Bobby Bare (born Robert Joseph Bare on April 7, 1935 in Ironton, Ohio) is a… Read Full Bio ↴Bobby Bare (born Robert Joseph Bare on April 7, 1935 in Ironton, Ohio) is an American country music singer and songwriter.

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.

Jeannie's Last Kiss
Bobby Bare Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The moon hid its light and the midnight was still
And they had their last quarrel on top of the hill
And she said to him, please, as they stood in the mist
If we must part this way, come, give Jeannie one last kiss

But in anger he turned, with no kiss and no care
There she stood on the cliff, with the wind in her hair
The next mornin' they learned that his Jeannie was dead

Girl climbin' and slipped, all the newspapers said

Then night after night, when the moon hides its light
The wind's in the mist, seem to cry out his name and call him again
Come, give Jeannie one last kiss
Years have gone by and they talk of him still
And the voice that was callin' from the top of the hill

And they tell of the night that he ran from his door
How he ran toward the cliff, then was heard from, no more
Now, night after night, when the moon hides its light
And the wind's in the mist, all the old people swear
That he's out there somewhere

To give Jeannie one last kiss, come, give Jeannie one last kiss
Come, give Jeannie one last kiss

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Bobby Bare's song "Jeannie's Last Kiss" tells a tragic story of a couple's final moments together. The song describes the moon hiding its light and the silence of midnight as the couple has their final quarrel on the top of a hill. Jeannie, the woman in the relationship, pleads with her lover to give her one last kiss before they part ways. However, he angrily refuses and walks away. The next day, it is discovered that Jeannie died after slipping while climbing the cliff. The song suggests that her lover might have had something to do with her death because he was never heard from again after running towards the cliff.

Years after Jeannie's death, rumors and beliefs circulate amongst the people in their town that her lover still wanders around the area, being called by the sound of the wind and the voice of his beloved Jeannie asking for one last kiss. The haunting repetition of the lyrics, "come give Jeannie one last kiss", emphasizes the sorrow and regret felt by the couple in their last moments together.

The song is a cautionary tale about the consequences of letting pride and anger control our actions. It also touches on the theme of death and the power of regret. The song is a reflection of human emotions and how our decisions and actions can have lifelong effects.

Line by Line Meaning

The moon hid its light and the midnight was still
The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful as the moon's light was nowhere to be seen

And they had their last quarrel on top of the hill
The couple had a serious argument on the top of a hill which ended up being their last interaction

And she said to him, please, as they stood in the mist
Jeannie requested for a last kiss before they part ways in the foggy weather

If we must part this way, come, give Jeannie one last kiss
Jeannie asked her lover to kiss her for the final time as they separate

But in anger he turned, with no kiss and no care
He turned away with no affection or sympathy in his heart

There she stood on the cliff, with the wind in her hair
Jeannie was standing on the cliff with her hair being blown by the wind

The next mornin' they learned that his Jeannie was dead
The terrible news of Jeannie's death was learnt the next morning

Girl climbin' and slipped, all the newspapers said
The newspapers reported that Jeannie died while climbing and slipped and fell

Then night after night, when the moon hides its light
On dark nights when the moon is hidden from sight

The wind's in the mist, seem to cry out his name and call him again
The whistling sound of the wind in the foggy weather appears to be calling his name repeatedly

Years have gone by and they talk of him still
Even though many years have passed, people still talk about him

And the voice that was callin' from the top of the hill
People hear a mysterious voice calling from the top of the same hill he had his last quarrel with Jeannie

And they tell of the night that he ran from his door
People also recall the night he ran out of his house

How he ran toward the cliff, then was heard from, no more
He ran towards the cliff but was never heard from again

Now, night after night, when the moon hides its light
To this day, on dark moonless nights

And the wind's in the mist, all the old people swear
Elderly folks firmly believe that

That he's out there somewhere
He is still out there somewhere

To give Jeannie one last kiss, come, give Jeannie one last kiss
People believe he is searching for a chance to give Jeannie a final kiss

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOBBY BARE, CHARLIE WILLIAMS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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