Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professiona… Read Full Bio ↴Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music chart. He pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, named in honor of Bakersfield, California, Owens's adopted home and the city from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call "American music".

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.

It's Been A Long Long Time
Buck Owens Lyrics

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Let me take your coat my friend, you must be tired
Lord, it′s been a long, long time
Let me hold your hands in mine, it's been a while
Lord, it′s been a long, long time

Come sit down by the fire, and we'll talk a while
Lord, it's been a long, long time
Holdin′ you like I used to do, a precious smile

Lord, it′s been a long, long time

Looks like time has been good to you
It's good to have you back again
Night and day I have thought of you
It′s good to have you back, my friend

I'm anxious to see your face in the morning sun
Lord, it′s been a long, long time

You'll find our room still looks the same
Lord, it′s been a long, long time

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Buck Owens's song "It's Been a Long Long Time" are about two old friends reuniting after a long time apart. The singer welcomes his old friend, offering to take his coat and hold his hands, expressing sentiments of being reunited with someone he missed so dearly. They sit down by the fire and talk for a while, reminiscing about the old times when they were closer. The singer is happy to see his friend again, and he believes that time has been kind to him. He is excited to see his friend's face in the morning sun and shows that even though time has passed, their friendship hasn't changed.

The song is poignant, conveying a sense of nostalgia and longing for past times. The singer's tone is welcoming, warm, and sincere, creating a sense of intimacy between him and the listener. The repeated emphasis on "it's been a long, long time" reinforces the idea that their friendship has been inactive for a long time, and the reunion signifies something significant. The final lines of the song, "You'll find our room still looks the same, Lord, it′s been a long, long time," give the impression that the singer is trying to preserve their friendship's memory and timelessness.

Line by Line Meaning

Let me take your coat my friend, you must be tired
Please let me have the pleasure of taking your coat, my dear friend. I can see that you are exhausted and in need of a break.

Lord, it's been a long, long time
It has been far too long since we have had a chance to spend time together and catch up on life.

Let me hold your hands in mine, it's been a while
It has been quite some time since we have had the opportunity to simply hold hands and revel in the joy of each other's company.

Come sit down by the fire, and we'll talk a while
Please, make yourself comfortable and come sit beside the fireplace with me. We shall converse and enjoy each other's company for as long as you desire.

Holdin' you like I used to do, a precious smile
I find myself longing to hold you close, as I did in the past, and bask in the beauty of your lovely smile.

Looks like time has been good to you
It would seem that time has been kind to you, and you look just as wonderful as you did the last time I saw you.

It's good to have you back again
I am thrilled to have the pleasure of your company once more, my dear friend.

Night and day I have thought of you
Throughout every moment of my life, I have been thinking of you and longing for the day when we could once more be reunited.

I'm anxious to see your face in the morning sun
I am filled with anticipation and excitement at the thought of seeing your beaming face illuminated by the first light of day.

You'll find our room still looks the same
Upon your arrival, you will be pleased to discover that our room looks exactly as it did the last time you visited. Everything has been kept just as you remember it.

Writer(s): Dennis Knutson, Perry Jones

Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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