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.
You're for Me
Buck Owens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah you are just a pill that can fill the bill
So let's make the deal cause you're for me
Don't tell me no don't make me go can't you see that you're for me
Come on baby don't say maybe can't you see that you're for me
Well stars that shine above fill my cup of love when you're walkin' along with me
Yes and you've sure got the look that can hit my book
Don't tell me no
These lyrics, from Buck Owens's song "You're for Me", speak to the feeling of certainty and confidence that comes with knowing you've found the right person. The singer sings about seeing someone walking down the avenue and immediately feeling as though they were meant to be together. The person in question is described as someone who can "fill the bill" and hit the singer's "book". The use of these idiomatic expressions emphasizes the idea that the singer feels like this person is perfect for them in every way.
There's a note of urgency in the lyrics as well, with the singer pleading with the person not to say no or make them go. The repetition of the phrase "you're for me" drives home the point that the singer is certain of their feelings and wants the other person to feel the same way. The romantic imagery of stars shining above and love filling the singer's cup also adds to the sense of the unshakeable bond between them.
Overall, "You're for Me" is a confident and upbeat song about finding love and feeling certain that it's meant to be. The use of idiomatic expressions and romantic imagery help to convey the depth of the singer's emotions and the sense of urgency in their desire to be with the other person.
Line by Line Meaning
Well when I saw you walkin' at avenue then I knew that you're for me
As soon as I saw you, I felt a connection and knew that we were meant to be together
Yeah you are just a pill that can fill the bill
You are the perfect remedy for my love life
So let's make the deal cause you're for me
Let's commit to each other because we belong together
Don't tell me no don't make me go can't you see that you're for me
Please don't reject me or make me leave, we belong together and it's obvious
Come on baby don't say maybe can't you see that you're for me
Don't hesitate or give me mixed signals, you are clearly meant to be with me
Well stars that shine above fill my cup of love when you're walkin' along with me
Being with you completes me and makes me feel loved and happy
Yes and you've sure got the look that can hit my book
Your appearance is exactly what I find attractive and desirable
Yeah you just got a hook cause you're for me
You've captured my heart and I am hooked on you because we are meant to be together
Don't tell me no
Please don't say no to me
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BUCK OWENS, TOMMY COLLINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind