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.
Vegas
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Win more money than you've ever seen
Far as this pickup truck and 48 bucks will take us
Baby, we′re gonna chase that dream
Going to Vegas, turn our money green, yeah
Five days a week, eight hours a day
Too damn much work and not enough pay
So pack our bags and fill up the tank
Leave the kids with your mother
Leave the dogs with your brother
I'll open up a piggy bank
'Cause, baby, we′re gonna go to Vegas
Win more money than you′ve ever seen
Far as this pickup truck and 48 bucks will take us
Baby, we're gonna chase that dream
Going to Vegas, turn our money green
Here we are, we′re heading back home
Gas tank empty and money all gone (you got that right)
We missed that rainbow, it's a drizzling rain
Yeah, but dry your tears
′Cause in a couple more years we can go back and try it again
Yeah, baby, we're gonna go to Vegas
Win more money than you′ve ever seen (yeah, we are)
Far as this pickup truck and 48 bucks will take us
Baby, we're gonna chase that dream
Going to Vegas, turn our money green
Yeah, baby, we're gonna go to Vegas
Win more money than you′ve ever seen
In the song "Vegas" by Bobby Bare, the lyrics tell of a couple who are tired of their daily grind and decide to take a chance on a better life by heading to Vegas to try their luck. The first verse sets the premise of the song, where they plan to win money beyond their wildest dreams with just $48 and the hope of chasing their dreams. The second verse describes their mundane life and how they pack everything up to go to Vegas, leaving behind responsibilities and worries, just to pursue their one shot at a better future. The chorus reinforces the idea that they are going to chase their dreams at any cost, and they truly believe that they will come back with more money than they have ever seen before, and they will turn that money green.
However, in the last refrain, the couple returns empty-handed, without the money they had hoped to win. Despite the disappointment, they remain optimistic and resilient, planning to try their luck in the future. This highlights the risk that comes with pursuing one’s dreams, that things may not always work out as planned, but there is still hope in the future. The song offers a relatable and universal message of hope and perseverance, reflecting on the idea that even though life may be tough at times, people still have the power to pick themselves up and try again.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby, we're gonna go to Vegas
We're leaving everything behind and heading to Vegas to try our luck.
Win more money than you've ever seen
Our goal in Vegas is to win big and change our lives for the better.
Far as this pickup truck and 48 bucks will take us
We don't have much money or resources, but we'll go as far as we can with what we've got.
Baby, we're gonna chase that dream
We're going to pursue our hopes and aspirations by taking a chance in Vegas.
Going to Vegas, turn our money green, yeah
We want to win so much money in Vegas that it will be like turning our money green, a symbol of our newfound wealth.
Five days a week, eight hours a day
We work too much and don't earn enough to make ends meet.
Too damn much work and not enough pay
Our current jobs are draining us and don't provide us with enough financial security.
So pack our bags and fill up the tank
We're ready to leave our current lives behind and start a new adventure in Vegas.
Leave the kids with your mother
We need to leave our children behind temporarily in order to pursue our dreams.
Leave the dogs with your brother
We need to find someone to take care of our pets while we're away.
I'll open up a piggy bank
We're scraping together all the savings we have in order to make this trip possible.
'Cause, baby, we're gonna go to Vegas
We're confident that this trip will lead to a better life for us.
Here we are, we're heading back home
After our time in Vegas, we're headed back to our old lives.
Gas tank empty and money all gone (you got that right)
Our trip to Vegas didn't go as planned and we're returning home with nothing to show for it.
We missed that rainbow, it's a drizzling rain
We didn't achieve the financial success we were hoping for in Vegas.
Yeah, but dry your tears
We're trying to stay positive despite our disappointment.
'Cause in a couple more years we can go back and try it again
We're determined to try again in the future and won't give up on our dreams just yet.
Writer(s): Shel Silverstein
Contributed by Keira M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@leepresley2055
I have this 45 also, Like it so much Ill listen in Youtube ...