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Green, Green Grass of Home

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For the album, see Green, Green Grass of Home (album). For the film, see The Green, Green Grass of Home.

"Green, Green Grass of Home"
Single by Porter Wagoner
from the album On the Road: The Porter Wagoner Show
B-side"Dooley"
ReleasedJuly 1965
RecordedJune 7, 1965
StudioRCA Studio B, Nashville
GenreCountry
Length2:24
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Curly Putman[1]
Porter Wagoner singles chronology
"I'm Gonna Feed You Now"
(1965) 		"Green, Green Grass of Home"
(1965) 		"Skid Row Joe"
(1965)
"Green, Green Grass of Home"
Single by Tom Jones
from the album Green, Green Grass of Home
B-side"Promise Her Anything"
ReleasedNovember 1966
GenreCountry pop
Length3:05
LabelDecca Records F22511[1]
Songwriter(s)Curly Putman[1]
Producer(s)Peter Sullivan[1]
Tom Jones singles chronology
"This and That"
(1966) 		"Green, Green Grass of Home"
(1966) 		"Detroit City"
(1967)

"Green, Green Grass of Home", written by Claude "Curly" Putman Jr., and first recorded by singer Johnny Darrell in 1965, is a country song made popular by Porter Wagoner the same year, when it reached No. 4 on the Country chart.[2] It was also recorded by Bobby Bare and by Jerry Lee Lewis, who included it in his album Country Songs for City Folks (later re-issued as All Country). Tom Jones learned the song from Lewis' version and, in 1966, he had a worldwide No. 1 hit with it.

Lyrics

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The singer returns to his childhood home for what seems to be his first visit there since leaving in his youth. When he steps down from the train, his parents are there to greet him, and his sweetheart, Mary, comes running to join them. They meet him with "arms reaching, smiling sweetly". With Mary, the singer strolls at ease among the monuments of his childhood, including "the old oak tree that I used to play on", feeling that "it's good to touch the green, green grass of home".

Abruptly, the singer switches from song to recitation, as he awakens and sees "four grey walls" surrounding him and realizes that his return home was only a dream and that he is actually in prison. As he resumes singing, we learn that the singer is waking on the day of his scheduled execution.[3] He sees a guard and "a sad old padre" who will walk with him to his execution at daybreak, and then he will return home "in the shade of that old oak tree, as they lay me 'neath the green, green grass of home".

The Joan Baez version ends: "Yes, we'll all be together in the shade of the old oak tree / When we meet beneath the green, green grass of home."

Tom Jones version

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Welsh singer Tom Jones, who was appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1965, visited Colony Records while staying in New York City. On asking if they had any new works by Jerry Lee Lewis, he was given the new country album.

Impressed with the song, Jones recorded and released the song in the UK in 1966 and it reached No. 1 on December 1, staying there for a total of seven weeks.[4] The song also spent 7 weeks at No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart.[5] The song has sold over 1.25 million copies in the UK as of September 2017.[6] Jones' version also reached No. 11 pop, No. 12 easy listening on the Billboard US charts.[7]

In September 2006, Jones performed the song as a duet with Jerry Lee Lewis during the taping of the latter's Last Man Standing TV special in New York City, and credited Lewis with providing the inspiration for his own recording.

Charts

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Chart (1967) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 14
Canada Adult Contemporary Singles (RPM) 10
Canada RPM Top 100[11] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 11
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[17] 12
West Germany (GfK)[18] 6

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 1,257,737[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 106. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Porter Wagoner's "Green, Green Grass of Home" Chart Position Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  3. ^ Tom Jones, "The Green Green Grass Of Home" Video Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  4. ^ "All the Number One Singles - 1966". Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  5. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Copsey, Rob (June 5, 2020). "Tom Jones's Official Top 20 most-streamed songs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  7. ^ "Green, Green Grass of Home (song by Tom Jones) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. December 24, 1966. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 4, 1967" (PDF).
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Tom Jones". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home". VG-lista. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  15. ^ "Tom Jones: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Tom Jones Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  17. ^ "Tom Jones Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 3, 2020. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Tom Jones"
  19. ^ Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Tom Jones – Green Green Grass of Home". British Phonographic Industry.
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