Torn Between Two Lovers (song)

For the Mary MacGregor album, see Torn Between Two Lovers (album).

"Torn Between Two Lovers" is a song written by Peter Yarrow (of the folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary) and Phillip Jarrell that speaks about a love triangle, and laments that "loving both of you is breaking all the rules". Mary MacGregor recorded it at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1976 and it became the title track of her first album.

"Torn Between Two Lovers"
French picture sleeve
Single by Mary MacGregor
from the album Torn Between Two Lovers
B-side	"I Just Want to Love You"
Released	November 1976
Recorded	1976
Studio	Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama
Genre	Soft rock[1]
Length	3:40
Label	Ariola
Songwriter(s)	Peter Yarrow Phillip Jarrell
Producer(s)	Peter Yarrow Barry Beckett
Mary MacGregor singles chronology
"Torn Between Two Lovers" (1976) "The Girl (Has Turned Into a Woman)" (1977)

Chart performance

"Torn Between Two Lovers" reached No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart in February 1977 and achieved the same position on the Easy Listening chart in the final week of 1976 and first week of 1977.^[2] It remained in the Billboard top 10 for ten weeks,^[3] and was ranked as the No. 10 song for 1977. It also hit No. 1 on the Canadian charts, and peaked at No. 3 on the country charts of both nations.^[4] In March 1977, it was No. 4 in the United Kingdom.^[5]

Weekly charts Chart (1976–1977) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 14 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8] 1 Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[9] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[11] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 4 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[14] 6 UK Singles (OCC)[15] 4 US Billboard Hot 100[16] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[17] 1 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[18] 3 US Cashbox Top 100[19] 1 West Germany (GfK)[20] 40

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Rank Australia [21] 7 Canada RPM Top Singles [22] 9 New Zealand [23] 46 UK [24] 58 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [25] 10 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary [26] 19 U.S. Cash Box [27] 5

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28]	Gold	50,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

In 1977, Gracie Rivera recorded "Torn Between Two Lovers" as the first track for her debut album, Gracie. The song became a hit with Hongkongers and carved her name in their music scene in the '70s.

"Torn Between Two Lovers" has also been recorded by Johnny Rodriguez for his 1977 album Practice Makes Perfect, Anna-Lena Löfgren for her 1979 album Lev Som Du Lär and Anita Meyer for her 1984 album Face to Face. Connie Francis recorded "Torn Between Two Lovers" for her 1989 album release Where the Hits Are which was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and contained a number of songs whose original versions were Muscle Shoals recordings. Sharon Cuneta recorded her version for her album Isn't It Romantic Volume 2 in 2007. Joey Sontz recorded his version for his debut album Chasing the Dream in 2012.

"Torn Between Two Lovers" has been rendered in a number of languages, including Cantonese, "中間人" by Faye Wong from the album Shirley Wong; German, "Zwischen zwei Gefühlen" by Penny McLean; Portuguese, "Só, entre dois amores" by Celly Campello (pt); Dutch, "Hulpeloos verloren" by Conny Vandenbos; French, "Drame entre deux amours" by Claude François; Swedish, "Ge mig dina tankar" by Wizex; and Spanish, "Entre dos amores" by Christie Lee.

The song was mentioned in the lyrics of Dolly Parton's 1984 country single "God Won't Get You".

TV movie

"Torn Between Two Lovers" inspired the title of a television movie aired in 1979, starring Lee Remick, George Peppard and Joseph Bologna, in which the song is played.^[29]

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1977 (U.S.)
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1977

References

1. McDonough, Jimmy (4 March 2010). Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen. Penguin. ISBN 9781101189955 – via Google Books.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 152.
3. "All US Top 40 Singles For 1977". Billboard.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 211.
5. "MARY MACGREGOR | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
6. Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
7. "Mary MacGregor – Torn Between Two Lovers" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
8. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 5179." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
9. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 5272." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5168." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Torn Between Two Lovers". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
12. "Mary MacGregor – Torn Between Two Lovers" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
13. "Mary MacGregor – Torn Between Two Lovers". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
14. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (M)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
15. "Mary MacGregor: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
16. "Mary MacGregor Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
17. "Mary MacGregor Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
18. "Mary MacGregor Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
19. "Top 100 1977-02-26". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mary MacGregor – Torn Between Two Lovers" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
21. Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
22. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
23. "Top Selling Singles of 1977 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1977-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
24. "Top 100 1977 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
25. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
26. Billboard. 1977-12-24. p. Front cover. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
27. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1977". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
28. "Lovers Strikes Gold" (PDF). Cash Box. August 13, 1977. p. 58. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
29. Torn Between Two Lovers at Rotten Tomatoes