Enlisted during World War II, he learned arranging while playing with an Air Force band. After the war, he first settled in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he got a lot of practice arranging for the many musical combos formed there by ex-service musicians. But he returned to New York City in 1947 and joined the staff orchestra at radio station WNEW.
Mure stayed with WNEW for ten years, but picked up occasional studio work on the side. He played on a couple of the Three Suns' singles and in bands backing singers such as Helen Merrill and Della Reese. He wrote the arrangement for one of Reese's biggest hits, "My Heart Reminds Me," as will as Bobby Freeman's early rock hits, "Do You Want to Dance?" and "Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes." He also dabbled in film scoring, for Kim Novak's Five Against the House and No Down Payment, wrote the theme for legendary New York DJ Murray the K, and even composed and conducted music for several children's albums released by MGM in the mid-1960s. One of his odder odd-jobs was arranging and conducting a Beatles cash-in album by the Nutty Squirrels, better known as Don Elliott and Sascha Burland. Supersonic Guitars album cover
But for space-age pop fans, Billy Mure is best known for his incredible albums of sizzling guitar work and tape pyrotechnics. Like Buddy Merrill, Mure followed Les Paul's pioneering work in multitracking, recording separate guitar tracks, often speeding them up for spectacular effects. Unlike Paul, he didn't enjoy consistent label sponsorship, so his albums sold poorly and are now hard to find.
His first album, recorded for RCA Victor, was Super-Sonic Guitars In Hi-Fi. Released in 1957 in glorious mono, it featured Mure playing four guitars with two sets of drums and one bass player. It wasn't quite rock and roll, but it was certainly much more frenetic than most contemporary instrumental music. His next recording, descriptively titled, Fireworks, was recorded in RCA's legendary "Living Stereo," and Mure penned four original numbers: "Firecrackers", "Dancing Guitars", "Guitar Theme" and "Crackerjack". He also added a third drummer and a vocal chorus. His first MGM album is in the same vein, and there are hyperactive performances to be found on his Hawaiian albums for the low-budget label Strand.
In 1963, he left RCA, where he'd been on the A&R staff, and formed his own independent production company, BM Productions. He worked with a variety of pop and rock and roll acts, most of them minor, but achieved at least one chart topper with Marcie Blane's hit, "Bobbie's Girl."
His later albums--sometimes credited to fictitious groups such as the Palm Beach Band (for a "Winchester Cathedral" clone) tend to be tame wannabe versions of then-current trends.
Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Billy Mure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be,
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
In the slickest gig you ever see!
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop!
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The dashboard's genuine leather,
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
In case there's a change in the weather.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
You can keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keep to swap
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
Did you say the fringe was made of silk
Wouldn't have no other kind but silk
Does it really have a team of snow white horses
One's like snow, the others more like milk
All the world'll fly in a flurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
The cows'll moo in the clover,
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
And whisper it over and over
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever and you'd never stop
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
When we drive back home in the surrey,
Drivin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
I can feel the day gettin' older,
Feel a sleepy head on my shoulder,
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill,
The moon is takin' a header,
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'!
Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin'
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin' at a slow clip clop.
Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
The lyrics of Billy Mure's song "Surrey With the Fringe On Top" describe a romantic outing the singer is planning with his date. He will take her for a ride in a stylish surrey, pulled by a beautiful team of snow-white horses. The surrey has a fringe made of silk and upholstery in brown color, with a dashboard made of genuine leather. They will be able to roll down the isinglass curtains in case of a change in the weather. As they ride, they will be watched by curious onlookers, including chicks, ducks, and geese. The singer takes great pride in the surrey with the fringe on top and prefers it to any other rig.
As they ride through the countryside, they will experience the beauty of nature. The fringe will flutter in the wind as the singer drives the horses at a high speed. The birds will sing, the cows will moo, and the river will hum a melody. The singer wishes the ride could go on forever, but it will eventually come to an end. As they return home slowly, he feels a sense of contentment with his date's head on his shoulder.
Overall, the lyrics capture the spirit of a perfect romantic outing, filled with beauty and contentment. The singer takes great pride in the surrey and cherishes his time with his date.
Line by Line Meaning
When I take you out, tonight, with me,
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be,
I have plans to take you out tonight, and here's what's going to happen when we go out.
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
In the slickest gig you ever see!
We will ride in a fancy, sleek carriage pulled by a team of beautiful white horses.
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
The farm animals in the area will move quickly when they see us driving by in the carriage.
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
We will specifically be riding in a carriage that has a fringe on the top.
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
The fringe on the top of the carriage will flutter as we ride, especially when the high-stepping horses take off.
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop!
People will be curious and peek through their windows to see what all the commotion is about when we ride by.
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The dashboard's genuine leather,
The carriage has yellow wheels, brown upholstery, and a dashboard made of real leather.
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
In case there's a change in the weather.
There are curtains made of a transparent material that can be rolled down in case the weather changes.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
The carriage has two bright sidelights that blink and it is the finest one I can think of.
You can keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keep to swap
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
I wouldn't swap my shiny little carriage with the fringe on the top for anyone else's carriage.
Did you say the fringe was made of silk
Wouldn't have no other kind but silk
The fringe on the top of the carriage is made of silk and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Does it really have a team of snow white horses
One's like snow, the others more like milk
Yes, my carriage really does have a team of snow-white horses, one of which is like snow and the others are more like milk in color.
All the world'll fly in a flurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Everyone will be excited and bustling when they see us ride by in our fancy carriage with the fringe on top.
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
When we hit the road, we'll be going fast and everything around us will seem to be dancing, singing, and hopping.
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
The cows'll moo in the clover,
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
And whisper it over and over
The wind will whistle past us as we move quickly, cows will moo in the fields, and the river will make a whispering sound over and over again.
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever and you'd never stop
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
Wouldn't it be great if we could just keep riding in our shiny little carriage with the fringe on the top forever?
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
When we drive back home in the surrey,
Drivin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
As we slowly drive back home in our carriage with the fringe on top, the stars will start to blur together from our motion.
I can feel the day gettin' older,
Feel a sleepy head on my shoulder,
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
As the day gets later, I will start to feel sleepy and your head will nod and droop on my shoulder until you fall asleep.
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill,
The moon is takin' a header,
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
As we ride, the sun will be setting and the moon will be rising, and just as I start to think the world is perfectly still, a lark will wake up in the meadow.
Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'!
Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin'
Be quiet, little bird, my companion is sleeping and may be dreaming something worth holding onto.
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin'
at a slow clip clop.
Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
Halt, horse team, and proceed slowly with the carriage, making a clip clop sound. No need to rush in our fancy carriage with the fringe on the top.
Contributed by Avery Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.