Torn Between Two Lovers by Mary MacGregor 🎶

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS by Mary MacGregor

Song written by Peter Yarrow (of the folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary) and Phillip Jarrell, 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. It also hit No. 1 on the Canadian charts, and peaked at No. 3 on the country charts of both nations. In March 1977, it was No. 4 in the United Kingdom.

MacGregor admitted in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson that she hated her own chart-topper, chiefly because she had little sympathy for the narrator of "Torn Between Two Lovers", a woman who confesses to her husband that she is having an affair, but pleads with her husband to stay with her and accept the situation. MacGregor also said that the song indirectly led to the breakup of her own marriage, because her career kept her away from home so often that her relationship with her husband strained, and they decided to separate. She did acknowledge that the song was successful because it appealed to listeners who had found themselves in the situation described in the lyrics.