Tom Jones – “Let It Be Me”: A Letter to His Wife from a Lonely Star
In 1969, when Tom Jones stood beneath the soft studio lights of This Is Tom Jones, the world saw a confident man in a velvet suit, with a voice that could shake the walls of any theatre. But behind that power was something quieter — a longing that only his wife Linda could understand.
A Song Meant for Millions, But Dedicated to One
“Let It Be Me” wasn’t originally Tom’s song. It was written in French as Je t’appartiens, later turned into an English love ballad made famous by The Everly Brothers. Yet when Tom Jones sang it on his TV show, it became something else entirely — intimate, aching, and almost like a confession.
He had been touring nonstop for years. From Las Vegas to London, from screaming crowds to hotel rooms where silence felt deafening, Tom was living the dream most singers only imagined. But fame, as he would later admit, often came with a price — distance.
And that night in 1969, as he looked into the camera and whispered, “Don’t take this heaven from one…”, it was as if he wasn’t singing to the audience, but to Linda, the woman waiting for him across the ocean.
The Hidden Message in His Voice
Few people knew that Tom Jones and Linda had already weathered countless storms together. Married since 1957, they had a bond that fame couldn’t break — but it did test. While tabloids painted Tom as a ladies’ man, Linda knew the truth: the man behind the spotlight often called home just to hear her breathe.
“Let It Be Me” captured that private part of him — the part that still needed reassurance, still feared being replaced. When he sang “Don’t ever leave me lonely…”, it wasn’t just a lyric. It was a plea.
Linda once said in an interview decades later,
“He didn’t need to tell me what he felt — I could hear it in his songs.”
A Glimpse Behind the Showman
The 1969 performance shows Tom not as a superstar, but as a man stripped of his armor. No hip-shaking, no roaring crowd. Just a tender voice, trembling slightly with something real. It’s the sound of a man remembering why he started singing — not for fame, but for love.
The love that stayed at home. The love that grounded him.
Legacy of a Love Unspoken
Years later, when Linda passed away in 2016, Tom confessed that he had never stopped singing for her. “Every love song I sing,” he said, “still belongs to her.”
“Let It Be Me” remains one of his most personal moments on screen — not because it was flawless, but because it was honest. It was the sound of a husband speaking across distance, time, and fame… saying the same thing he did in 1969:
“If life’s a chain of choices — then let it be you.”