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.
Lynching Party
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Young Billy watched them from his cell and felt his courage fail
Bill swore he wasn't guilty but the evidence was plain
Tomorrow he would go on trial for killing Mary Jane
They shouted beat the prisoner hardy we're gonna have a Lynchin' party
Gonna hang him high watch him die for killing Mary Jane
The mob is closer to the jail excitement all around
Then the young girl cried you cowards but the Lynch mob searched ahead
Dragged young Billy from that jail and soon the kid was dead
They shouted beat the prisoner hardy...
The weeks went by and no one spoke about it anymore
Or seemed to see the wreath Bill's mother hung upon the door
Then one night they dragged a ragged hobo from a train
And he confessed he was the one who killed young Mary Jane
They shouted beat the prisoner hardy...
Gonna hang him high watch him die for killing Mary Jane
The lyrics of Bobby Bare's "Lynchin' Party" depict a grim and violent scene of a lynch mob set on punishing a man named Bill for the murder of Mary Jane. As the mob gathers in the square across from the jail, young Billy (presumably a different person) watches from his cell feeling defeated and lacking courage. The evidence against Bill seemed plain, making him seemingly guilty of the crime. The mob ultimately carries out their plan to hang Bill as a form of vigilante justice, all while chanting "beat the prisoner hardy...gonna hang him high watch him die for killing Mary Jane."
Line by Line Meaning
The Lynch mob gathered in the square across from the jail
A group of people who intend to kill a specific person without a lawful trial gathered in front of the jail
Young Billy watched them from his cell and felt his courage fail
Billy, who was falsely accused, witnessed the gathering of the mob from his cell and lost hope
Bill swore he wasn't guilty but the evidence was plain
The accused, Bill, claimed his innocence, but there was enough evidence against him
Tomorrow he would go on trial for killing Mary Jane
The next day, Bill would have a trial for the supposed murder of Mary Jane
They shouted beat the prisoner hardy we're gonna have a Lynchin' party
The mob yelled to harm the accused and made it clear that they intend to have a lynching party
Gonna hang him high watch him die for killing Mary Jane
The mob planned to hang Bill and enjoy watching him die for the alleged murder of Mary Jane
The mob is closer to the jail excitement all around
The mob got closer to the jail, and everyone was excited about the upcoming lynching
The deputies kept moving back afraid to hold their ground
The police officers moved back as they were afraid to face the angry mob
Then the young girl cried you cowards but the Lynch mob searched ahead
A young girl called the mob cowards, but they continued with their mission regardless
Dragged young Billy from that jail and soon the kid was dead
The mob forcibly took Bill from the jail and killed him, despite his claims of innocence
The weeks went by and no one spoke about it anymore
People stopped talking about the lynching as time passed
Or seemed to see the wreath Bill's mother hung upon the door
Bill's mother hung a mourning wreath on her door, which seemed to go unnoticed by others
Then one night they dragged a ragged hobo from a train
One night, the mob took a homeless person from a train
And he confessed he was the one who killed young Mary Jane
The homeless person confessed to Mary Jane's murder, to which Bill was falsely accused
They shouted beat the prisoner hardy...
The mob started the same chant again to harm the homeless person
Gonna hang him high watch him die for killing Mary Jane
They planned to hang the homeless person and watch him die for Mary Jane's murder
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@corporal1c
Been looking for this for ages, Thank you for uplaoding