Till All The Rivers Run Dry (1975) – Don Williams

A happy quirk of the alphabetical sequence: we’ve just had my favourite female country voice in Alison Krauss, and now we arrive at my favourite male country voice, Don Williams. I’ve written before about how Don’s music played incessantly in our household while growing up west of Sydney, Australia. My father was a huge fan, and over the years I’ve become a keen follower as well.

Suffice to say, the man from Nashville – affectionately known as The Gentle Giant – has featured prominently here, although it’s been over a year since Don’s last appearance with Merle Haggard’s classic – Sing Me Back Home. Williams earned his nickname for his lanky frame, his calming voice – one that sounds as if he’s singing directly to the listener – and his modest demeanour. Fittingly, Alison Krauss once described his voice as “somewhere between Santa and the Almighty.”

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The following is taken from a brilliant article by Arden Lambert at Country Thang Daily – an all-encompassing, everything-you-want-to-know piece on Till the Rivers All Run Dry:

During his prolific career, which started in the early 1970s, Williams parlayed that voice to 17 No. 1 hits, including Till The Rivers All Run Dry. The song was released in 1975 as the first single from his album Harmony. It became his fourth No. 1 on the country chart, and it stayed in that position for one week, spending a total of twelve weeks on the country charts.

Written by Don William along with Wayland Holyfield, the song sings about eternal love, and it’s described through the lyrics. “Till the rivers all run dry. Till the sun falls from the sky. Till life on earth is through, I’ll be needing you,” the song begins.

And though he makes her wonder sometimes, through the things he says or does, one thing is for sure – he needs her. After all, whether your life is falling into place or spinning out of your control, if you love someone, you’d definitely need her by your side.

With “Till The Rivers All Run Dry,” we’ve fully understood how Don Williams became a crowd favorite during his radio days, not only in the United States but also overseas. He has fans all over the world, from Ireland to England to Africa until he retired from touring in 2006.

Garth Fundis, his longtime producer, revealed that Williams has an uncanny judgment when it comes to picking hit songs. Fundis told Billboard that Williams “never let himself stray from what he felt about music. I think that’s where the consistency comes from. It had to work for him in a simple way. 

He added, “Sometimes, we do orchestrations and get a lot of instruments going, but it was usually pretty simple. He always was the rudder that kept the bowel pointed in the right direction, to use a sailing term. It was wonderful how he could always take different kinds of songs, and by the time he was done with them, they all kind of fit together in a really wonderful way.”

Till the rivers all run dry
Till the sun falls from the sky
Till life on earth is through
I’ll be needing you

I know sometimes you may wonder
From little things I say and do
But there’s no need for you to wonder
If I need you, ’cause I’ll need you

Till the rivers all run dry
Till the sun falls from the sky
Till life on earth is through
I’ll be needing you

Too many times I don’t tell you
Too many things get in the way
And even though sometimes I hurt you
Still you show me, in every way

Till the rivers all run dry
Till the sun falls from the sky
Till life on earth is through
I’ll be needing you