Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation. According to biographer John Swenson, Haley later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. The spit-curl caught on as a 50's style signature, although Haley and others had worn the hairstyle much earlier.
In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a Pennsylvania-based western swing band called The Down Homers run by Kenny Roberts. It has often been reported in musical reference works that Haley's first professional recordings were made with the Down Homers on a pair of singles released in 1946 by Vogue Records. This was later debunked by Roberts and others, stating Haley had already left the group by the time the singles were made. In the early 2000s, however, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered and Haley is definitely present as he is identified by name and sings a solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel"; these recordings were commercially released for the first time in 2006.
After gaining experience with the Down Homers, Haley set out on his own, forming several groups such as the Range Drifters and the Four Aces of Western Swing. With the Four Aces, he made a number of regionally successful country music singles in the late 1940s for Cowboy Records while working as a touring musician and later a radio DJ at WPWA. (Many of Haley's early recordings from this period would not be released until after his death.) After disbanding the Four Aces and briefly trying a solo career using the names Jack Haley and Johnny Clifton (as chronicled in the biography Sound and Glory), Haley formed a new group called The Saddlemen in either 1949 or 1950 (sources vary as to the exact year); this new group recorded for several labels, including one single for Atlantic Records, Haley's first exposure to a major national record company. In 1951, Haley was signed to Dave Miller's Philadelphia-based Holiday Records and began to change musical styles, recording cover versions of "Rocket "88"" (previously recorded by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats), and in, 1952, "Rock the Joint", previously recorded by several bands including Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians. (By the time of "Rock the Joint", Haley had graduated from Holiday Records to Miller's larger Essex label.) The relative success of these recordings (both sold in the 75,000-100,000 copy range in the Pennsylvania-New England region) convinced Haley that his new and as-yet officially unnamed hybrid of country and rhythm and blues could be a commercial success.and some of his family lives in oklahoma and there is a road named after his family.
There Goes My Everything
Bill Haley Lyrics
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There goes my everything
I hear footsteps slowly walking
As they gently walk across the lonely floor
And a voice is softly saying
Darling this will be goodbye for evermore
There goes the one of my dreams
There goes my only possession
There goes my everything
As my memory turns back the pages
I can see the happy years we've had before
Now the love that kept this heart beating
Has been shattered by the closing of the door
The lyrics to Bill Haley's song "There Goes My Everything" speak of heartbreak and loss, conveying a sense of profound sadness and despair. The first two lines set the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer laments the loss of their "only possession" and "everything." The next two lines describe the sound of footsteps approaching, as the singer hears a voice saying that this is goodbye for good. The repetition of "there goes" throughout the chorus underscores the finality of the situation and the depth of the singer's grief.
Throughout the rest of the song, the singer reflects on their memories of happier times with their former lover, and expresses the pain that they feel now that the relationship has ended. The lines "There goes my reason for living / There goes the one of my dreams" highlight the degree to which the singer's entire identity was wrapped up in the relationship, and how lost they feel without it. The final stanza, in which the singer looks back on the love that once sustained them and mourns its loss, adds to the overall sense of melancholy and heartbreak that runs through the entire song.
Overall, "There Goes My Everything" is a powerful and evocative depiction of a shattered romance, with lyrics that convey the sense of hopelessness and despair that often accompanies such an experience.
Line by Line Meaning
There goes my only possession
The one thing I had, the only thing I possessed, is gone now.
There goes my everything
Without that possession, I have nothing left. My whole world is gone.
I hear footsteps slowly walking
Someone is leaving, and I can hear their footsteps moving away from me. The pace is slow, indicating sadness or regret.
As they gently walk across the lonely floor
The person is walking softly, almost as if they are trying not to wake or disturb anything. The floor is described as 'lonely,' likely because it emphasizes how empty the room feels now that they are leaving.
And a voice is softly saying
The person who is leaving speaks to the singer, but their voice is soft, indicating tenderness or sadness.
Darling this will be goodbye for evermore
The person confirms that they are leaving, and uses the word 'darling' to indicate affection or love. However, they say 'goodbye for evermore,' which suggests that they do not plan to return or reconcile in any way.
There goes my reason for living
The person who is leaving was the singer's 'reason for living,' which likely means that they were the source of the singer's happiness and reason to keep living. With them gone, the singer may feel that there is nothing left to live for.
There goes the one of my dreams
The person who is leaving was the singer's 'dream,' or perfect partner. They were everything the singer wanted in a romantic partner, and now they are gone.
As my memory turns back the pages
The singer reflects on memories of their time with the person who is leaving. This is represented as the singer's memories turning back 'pages,' as if they are flipping through an imaginary book.
I can see the happy years we've had before
The singer remembers times in the past when they were happy with the person who is leaving. This contrasts with the current moment, where the singer feels empty and alone.
Now the love that kept this heart beating
The singer's love for the person who is leaving was a vital force in their life, something that kept them going and made them feel alive.
Has been shattered by the closing of the door
The act of the person who is leaving walking out the door has had a devastating effect on the singer. Their love has been 'shattered,' or broken into pieces, by this action.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dallas Frazier
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind