Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda… Read Full Bio ↴Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee is an American country-pop singer who was popular during the 1950s and 1960s. She was given the nickname Little Miss Dynamite after recording Dynamite in 1957, and in the 1960s she had more charted hits than any other woman. Her father was an excellent left-handed pitcher in the Army, and her mother had a Cherokee great-grandparent. She first attracted attention performing in country music venues and her first single, 1957’s “One Step at a Time,” was a country hit.

Lee was a musical prodigy and by the time she was two she would hear songs on the radio once and be able to whistle the complete tune. She was five years old when she started to gain wider attention when she won a local singing contest sponsored by the elementary schools. At age 11, she was offered a recording contract with Decca Records and released the song “Dynamite,” leading to her lifelong nickname, “Little Miss Dynamite.”

Lee was popular in the UK very early in her career, and her 1961 rockabilly release “Let’s Jump the Broomstick” did not chart in the US, but went to #12 in the UK. Her biggest hits during this time include a rockabilly version of the country classic “Jambalaya (On the Bayou),” “Sweet Nothin’s,” “I Want to Be Wanted,” “All Alone Am I,” and “Fool #1.”

In 1960, she recorded her signature song, “I’m Sorry,” which hit number one on the Billboard pop chart and was her first gold single. Her last top-10 single on the pop charts was 1963’s “Losing You,” while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song “Coming On Strong” and “Is It True?” in 1964.

During the early 1970s, Lee re-established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of Top 10 hits on the country charts. Her biggest selling track of her career is, oddly enough, a Christmas song: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” It was released in 1958, but it sold only 5,000 copies. However, it eventually sold over five million copies and remains a perennial radio favorite each December. In December 2023, Lee became the oldest artist to ever top the Hot 100, when "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" topped the chart 65 years after its release.

Over the ensuing years, Lee has continued to record and perform all around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. In 1992, she recorded a duet with Willy DeVille; Chuck Berry also wrote a song about her. Lee has been married to Ronnie Shacklett since 1963, and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. She is the second recipient of the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award.

Throughout her career, Brenda Lee has released 41 studio albums, 12 compilation albums, and over 100 singles. She has had numerous top twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Country, and AC charts in the US, UK, and Canada.

Tell Me What It's Like
Brenda Lee Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You know we've been close friends a long time now
And I just needed somebody to talk to
I hate to bring this subject up
Because I know how you've been hurt
With someone you really loved
And your whole world just crumbled apart
But I thought it might help me to know what it's like
When it happens so I came to you

'Cause I can feel it comin' on

Tell me what it's like to lose the only thing you care about
Tell me how it feels to know your only dream is gone
Tell me how you live when you've lost something you can't live without
Tell me what it's like, I can feel it comin' on
Tell me what it's like to wake up crying every morning
With an aching heart that just won't set you free

Tell me what you do when there's no one that you wanna do it with
There's nobody else you really wanna see
Tell me what it's like when those four lonely walls start closin' in
Tell me how it feels to spend the nights alone
Tell me what to say whenever someone ask you how you've been
Tell me what it's like (tell me what's it's like)
I can feel it comin' on (tell me)

Tell me what it's like
I can feel it comin' on

Overall Meaning

In Brenda Lee’s song “Tell Me What It’s Like”, the singer is seeking guidance and empathy from a close friend who has experienced heartbreak before. She acknowledges that her friend has been hurt in the past and that discussing the topic may bring up painful memories. Despite this, she feels compelled to talk to someone who understands what it’s like to lose the person you love most. The singer asks her friend to describe what it feels like to lose your dreams and your reason for living. She wants to know how to live without something that feels essential to your being. She asks her friend to help her understand the loneliness and isolation that can come with heartbreak, and how to cope with the constant reminders of what has been lost.

The song tackles the universal theme of heartbreak and the struggle to move on after losing someone close. The singer seeks to empathize with the pain of heartbreak and understand how to process and heal from it. The lyrics capture the raw emotional journey of loss and its aftermath. The singer’s vulnerability in asking for help and her friend’s empathetic response offer a message of hope and resilience in the face of heartbreak.

Line by Line Meaning

You know we've been close friends a long time now
We have been good friends for a long time

And I just needed somebody to talk to
I need someone to talk to

I hate to bring this subject up
I don't want to talk about it

Because I know how you've been hurt
I know you have been hurt before

With someone you really loved
With someone you truly loved

And your whole world just crumbled apart
It devastated you

But I thought it might help me to know what it's like
I think it might be able to help me

When it happens so I came to you
I came to you because I know you can help me

'Cause I can feel it comin' on
I can sense it happening soon

Tell me what it's like to lose the only thing you care about
Tell me how it feels to lose the only thing that matters to you

Tell me how it feels to know your only dream is gone
Explain how it feels when your main goal is no longer achievable

Tell me how you live when you've lost something you can't live without
Tell me how you can survive when you have lost something you cannot live without

Tell me what it's like, I can feel it comin' on
Tell me how it feels because I think it is going to happen to me

Tell me what it's like to wake up crying every morning
Explain how it feels to wake up every day crying

With an aching heart that just won't set you free
With a broken heart that never seems to heal

Tell me what you do when there's no one that you wanna do it with
Tell me what you do when there is no one you want to be with

There's nobody else you really wanna see
There is nobody else you want to spend time with

Tell me what it's like when those four lonely walls start closin' in
Describe how it feels when you feel trapped

Tell me how it feels to spend the nights alone
Explain how it feels to spend every night alone

Tell me what to say whenever someone ask you how you've been
Tell me what to say when people ask how I'm doing

Tell me what it's like (tell me what's it's like)
Explain how it feels

I can feel it comin' on (tell me)
I sense it happening soon

Tell me what it's like
Tell me how it feels

I can feel it comin' on
I sense it coming soon