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.
Dialogue: Two for a Dollar
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drove out in the valley to old Dan Cook's farm
A sign on the fence post put up with one nail read 10 a.m. sharp for big public sale
At least forty people were out in the yard
Looking for bargains they were dealing real hard
To buy up the pieces and find out the worth of fifty years living so close to the earth
Who'll give me five I got five now who'll give me ten
I'll call out the numbers and you just say when
Two for a dollar the price sure ain't bad
No bids for the carriage rottin' out by the shed
The one that they drove on the night they were wed
Five bucks for the brass bed a little bit worn
Not much for the place where the five kids were born
And the old parlor piano still sounded alright
Just as good as it did many Saturday nights
And the big round oak table where dinner was made
Brought almost as much as the tiffany shade
Who'll give me five...
Two for a dollar the price sure ain't bad
The lyrics of Bobby Bare's "Two for a Dollar" describe a scene of a public sale where people are looking to buy up the pieces of fifty years of living close to the earth. The singer tells us that he drove out to old Dan Cook's farm and found at least forty people in the yard, all looking for bargains and dealing real hard to find out the value of the possessions that were up for sale.
The items that are up for sale are not just objects, but they are pieces of someone's lifetime of memories, some happy, and some sad. The singer calls out the numbers, but he leaves it up to the buyers to decide when to say "when." We can sense how much these items mean to the people who are buying them, even as they haggle over the prices. For the singer, the price is "sure ain't bad" as he watches all these items being sold for two of them for a dollar.
The lyrics also describe some of the items that are up for sale, such as a carriage that is rotting out by the shed, a brass bed that is a little bit worn, and an old parlor piano that still sounds alright, just as good as it did many Saturday nights. The big round oak table, where dinner was made, brought almost as much as the tiffany shade. These items are not just objects but they are also tied to memories and stories, which make them more valuable to those who are bidding.
Overall, "Two for a Dollar" is a poignant song that describes a scene of a public sale and the emotional value of the objects being sold. It speaks to the importance of memories and how we can hold onto them through the items we possess.
Line by Line Meaning
Last Saturday morning I shut off the alarm
I turned off the alarm clock last Saturday morning
Drove out in the valley to old Dan Cook's farm
I went to Dan Cook's farm in the valley
A sign on the fence post put up with one nail read 10 a.m. sharp for big public sale
There was a sign on the fence post that said the public sale starts at 10:00 AM
At least forty people were out in the yard
There were at least forty people in the yard
Looking for bargains they were dealing real hard
They were trying hard to find good deals
To buy up the pieces and find out the worth of fifty years living so close to the earth
They wanted to buy the items and understand the value of fifty years of living on the farm
Who'll give me five I got five now who'll give me ten
Who will bid five dollars? I have five dollars, who will bid ten?
I'll call out the numbers and you just say when
I will announce the numbers and you just indicate when you want to bid
For a lifetime of mem'ries some happy some sad
The items being sold represent a lifetime of memories, some happy and some sad
Two for a dollar the price sure ain't bad
You can buy two items for one dollar, which is a good deal
No bids for the carriage rottin' out by the shed
No one placed a bid for the carriage that was decaying in the shed
The one that they drove on the night they were wed
That carriage is the one they used on their wedding night
Five bucks for the brass bed a little bit worn
The brass bed, which is slightly worn, was sold for five dollars
Not much for the place where the five kids were born
The house where their five children were born didn't go for a high price
And the old parlor piano still sounded alright
The old parlor piano still played music well
Just as good as it did many Saturday nights
It played just as well as it did on many Saturday nights in the past
And the big round oak table where dinner was made
The large, round oak table where they had dinner was also sold
Brought almost as much as the tiffany shade
It sold for almost as much money as the Tiffany lampshade
Two for a dollar the price sure ain't bad
The price of two items for one dollar is still considered a good deal
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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