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.
Little Bit Later on Down the Line
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But just a little bit later on down the line she said bye bye try not to cry
See you just a little bit later on down the line
See when I was born she was goin' on ten
And on the day that I was to make her mine
She said it's not right so I'm leaving tonight
See you just a little bit later on down the line
She said babe it ain't that I don't love you
It's just that road is long and there's a lot you've got to see
But today I heard it said she got herself wed
They say he looked her age and she looked fine
My one love is gone why was I born just a little bit later on down the line
Just a little bit later on down the line
The lyrics of Bobby Bare's song "Little Bit Later On Down The Line" are a narrative of a man tracing back his memories of a woman he used to love. The song begins with the man reminiscing about the time he had with her when she was his. However, it seems like their relationship reached an intersection where she was no longer willing to wait for him, and she left him with the promise of seeing him again just a little bit later on down the line. The man tries to comprehend the reasons behind her departure, and it seems like they both knew that their paths were going to diverge.
The song's mood turns gloomy as the man discovers that the woman whom he held dearly made her way down the aisle with another man. The news hits him hard, and he realizes that he missed out on his chance of being with her forever. The song ends with the man questioning the timing of his birth as he wonders why he was born just a little bit later on down the line.
In summary, the song is about lost love and the pain of knowing that you missed your chance with your one true love. It's a tragic tale of two people whose paths were meant to cross but went in different directions instead.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember the time she used to be mine
I have memories of her being my girlfriend
But just a little bit later on down the line she said bye bye try not to cry
Eventually, she broke up with me and left me sad
See you just a little bit later on down the line
She hoped to meet me again in the future
See when I was born she was goin' on ten
When I was born, she was already 10 years old
And on the day that I was to make her mine
The day I planned to make her officially my girlfriend
She said it's not right so I'm leaving tonight
She realized that developing a relationship with me was not right, so she decided to leave
See you just a little bit later on down the line
She hoped to meet me again in the future
She said babe it ain't that I don't love you
She wanted me to know that she still loved me
It's just that road is long and there's a lot you've got to see
She felt that at that point in our lives, we both had a lot of experiences to go through before settling down
But today I heard it said she got herself wed
Recently, I heard that she got married
They say he looked her age and she looked fine
People commented that her new husband was around her age, and she looked good
My one love is gone why was I born just a little bit later on down the line
I lament that my one true love is now taken and wonder why I was not born earlier to be with her
Just a little bit later on down the line
I still hope to meet her again someday
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Stone
One of my favorite Bobby Bare songs!
bluedream428
WOW! Bobby show he can really sing!
Larry Lepore
GREAT OLDIE FROM 1968....PLAYED THIS ON MY SHOW ON WHIL IN BOSTON.
bluedream428
This is a great great song and much better than the other cut
andre sampson
what a lovely song
opasrock1
Oh WOW, so very nice !
bluedream428
I hope that's not a true story because if it is I sure feel sorry for that guy