While the Buckaroos originally featured a fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, their sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental. The band's signature style was based on simple story lines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a prominent drum track, and high, two-part vocal harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.
From 1969 to 1986, Owens co-hosted the popular CBS television variety show Hee Haw with Roy Clark (syndicated beginning in 1971). According to his son Buddy Alan (Owens), the accidental 1974 death of Rich, his best friend, devastated him for years and impacted his creative efforts until he performed with Dwight Yoakam in 1988.
Owens is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Owens was born on a farm in Sherman, Texas, United States, to Alvis Edgar Owens Sr. and Maicie Azel (née Ellington) Owens.
In the biography About Buck., Rich Kienzle writes: "'Buck' was a donkey on the Owens farm." "When Alvis Jr. was three or four years old, he walked into the house and announced that his name also was "Buck." That was fine with the family, and the boy's name became "Buck" from then on."He attended public school for grades 1–3 in Garland, Texas.
Owens' family moved to Mesa, Arizona, in 1937 during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. While attending school in Arizona, Owens found that while he disliked formal schoolwork, he could often satisfy class requirements by singing or performing in school plays. A self-taught musician and singer, Owens became proficient on guitar, mandolin, horns, and drums. When he obtained his first electric steel guitar, he taught himself to play it after his father adapted an old radio into an amplifier. Owens quit school in the ninth grade in order to help work on his father's farm and pursue a music career.
Owens had three sons: Buddy Alan (who charted several hits as a Capitol recording artist in the early 1970s and appeared with his father numerous times on Hee Haw), Johnny, and Michael Owens.
Owens successfully recovered from oral cancer in the early 1990s, but had additional health problems near the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, including pneumonia and a minor stroke in 2004. These health problems had forced him to curtail his regular weekly performances with the Buckaroos at his Crystal Palace. Owens died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at his ranch just north of Bakersfield on March 25, 2006, only hours after performing at his club. He was 76 years old.
Owens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was ranked No. 12 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. In addition, CMT also ranked the Buckaroos No. 2 in the network's 20 Greatest Bands in 2005. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The stretch of US Highway 82 in Sherman, Texas, is named the Buck Owens Freeway in his honor.
I Don't Care
Buck Owens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't care if the bells don't chime
Just as long as you love me
And I don't care if the tops don't spin
I don't care if the gins won't gin
Just as long as you love me
So darling, let it rain, let it snow
Just as long as you love me
North or south, east or west
You know I will stand the test
Just as long as you love me
Well, I don't care if the birds don't sing
I don't care if the bells don't ring
Just as long as you love me
I don't care if the world don't turn
I don't care if the fire don't burn
Just as long as you love me
So darling, let it rain, let it snow
Let the cold north wind blow
Just as long as you love me
North or south, east or west
You know I will stand the test
Just as long as you love me
Oh darling, just as long as you love me
In Buck Owens's classic country ballad "I Don't Care," the singer declares their unconditional love for their partner, stating that they do not care about anything else as long as their love is reciprocated. The lyrics follow a simple structure, repeating the lines "I don't care" and "just as long as you love me" with variations on what the singer does not care about.
The song is a testament to the power of love and the ways in which it can supersede all other concerns. The singer's declarations of not caring about external factors like the weather or the functionality of machinery convey the idea that their love is the most important thing in their life. This is further emphasized in the repeated line about standing the test, suggesting that the singer's love is strong enough to endure any challenge.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I don't care if the sun don't shine
I am not concerned about the weather conditions as long as you love me
I don't care if the bells don't chime
Whether or not the bells ring, it matters little to me, as long as you love me
Just as long as you love me
As long as you continue to love me, I'm content regardless of everything else
And I don't care if the tops don't spin
If the tops cease to spin, I won't be bothered, so long as you keep on loving me
I don't care if the gins won't gin
Even if the gin machine stops working, it's no problem as long as you love me
So darling, let it rain, let it snow
If it rains, snows or there's anything else, sweetheart, it doesn't matter to me
Let the cold north wind blow
Even if the chilly north wind blows, it won't bother me, only your love matters
North or south, east or west
Wherever we are, that's unimportant, as long as we're together
You know I will stand the test
I'm willing to endure whatever challenges come our way, so long as you keep on loving me
Well, I don't care if the birds don't sing
It doesn't concern me if the birds stop singing, provided that you are here to love me
I don't care if the bells don't ring
Whether or not the bells ring, it matters little to me, as long as you love me
I don't care if the world don't turn
Even if the world stops turning, I won't be bothered so long as you still love me
I don't care if the fire don't burn
If the fire goes out, it's no matter to me, just as long as you love me
Oh darling, just as long as you love me
The fact is, I only require your affection, and I'm content for everything else to take care of itself
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bill Owens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
8626John
Buck's as good as it gets, and this is one of my favorite of his songs. Thanks for putting it on here.
Norman Coulman
Conway and Loretta were a fantastic duo. No country music duo today can even come close!!
Albert Pardo
This song spent #1 for 6 weeks on the country music charts in 1964
Linda Easley
Throughout the whole month of November 1964
mosrite60
Best country band 1960-2017. No one ever touched Buck and his crew. Amazing group of musicians. Very distinct country. mos60
Spencer Johnson
mosrite60 I would have to disagree as there are many great ones that are as good or better
mosrite60
Spencer: okay so you say bands better than Buck & Buckaroos. Name one band which was No 1 for most of 60s , 70s. Name one band besides Merle Haggard that changed country music from the Nashville sound to the Bakersfield Sound. There are other bands, but none that had such a great influence. In fact Buck set the envelope for what country music is today. Without his influence we'd still be listening to Lawrence Welk.
Spencer Johnson
mosrite60
Actually Hank Williams was the biggest influence of them all. I don't remember Bucks band being named number one. they would have to have the most number ones. a band I would say is Alabama which was way more popular and more hits
mosrite60
Spencer: Hank & Alabama were great country bands. But..no one influenced the country music genre as Buck & Buckaroos. Remember, Buck did not adhere to the "Nashville" influence. i.e. Chet Atkins & Co. Buck had over 24 No 1 hits (okay Alabama over 25), Buckaroos nominated 8 consecutive years for country band of the year, 5 years as no 1 instrumental band. Voted No 2 country band (Bob Wills no 1) . If Buck had not stayed 20 years as co-host of Hee Haw, he surely would have won many more No 1 hits. Alabama southern country /rock band many hits. But Buck influenced country more than Alabama /Hank combined. Ask any historian.
Kevin D
Casting no shade, but Merle Haggard & The Strangers. Could pull off anything. Ditto (later, shorter tenured) Lyle Lovett & his Large Band. Both knock ya back live ensembles.