house to record a promotional film of Jim Croce at Home on the Farm.

I prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole film crew and after the group left, I questioned Jim about our finances. After a year and a half of his working so very hard on the road, we were barely making ends meet, but Jim wouldn't talk about it. He hated questions as much as he hated confrontation, especially about money. He stormed out of our bedroom and went down to the kitchen table to brood. The next morning he woke me gently by singing his new song. "Every time I tried to tell you/the words just came out wrong./So I'll have to say I love you, in a song."

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