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 Mermaid
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I was a lad in a fishing town an old man said to me
You can spend your life, your jolly life just sailing on the sea
You can search the world for pretty girls till your eyes're weak and dim
But don't go swimming with a mermaid son, if you don't know how to swim.
'Cause her hair is green as seaweed and her skin is blue and pale
But you're just gonna love the upper part you're not gonna like the tail.
So I signed onto a whaling ship and my very first day at sea
I seen a mermaid in the waves a reaching out to me
Come live with me in the sea said she and down on the ocean's floor
I'll show you a million wonderous things you never seen before.
So over I jumped and she pulled me down down to her seaweed bed
And the pillow made of tortoise shell she placed beneath my head
She fed me shrimps and caviar upon a silver dish
From her head to her waist she was just my taste but the rest of her was a fish.
Her hair was green as seaweed and her skin was blue and pale
And her face it was a work of art and I loved that girl with all my heart
But I only loved the upper part I did not like the tail.
Then one day she swam away and I sang to the clams and whales
I missed her fins and her seaweed hair and the silvery shine of her scales
Then her sister she swam by and set my heart awhirl
Cause her upper part was an ugly fish but the bottom part was a girl.
Yeah her toes are pink and rosy and her knees are smooth and pale
And her legs they are a work of art and I love that girl with all my heart
I don't give a damn 'bout the upper part and that's how I end my tale...
The Mermaid by Bobby Bare is a humorous story narrated by an old sailor who warns young men about the dangers of mermaids. He tells the story of a young man who disregards his advice and falls in love with a mermaid. While the upper part of the mermaid is beautiful, the lower part, which is in the shape of a fish tail, is not. The storyteller narrates that the young man quickly discovers that he only loves the upper part of the mermaid and not the entire being. Despite this realization, he still falls in love with another mermaid who has an ugly half-face but has human-like legs.
The song can be seen as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of love and the dangers of becoming infatuated with external beauty without getting to know someone’s complete nature. It humorously highlights that what might appear attractive to someone may turn out to be rather undesirable.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a lad in a fishing town an old man said to me
As a young boy in a place full of fishermen, an elder gave me a piece of advice.
You can spend your life, your jolly life just sailing on the sea
You could choose to live your entire life travelling the seas.
You can search the world for pretty girls till your eyes're weak and dim
You could explore the whole world to find the most attractive women, which might tire you to the point of losing your eyesight.
But don't go swimming with a mermaid son, if you don't know how to swim.
However, do not take a dip with a mermaid unless you are comfortable with water.
'Cause her hair is green as seaweed and her skin is blue and pale
This is because a mermaid has long, green hair that resembles seaweed, and her skin is colorless with a slight blueish tinge.
And I tell you now before you start you can love that girl with all your heart
Understand beforehand that you might get emotionally attached to her.
But you're just gonna love the upper part you're not gonna like the tail.
However, you will only appreciate the upper body of the mermaid and not her fishy tail.
So I signed onto a whaling ship and my very first day at sea
Therefore, I joined a whale-hunting vessel, and on my first day at sea,
I seen a mermaid in the waves a reaching out to me
I saw a mermaid swimming in the ocean waves who was trying to get closer to me.
Come live with me in the sea said she and down on the ocean's floor
She then invited me to dwell with her under the sea, down on the sea bottom.
I'll show you a million wonderous things you never seen before.
She promised to show me millions of things that I had never witnessed before.
So over I jumped and she pulled me down down to her seaweed bed
I took the plunge, and she hauled me down to her seaweed bed.
And the pillow made of tortoise shell she placed beneath my head
She arranged a comfortable pillow made of a tortoise shell for my head to rest on.
She fed me shrimps and caviar upon a silver dish
She served me delicacies like shrimp and caviar served in a silver dish.
From her head to her waist she was just my taste but the rest of her was a fish.
My love for her was confined to the upper half of her human-like body. The rest was the tail of a fish.
Then one day she swam away and I sang to the clams and whales
One day she left me, and I was left to sing to the clams and whales.
I missed her fins and her seaweed hair and the silvery shine of her scales
I yearned for the sight of her fins, seaweed-like hair, and the silvery luster of her scales.
Then her sister she swam by and set my heart awhirl
Then her sister came up swimming. She set my heart racing and excited me.
Cause her upper part was an ugly fish but the bottom part was a girl.
While her upper body was fish-like and unattractive, her lower body was that of a beautiful woman.
Yeah her toes are pink and rosy and her knees are smooth and pale
Her toes are pink and have a healthy blush, and her knees are fair, smooth, and blemish-free.
And her legs they are a work of art and I love that girl with all my heart
Her legs are a beautiful masterpiece, and I adore her with all my heart.
I don't give a damn 'bout the upper part and that's how I end my tale...
I care not about the unseemly upper part, and that is how my story ends.
Writer(s): Jim Friedman, Shel Silverstein
Contributed by Anna J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.