Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass. The band played regularly on a Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station, and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke on the Water", "Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".
Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM, frequently moving. In 1950, he had two top ten hits, "Ida Red Likes the Boogie" and "Faded Love", which were his last hits for a decade. Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances, but continued to perform frequently despite the decline in popularity of his earlier music as rock and roll took over. Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys although Wills continued to perform solo.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music.[4] In 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He was recording an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose until his death in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999.
He was born near Kosse, Texas; his father was a fiddle player who along with his grandfather, taught the young Wills to play the fiddle and the mandolin. After several years of drifting, "Jim Rob," then in his 20s, attended barber school, got married, and moved first to Roy, New Mexico then to Turkey, Texas (now considered his home town) to be a barber. He alternated barbering and fiddling even when he moved to Fort Worth to pursue a career in music. It was there that while performing in a medicine show, where he learned comic timing and some of the famous "patter" he later delivered on his records, the show's owner gave him the nickname "Bob."
In Fort Worth, Wills met Herman Arnspinger and formed The Wills Fiddle Band. In 1930 Milton Brown joined the group as lead vocalist and brought a sense of innovation and experimentation to the band, now called the Light Crust Doughboys due to radio sponsorship by the makers of Light Crust Flour. Brown left the band in 1932 to form the Musical Brownies, the first true Western swing band. Brown added twin fiddles, tenor banjo and slap bass, pointing the music in the direction of swing, which they played on local radio and at dancehalls.
Wills remained with the Doughboys and replaced Brown with new singer Tommy Duncan in 1932. He found himself unnable to get along with future Texas Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, the authoritarian host of the Light Crust Doughboy radio show. O'Daniel had parlayed the show's popularity into growing power within Light Crust Flour's parent company, Burrus Mill and Elevator Company and wound up as General Manager, though he despised what he considered "hillbilly music." Wills and Duncan left the Doughboys in 1933 after Wills had missed one show too many due to his sporadic drinking.
After forming a new band, "The Playboys" and relocating to Waco, Wills found enough popularity there to decide on a bigger market. They left Waco in January of 1934 for Oklahoma City. Wills soon settled the renamed "Texas Playboys" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and began broadcasting noontime shows over the 50,000 watt KVOO radio station. Their 12:30-1:15 Monday-Friday broadcasts became a veritable institution in the region. Nearly all of the daily (except Sunday) shows originated from the stage of Cain's Ballroom. In addition, they played dances in the evenings, including regular ones at the ballroom on Thursdays and Saturdays. By 1935 Wills had added horn, reed players and drums to the Playboys. The addition of steel guitar whiz Leon McAuliffe in March, 1935 added not only a formidable instrumentalist but a second engaging vocalist. Wills himself largely sang blues and sentimental ballads.
With Tears In My Eyes
Bob Wills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You wouldn't forgive me, so you went away
My yesterdays haunt me, my weary heart cries
I just can't go on, dear, with tears in my eyes
If you ever need me, oh, please let me know
Wherever you lead me, I'm willin' to go
The past is a flower that withers and dies
With tears in my eyes, dear, I begged you to stay
You couldn't forgive me, so you went away
I made a mistake, dear, by tellin' you lies
Now I lay awake, dear, with tears in my eyes
No more to be sweetheart, no more to be friend
Just give me a chance, dear, and I'll make amends
My yesterdays haunt me, my weary heart cries
I just can't go on, dear, with tears in my eyes
The song "With Tears in My Eyes" by Bob Wills is a soulful reflection on the pain and regret of a failed relationship. The singer in the song is left alone with nothing but memories of their past, and the pain of their mistakes weighs heavily on their heart. They are haunted by the events that led to their partner leaving them and are unable to move on. Even though they beg for forgiveness, their partner has already moved on, leaving them to suffer in loneliness.
Throughout the song, the singer begs for a chance to make amends and reclaim their lost love. They are willing to do anything and go anywhere, and their desperation is palpable in the lyrics. They acknowledge their mistake and regret the lies they told, hoping for a chance to redeem themselves. But despite their pleas, their partner is gone, and they are left alone with nothing but their tears.
The song serves as a poignant reminder of the power of regret and the pain of loss. It showcases Bob Wills' ability to capture the raw emotions of a brokenhearted lover and has become a classic of the country music genre.
Line by Line Meaning
With tears in my eyes, dear, I begged you to stay
I pleaded with you to stay but my eyes fill with tears because you left anyways.
You wouldn't forgive me, so you went away
You left because you couldn't forgive me for what I did wrong.
My yesterdays haunt me, my weary heart cries
My past mistakes trouble me and my heart is heavy with sorrow.
I just can't go on, dear, with tears in my eyes
I cannot continue living like this with my eyes filled with tears.
If you ever need me, oh, please let me know
If you ever require my assistance, please inform me.
Wherever you lead me, I'm willin' to go
I am prepared to follow you wherever you go.
The past is a flower that withers and dies
The past is ephemeral, and it fades away with time.
I'll wake up tomorrow with tears in my eyes
I'm going to cry myself to sleep and wake up tomorrow with puffy eyes full of tears.
I made a mistake, dear, by tellin' you lies
I regret misinforming you with lies.
Now I lay awake, dear, with tears in my eyes
I spend my nights awake, lamenting my mistakes, and my eyes are full of tears.
No more to be sweetheart, no more to be friend
We are no longer lovers or friends.
Just give me a chance, dear, and I'll make amends
Please grant me an opportunity to correct my mistakes and make it up to you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HOWARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind