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.
The Day The Saw Mill Closed Down
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it′s been empty since she moved away
The day that the saw mill closed down
We'd sit on her porch almost every night
I remember how happy we were
We′d grow up and marry, I'd work at the mill to make a living for her
Like most of the others in town
I lost my girl when he lost his job
The day that the saw mill closed down
She moved from the corner of Cedar and Elm
And I never saw her again
But I can still hear her mother's soft voice saying, "Honey, it′s time to come in"
No longer do mill hands live here
The giant saws don′t make a sound
No longer does my love live here
Not since the saw mill closed down
She left when the saw mill closed down
The Day The Saw Mill Closed Down by Bobby Bare is a poignant story of lost love, broken dreams and a shattered community in the aftermath of an economic downturn. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a once-thriving town that has been left desolate and silent, where the sound of saws no longer echoes in the air and the hopes and aspirations of its inhabitants have been crushed. The song speaks to the human cost of economic hardship in a way that is both emotional and relatable.
The opening lines of the song indicate that the main character is reflecting on the past, specifically on a lost love who moved away when the sawmill closed down. The sawmill appears to have been the driving force behind the town's economy, with almost everyone in the community working there. The singer himself was planning on working there to provide for his beloved. The closing of the sawmill was a devastating blow to the community, as it left many without work and caused a ripple effect that caused people to leave the town in search of better opportunities.
Line by Line Meaning
Her house on the corner of Cedar and Elm still stands in our town
Despite everything around us changing, the physical structure of her house on that corner remains, representing the past and the love we once shared.
But it′s been empty since she moved away
However, it has been voided of our memories and love since she left, rendering it a mere shell of what it was before.
The day that the saw mill closed down
The specific event that led to her leaving was the unfortunate event of the saw mill closing down, which also caused a ripple effect leading to our present state.
We'd sit on her porch almost every night
In the past, we had an idyllic routine of spending evenings together, enjoying each other's company and dreaming of our future.
I remember how happy we were
Those memories are still vivid in my mind as symbols of true happiness and love, which is now difficult to experience.
We′d grow up and marry, I'd work at the mill to make a living for her
We had plans to build a future together, and the hope was that my job at the saw mill would provide enough income to accomplish that.
Her father worked at the mill
Her father was a part of the same community and relied on the mill for his livelihood, like most of us in town.
Like most of the others in town
The community was interdependent, and most people were employed by the mill in one way or another.
I lost my girl when he lost his job
When the mill closed down, her father lost his job, causing a chain reaction leading to her leaving me.
The day that the saw mill closed down
The tragic event of the saw mill closing was the starting point of this sad story.
She moved from the corner of Cedar and Elm
As desperately as I wanted her to stay, her departure was inevitable and led her to move away from that familiar corner.
And I never saw her again
The love of my life left a permanent void in my existence, and I never got to see her smile or the warmth of her affection again.
But I can still hear her mother's soft voice saying, "Honey, it′s time to come in"
The memory of her family and the tenderness that surrounded her remains vivid, as I can still hear her mother's comforting voice calling for her to come inside.
No longer do mill hands live here
Since the mill's closure, the community has been experiencing a lot of job losses, leading to forced migration and out-of-town labor seeking, hence losing a sense of commonality.
The giant saws don′t make a sound
The once-loud saws are now silenced, and the vast space that once echoed with the sound of our labor is abandoned.
No longer does my love live here
Ultimately, the saw mill's closure led to her leaving this town, and I shall never see her again.
Not since the saw mill closed down
The saw mill's closure played a significant role, and everything has entirely changed since that fateful day.
She left when the saw mill closed down
The event of the sawmill's stoppage was what led to her leaving, ultimately changing everything in our lives.
Writer(s): Jerry Foster, Bill Rice
Contributed by Keira I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
betty stephenson
beautiful song love his music
Paul Gavin
Beautiful, inspiring pictures
Mary Boyle
the frosty scene and the green fields must have come from ireland