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.
Don´t Think Twice It´s All Right
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And there ain't no use to sit and wonder why babe if you don't know by now
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn look out your window I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm traveling on don't think twice it's all right
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light babe a light I'll never know
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light babe I'm on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was something you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
[ ac. Guitar ]
I'm walkin' down that long lonesome road babe where I'm bound I can't tell
But goodbye is too good a word gal so I'll just say fare thee well
Now I ain't seeing you treated me unkind you could have done better but I don't mind
You just sorta wasted my precious time don't think twice it's all right
Don't think twice it's all right
The song “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” by Bobby Bare is a melancholic expression of a man who is leaving his lover. The song conveys a sense of resignation to the end of the relationship, as well as a sense of controlling the narrative of the break-up. The lyrics show that the man has already made up his mind and is traveling on, and even if the woman were to change her ways, it would not interfere with his decision.
The first verse emphasizes the singer's certainty of leaving, highlighting that there is no need to wonder why he is leaving. Instead, he encourages his lover to accept the situation and move on. In the second verse, the singer acknowledges that he is departing on a dark road, indicating that the break-up will be difficult, but wishes that there was something his lover could say or do to make him reconsider leaving.
The final verse seems to suggest that the singer still cares for his lover but recognizes that the relationship has been "wasted time." Ultimately, however, the chorus reminds us that the singer is resolved in his decision to leave, and thus the relationship is beyond repair.
Line by Line Meaning
There ain't no use to sit and wonder why babe it don't matter nayhow
It's pointless to wonder why things are the way they are.
And there ain't no use to sit and wonder why babe if you don't know by now
If you don't have answers by now, it's not worth pondering anymore.
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn look out your window I'll be gone
I'll be leaving early, so when you wake up, I won't be there.
You're the reason I'm traveling on don't think twice it's all right
I'm leaving because of you, but I'm not going to second guess my decision.
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light babe a light I'll never know
No point in leaving your light on for me, I'll never see it.
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light babe I'm on the dark side of the road
I'm on a journey where light doesn't reach me, it's pointless to leave your light on.
Still I wish there was something you would do or say
Even though I've made up my mind, I wish you would say or do something to change it.
To try and make me change my mind and stay
I'm hopeful that you might be able to make me second guess my decision not to stay.
We never did too much talking anyway don't think twice it's all right
Our communication was never great, so it's not worth overthinking things now.
I'm walkin' down that long lonesome road babe where I'm bound I can't tell
I'm on a path towards an unknown destination, and I'm alone.
But goodbye is too good a word gal so I'll just say fare thee well
Saying goodbye feels too formal, so I'll just say farewell instead.
Now I ain't seeing you treated me unkind you could have done better but I don't mind
You didn't mistreat me, but there's room for improvement, but I'm not upset.
You just sorta wasted my precious time don't think twice it's all right
You didn't treat me badly, but you did waste my time, and I'm not going to question my decision to leave you.
Don't think twice it's all right
I've made my decision, and it's not worth second-guessing it now.
Contributed by Adalyn V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@koeselitzzz
Better than Dylan. Thanks!
@NinjaBuckeye
it's great. Nothing is better than Dylan though!