About The Song
“Make the World Go Away” was written by Hank Cochran and first recorded by Ray Price in 1963, reaching number two on the Billboard country chart. The same year Timi Yuro released a pop version that entered the Hot 100. Jim Reeves recorded the song on July 2, 1964, during what proved to be his final session for RCA Victor.
That day Reeves cut three numbers—“Make the World Go Away,” “Missing You,” and “Is It Really Over?”—before using the remaining studio time to record “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” The session took place less than a month before his death in a plane crash on July 31, 1964. “Make the World Go Away” became the opening track on the posthumous album *The Jim Reeves Way*, released in 1965.
The lyric is a plea for comfort and escape. The singer asks the listener to hold him close and make the problems of the world disappear, if only for a while. Reeves delivers the lines in his characteristic smooth, restrained style, giving the request a quiet urgency rather than dramatic intensity. The arrangement remains consistent with the polished Nashville Sound production associated with his later work under Chet Atkins.
Although Reeves’ version was not issued as a major commercial single, the song itself continued to find success. Eddy Arnold recorded it the following year and turned it into a number-one country hit that also crossed over strongly to the pop charts. Later covers, including one by Donny and Marie Osmond, kept the composition in circulation.
For Reeves the recording belongs to the small group of tracks completed in his final weeks. Along with the other songs from that July session, it forms part of the last studio work he left behind. The album *The Jim Reeves Way* reached the upper ranks of the country charts and helped sustain interest in his catalogue in the months after his death.
Within Reeves’ discography “Make the World Go Away” stands as a late example of the calm, conversational ballad style he had refined over the previous several years. It reflects both the quality of material he was still choosing at the end of his career and the controlled delivery that remained constant until the final sessions.
Video
Lyric
Make the world go away
Make the world go away
And get it off my shoulder
Say the things you used to say
And make the world go away
Do you remember when you loved me
Before the world took me astray
If you do then forgive me
And make the world go away
Make the world go away
And get it off my shoulder
Say the things you used to say
And make the world go away
I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you
I’ll make it up day by day
Just say you love me like you used to
And make the world go away