In the fifties after many failed attempts to sell his songs, he finally was signed up with Capitol Records and recorded a few rock and roll songs without much chart success. Just before he was drafted into the Army, he wrote a song called 'The All American Boy' and did a demo for his friend, Bill Parsons, to learn and record it. Instead of using the version Bill Parsons did later, the record company, Fraternity Records, decided to use the original demo done by Bobby Bare. The record reached number 2 on the Billboard Top 100, but it was wrongly credited to Bill Parsons.
His real big break came when RCA boss and guitarist Chet Atkins signed him to the RCA label. The first song he released on this label, 'Shame On Me', sold nearly a million copies and pushed Bobby Bare to fame overnight. His second RCA release, 'Detroit City' won him a Grammy for the best song of the year. Then a surge of hits followed, including '500 Miles Away From Home', 'Four Strong Winds' and others. He has also recorded two very successful albums with Skeeter Davis and has also dueted with Lacy J. Dalton and Rosanne Cash and additionally had a major hit as part of a trio with Norma Jean (singer) and Liz Anderson in 1967 titled 'The Game of Triangles'.
He moved to Mercury label in 1970 and had two big hits from early Kris Kristofferson compositions, 'Come Sundown' and 'Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends' before returning to RCA label where he produced his own records. Later Bare moved to CBS label and in 1979, he helped establish Rosanne Cash's career by singing with her on "No Memories Hangin' Round". Bare's singles for Columbia Records included 'The Jogger', 'Tequila Sheila', 'Gotta Get Rid Of This Band', 'When Hippies Get Older' and 'Numbers'. He later recorded for EMI with little success.
Bobby Bare is a versatile singer, and in the 70s started to release novelty songs recorded live with selected audiences. One of such songs, 'Marie Laveau' about a witch, reached the number one position on the country chart. This song was written by his friend, a very talented song writer, poet, author and cartoonist Shel Silverstein. He also penned many other songs for Bobby Bare including a Grammy nominated hit called 'Daddy What If' which he recorded with his five year old son, Bobby Bare Jr, who later became a star on his own. Bobby Bare later recorded a very successful album with his family and penned mainly by Shel called 'Singing in The Kitchen'. It was nominated for best group category in Grammy Awards but was declined by Bobby himself.
He later took chances recording strange, controversial material as 'Dropkick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life)' (a 1976 Grammy nominee) and the expletive-driven 'Redneck Hippie Romance' with much success.
Bobby Bare is also the first to come up with a concept album called 'Bird Named Yesterday' which was very successful. His most successful concept album is 'Lullaby Legends and Lies'.
Bobby Bare was also given an opportunity to star in the movies. He did a Western with Troy Donahue called A Distant Trumpet, and a few episodes of a TV series called No Time for Sergeants. He turned his back on Hollywood to pursue his career in Country Music.
In 1998 he formed the band Old Dogs together with his friends Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Waylon Jennings.
In addition to the above, Bobby Bare is credited for introducing Waylon Jennings to RCA. He is also one of the first to record from many well known song writers such as Jack Clement, Harlan Howard, Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newberry, Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. He later had a TV series called 'Bobby Bare & Friends, A Song Writer Showcase'. Recently, he has recorded a new album after over 20 years called 'The Moon Was Blue' produced by his son. His son, Bobby Bare, Jr., is also a musician.
A Million Miles to the City
Bobby Bare Lyrics
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We were told that the city could only bring us harm
Well how far away is the city you know that's a great big town
And Barbara said why it's a million miles and then the story got around
It's a million miles to the city from the hills and valleys we know
It's a million miles to the city and some day we all wanna go
There was a town nearby but a town is a town and a city that's somethin' else
The buildings're taller than oak trees ah but we knew better than that
Cause ain't nobody could climb that high the city was wide and flat
It's a million miles
The years have passed and we have grown and traveled far and wide
The cities have changed the kids we were we see it in each other's eyes
Lord I'd love to go back to those hills again to the boy I used to be
Where the leaves in the wind and the whippoorwills
Were all just a part of the land like me
It's a million miles
The song "A Million Miles to the City" by Bobby Bare tells a story of a group of children who grew up on a farm and were warned about the dangers of the city. They were told that the city was a great big town that could only bring them harm. As kids, they would ask how far away the city was, and Barbara would answer that it was a million miles. This became a kind of urban legend among them, and they all dreamed of one day going to the city that was a million miles away.
The children knew that there was a town nearby, but they were told that the city was something else entirely. The buildings were taller than oak trees, but they knew that no one could climb that high. As they grew up and traveled far and wide, they saw how the cities had changed, but they still remembered the stories of their childhood, and they longed to go back to the hills where they grew up. They wanted to go back to a time where the leaves in the wind and the whippoorwills were all just a part of the land like they were.
The lyrics of this song reveal the innocence and longing of childhood. The city represents a great big unknown world that is both exciting and scary at the same time. As adults, the characters in the song have grown to understand the complexities of life, but they still remember and cherish the memories of their childhood.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember it now we were kids back then living down on the farm
Recollection of youthful years spent on a farm in the countryside
We were told that the city could only bring us harm
Admonished against the perils of city life
Well how far away is the city you know that's a great big town
Asking the distance to the metropolis known as the 'city'
And Barbara said why it's a million miles and then the story got around
Exaggerating the distance to the city to emphasize how far it is
It's a million miles to the city from the hills and valleys we know
Reiterating the vast distance from the countryside to the city
It's a million miles to the city and some day we all wanna go
Despite the distance, we still aspire to visit the city someday
There was a town nearby but a town is a town and a city that's somethin' else
Acknowledging the nearby town, but highlighting the difference between it and the city
Our daddy had been to a city but he never was much help
Father had visited the city before, but it didn't assist in painting a clear picture of the city
The buildings're taller than oak trees ah but we knew better than that
Aware that the city's buildings surpassed the height of even the largest trees
Cause ain't nobody could climb that high the city was wide and flat
Realizing that the city's infrastructure and layout was different from the open landscape of the countryside
The years have passed and we have grown and traveled far and wide
Time has passed, and the youth have grown and explored different regions
The cities have changed the kids we were we see it in each other's eyes
Even though time has changed them, they can still see the children they once were in each other's eyes
Lord I'd love to go back to those hills again to the boy I used to be
Expressing desire to revisit the hills of their youth and relive the memories of their childhood
Where the leaves in the wind and the whippoorwills
Describing the natural surroundings of the countryside
Were all just a part of the land like me
Feeling a sense of belonging to the land and the environment surrounding them
It's a million miles
Emphasizing again the great distance that separates them from the city
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TOM T. HALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind