He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, and he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school. He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group "Buddy and Bob" with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records.
Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley. Unhappy with Bradley's control in the studio and with the sound he achieved there, he went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, and recorded a demo of "That'll Be the Day", among other songs. Petty became the band's manager and sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which released it as a single credited to "The Crickets", which became the name of Holly's band. In September 1957, as the band toured, "That'll Be the Day" topped the US "Best Sellers in Stores" chart and the UK Singles Chart. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, "Peggy Sue".
The album Chirping Crickets, released in November 1957, reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after, toured Australia and then the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band, consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings (bass), famed session musician Tommy Allsup (guitar), and Carl Bunch (drums), and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died".
During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Weezer, and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of "100 Greatest Artists".
Baby Let
Buddy Holly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come back baby I want to play house with you
You may go to college
You may go to school
You may have a pink cadillac
But don't you be nobody?s fool
Now come baby come
Come back baby
I want to play house with you
Now this is one thing baby
I want you to know
Well-a, come on back to me little girl
We can make like we did before (chorus)
Well now this is one thing baby
That I'm talkin? about
Well, come on back to me little girl
So we can play some house (chorus)
Well, listen to me baby
Try to understand
Well, I?d rather see you dead little girl
Than to be with another man (chorus)
The lyrics to Buddy Holly’s “Baby Let’s Play House” are a plea for a lost love to come back so they can start playing house again. Despite any successes that the girl may have had in life, the singer wants her to know that she can’t be anyone’s fool. The singer also speaks directly to the girl and states that he would rather see her dead than with another man. The song can be interpreted as a manifestation of a boy’s pain over the loss of his childhood sweetheart, and his reluctance to let go of the past.
The lyrics are a reflection of the social context of the time in which they were written. During the 1950s, “playing house” was a term used to describe living together without getting married- an action that was heavily frowned upon. Additionally, the idea of a man wanting a successful woman to come back to him may have been indicative of the stereotypical gender roles of the time.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby baby baby baby baby
I am pleading with my lover to come back to me, using repetition to emphasize urgency.
Come back baby I want to play house with you
I want my lover to return to our past passionate ways and rekindle our love through intimacy and cohabitation.
You may go to college
Although you have opportunities and potential, I still want you to come back to me.
You may go to school
I understand you may be focused on your education, but please put it aside and return to me.
You may have a pink cadillac
You may have material possessions, but they are not as important as our love.
But don't you be nobody?s fool
I do not want my lover to be taken advantage of or deceived by anyone else.
Now come baby come
I am urging my lover to return to me once again.
I want to play house with you
I desire to live with my lover and engage in domestic activities such as cooking and cleaning while also being intimate.
Now this is one thing baby
I want to emphasize the importance of my message.
I want you to know
I am trying to communicate something to my lover that they may not have realized before.
Well-a, come on back to me little girl
I am calling my lover in a playful and affectionate way.
We can make like we did before (chorus)
We can engage in the same way we used to before our separation.
Well now this is one thing baby
I am reiterating the importance of my message to my lover.
That I'm talkin? about
I am emphasizing that this is the topic at hand we need to discuss.
Well, listen to me baby
I want my lover to pay attention closely to my words and message.
Try to understand
I am asking my lover to empathize and see things from my perspective.
Well, I?d rather see you dead little girl
I am dramatically expressing my fear and jealousy of losing my lover to another man, even if it ultimately means losing her life.
Than to be with another man (chorus)
I would rather suffer the extreme of losing my lover than share her with another man.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ARTHUR GUNTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dyn Jarren
Even the great Buddy Holly was influenced by Elvis. But Holly carved out his own great musical legacy with his own music before he was cut short at the young age of 22. Holly was incredibly talented and who knows how far he would have gone with his music.
RIP Holly and Elvis-They are both legendary
Viv Higgins
How right you are,
Isaiah Galvez
You are right know what I would love a update version of buddy holly movie with a great cast you know
Dyn Jarren
@Isaiah Galvez I doubt they will remake it because the one with Gary Busey was so good and so was La Bamba. That had me crying at the end.
Both good biopics!
Isaiah Galvez
@Dyn Jarren A good movie telling the life story of would be The Big Bopper
Memphis Mick
This is a song by Arthur Gunter that Elvis covered. Holly may be doing it because he liked the original, also.
René Roberge
Excellent rendition by Buddy!!!
daniele runggatscher
Great Buddy Holly! A great star in Rockabilly heaven!
Worldwide Ghosts - Channel
Hell of a guy was Buddy! Hope you're resting or boppin' up there in heaven. No doubt you'll be boppin'!
Carlos Patriotismo José
🇺🇲 B.H 🇺🇲 BEAUTIFUL MUSIC !!! KING OFF ROCK BILLY 🥁🎺🎸🎵🎶🎧🎤🎙️🎷