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".
I Gambled My Heart
Buddy Holly Lyrics
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Why must a true heart be left to pay the cost?
Why must a heart that has been true
Be broken and sad, so empty and blue?
I gambled my heart and I lost it to you
Now I'll spend my life wondering why I love you?
Someday, you'll know why I'm so blue
Why must it be the one you want most of all
They'll build you up and then let you fall?
They'll lead you on, you'll think that they're true
They'll love you then leave you so empty and blue
The lyrics to Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery's song "I Gambled My Heart" are about the pain that comes from loving someone deeply and then losing them. The singer is struggling with the fact that they gave their heart to this person, and yet they still lost them in the end. The lyrics question why a true heart has to suffer and be left to pay the cost when love is lost. The heart that once was filled with happiness, love, and companionship is now empty, broken, and sad.
The lyrics suggest that the singer took a gamble with their heart by loving this person so deeply, and now they have lost that bet. They are left wondering why they love this person and are filled with sadness and emptiness. The lyrics also touch on the universal experience of being led on by someone they thought was true only to have that person leave them feeling blue and empty.
Line by Line Meaning
When you've loved someone and then found you've lost
Why is it that when you lose someone you loved, your heart has to suffer the consequences?
Why must a true heart be left to pay the cost?
Why does a heart that was sincere have to suffer for the loss of love?
Why must a heart that has been true
Why does a heart that showed loyalty and honesty have to go through the pain of heartbreak?
Be broken and sad, so empty and blue?
Why does heartbreak leave you feeling desolate, unhappy, and hopeless?
I gambled my heart and I lost it to you
I took a chance on love and lost it to you.
Now I'll spend my life wondering why I love you?
Now I'll spend the rest of my life questioning why I fell in love with you.
Someday, you'll know why I'm so blue
One day, you'll realize why I feel so devastated and miserable.
When you've gambled your heart and you've lost it too
When you've taken a risk with your heart and lost it, you'll understand how I feel.
Why must it be the one you want most of all
Why is it always the person you desire the most that ends up hurting you?
They'll build you up and then let you fall?
They will make you feel special only to let you down in the end.
They'll lead you on, you'll think that they're true
They'll give you hope that they are sincere, but it will turn out to be false.
They'll love you then leave you so empty and blue
They will make you feel loved, but in the end, they will abandon you and leave you feeling unhappy and lonely.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: BOB MONTGOMERY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind