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.
Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass
Buck Owens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who's gonna jump when you say frog who's gonna bow and stray
After I've gone away
Who's gonna kiss ye and who's gonna miss ye who's gonna hold to your hand
Who's gonna chap your candle in wood after I've made new plans
Hey who's gonna be your man
Who's gonna keep you warm as toast on those cold winter nights
And who's gonna be your puppy dog when I'm a thing of the past
Hey who's gonna mow your grass
The lyrics to Buck Owens's song "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass" is a song about a man who wonders who will take care of his lover after he is gone. The first few lines are about who will take care of her emotional needs, as the man asks who will dry her big blue eyes and jump when she says frog. It's apparent that he has been the one holding things together in the relationship and making her happy, but now that he is leaving, he wants to know who will take his place. The next few lines are about who will take care of her physical needs such as who will kiss her, hold her hand, or light her candle. He wants to know who will be there for her in the way he was.
The final lines, "Hey who's gonna be your man / Who's gonna bring you your breakfast in bed who's gonna whisper goodnight / Who's gonna keep you warm as toast on those cold winter nights / And who's gonna be your puppy dog when I'm a thing of the past / Hey who's gonna mow your grass" is the most powerful part of the song. It's clear that the man is leaving and wants to know who will take care of his lover when he is gone. The line "who's gonna be your man" is significant because it reveals that the man considers himself to be the only person who can take care of her. He wonders who will be there for her when he leaves, and it's apparent that he wants her to realize that he is leaving, and she will miss him. Overall, the song is a sad love song about a man who is leaving, but still cares for his lover and wants to know who will take care of her after he is gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Who's gonna dry your big blue eyes day after day
Who will comfort you every day, wipe your tears and make you feel better when you're sad?
Who's gonna jump when you say frog who's gonna bow and stray
Who will follow your orders without question, do everything you ask of them and always put you first?
After I've gone away
Once I have left and moved on from this relationship.
Who's gonna kiss ye and who's gonna miss ye who's gonna hold to your hand
Who will love you, want to be close to you and hold your hand through life's ups and downs?
Who's gonna chap your candle in wood after I've made new plans
Who will carve personalized decorations for you like I used to, even after I've moved on to new projects and plans?
Hey who's gonna be your man
Who will be your partner and take care of you emotionally, physically and romantically?
Who's gonna bring you your breakfast in bed who's gonna whisper goodnight
Who will pamper you and make you feel special by bringing you breakfast in bed and whispering sweet nothings?
Who's gonna keep you warm as toast on those cold winter nights
Who will cuddle up with you and keep you warm on cold winter nights when you need comfort and warmth?
And who's gonna be your puppy dog when I'm a thing of the past
Who will be loyal to you and adore you like a faithful puppy, even after I am no longer around?
Hey who's gonna mow your grass
Who will take care of you and your home, including mundane tasks like mowing the lawn, now that I am gone?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BUCK OWENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@adamdiazjr9526
Had I only been alive 25 years prior…the cool thing about radio that never forgets is they let you enjoy natural, heartfelt music that truly will never die…
@dougreeder3834
1st and greatest country song with a fuzz solo! So we’ll produced!!
@tannertaylor9432
Don't Worry by Marty Robbins in 1961 gets the credit for that, and um literally inventing fuzz tone
@dougreeder3834
Thanks for that awesome information. I like knowing stuff like that.
@toddbarnes2866
My grandma was the president of the Buck Owens fan club during this time. I have a picture of them together at her (our) house on my wall right now.
@danielburns987
this song went to #1 on the country charts in 1969!!!
@rodolfoescontrias9846
So good! That 60s fuzz with those double layered vocals that harkens back to the Beatles sound. I wish buck did more poppy psych country songs like this one.
@jamesshort8385
Even though i was mostly into acid rock, i bought this 45.
@Sargebri
This almost sounds as if the Monkees could have done it with Mike Nesmith singing lead. This is one great song and I'm surprised it didn't make it into the Hot 100. It definitely would have fit in with what was getting played on top 40 radio during that era.
@308Savagebolt
Brian Washington It was Thee #1 Hot country single for two weeks in 1969 and stayed near the top for 14 weeks. And country purists were outraged at Buck and Don for using a Fuzz sound in a country song ! LOL!!