About The Song
“Crazy Arms” is a country song performed by Ray Price, released in May 1956 as a single on Columbia Records, later included on various compilations. Written by Ralph Mooney and Chuck Seals in 1949, the 2:34 track expresses the heartbreak of unrequited love with lyrics like: “Blue, blue, blue is the color of the blues / Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new.” The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts (jukebox, best sellers, and radio airplay) in June 1956, spending 20 weeks at the top, including nine consecutive weeks from July 28 to September 28 and two more weeks starting November 3. It was named Billboard’s No. 1 country single of 1956 and remained on the chart for nearly a year, ranking as the fourth greatest country hit of all time. This marked Price’s first No. 1 hit, establishing his Texas shuffle sound.
The song was recorded on February 4, 1956, at Bradley’s Barn in Nashville, produced by Don Law. Session musicians included Jack Pruett and Pete Wade on guitars, Jimmy Day on steel guitar, Buddy Killen on bass, Tommy Jackson on fiddle, and Floyd Cramer on piano. The arrangement features a 4/4 rhythm with pedal steel guitar, walking electric bass, and fiddle, defining the honky-tonk style. The chord progression is C-F-G, with the refrain “Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new,” per singingcarrots.com. A live performance was recorded on Stars of the 50s in 1956, available on YouTube, and a 2008 version with Bobby Atcheson on fiddle was uploaded. Price performed it on The Merv Griffin Show in 1956.
Ray Price, born Noble Ray Price on January 12, 1926, in Perryville, Texas, was a country music singer and guitarist known for his baritone voice. He gained fame with this hit, later recording classics like “For the Good Times” (1970) and “Night Life” (1963). Price charted numerous singles, earning induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He continued performing into his late 80s until his death on December 16, 2013. Covers include Jerry Lee Lewis (1956), Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and Marie Osmond, with over 20 versions listed. Price said in a 1956 interview: “That song put me on the map—Ralph and Chuck gave me something special.”
The song is on Spotify, featured in the 1956 single release and compilations like The Essential Ray Price (1995). YouTube hosts uploads including a 2010 video and a 2008 live clip. Lyrics are on Genius and AZLyrics, often noted for their emotional depth. The song inspired a 1999 Grammy Hall of Fame induction. Fans on X posted on May 13, 2025, calling it “a timeless country classic,” and it remains a standard in honky-tonk music.
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Lyric
Blue, blue, blue is the color of the blues
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new
But my yearning heart keeps saying you’re not mine
My arms, my crazy arms keep holding you in mindOut of sight, out of mind they say
But my eyes don’t seem to work that way
When teardrops fall like rain and I call your name
My arms go crazy tooBlue, blue, blue is the color of the blues
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new
But my yearning heart keeps saying you’re not mine
My arms, my crazy arms keep holding you in mindThe storm is brewing in this heart of mine
Like a bitter wine I’m gonna drink it all
And when my eyes are blinded I can see
That my arms will stay blue ’til you set me free
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