“Don’t Let Her Know”
Song by Ray Charles
Ray Charles covered the then-recent Buck Owens song “Don’t Let Her Know” on his 1965 LP Together Again (a.k.a. Country And Western Meets Rhythm And Blues). It’s the final of several Buck Owens tracks scattered throughout the album; it wasn’t released on a single.
“Don’t Let Her Know” is a sweetly played, fragile inner monologue during which the singer struggles not to let his heartache show, lest his ex-lover see. Buck Owens wrote the song with his guitarist Don Rich and, interestingly, his ex-wife Bonnie Owens; it appeared originally on the 1964 Buck Owens and His Buckaroos LP I Don’t Care.
Lips, make a smile on my face
Eyes, don’t let her see you shed a tear
Heart, don’t you skip a beat
Pride, don’t let her know how much I care
The angelic Jack Halloran Singers, by this time an established feature of much of Ray’s music, begin “Don’t Let Her Know” with a chilly, wordless chorale, all clouds and softness. The group also sings the song’s title during the desperate, pleading choruses.
On the first line of both verses, and only the first lines, a lone female voice (not a Raelet, apparently) joins Ray to contribute the male/female dynamic he always loved. In keeping with the lonely lament of “Don’t Let Her Know”, having the woman’s voice abruptly absent after that initial phrase underscores the sudden and cruel solitude Ray finds himself in. She was just here; now she’s gone. It’s another subtle Ray touch that accentuates the meaning of a performance.
The album’s liner notes mention this song in an all-too-brief passage:
The Jack Halloran Singers and rhythm section back Ray in his slow, moody interpretation of “Don’t Let Her Know”.
The instrumentation of Ray Charles’ “Don’t Let Her Know” is simple: drums and discreet acoustic guitar mete out the pace while Ray’s own expert piano provides heartful, teary melodies beneath the vocals.
Ray’s singing is particularly nice on this song, sliding dolefully between notes and isolating a word here and there for much added emphasis, like a man sniffing and sobbing in stops and starts. Frail and barely hopeful, Ray’s performance on “Don’t Let Her Know” is one of his finer country tunes.
Listen to “Don’t Let Her Know”
Songs on Together Again