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".
Someone Someone
Buddy Holly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just won't get it 'cause you say we're through
I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
Well if you're not here my baby I don't care
Because I'm lookin' for someone to love
Since I found out that I was wronged
Well I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
Well if you're not here my baby I don't care
'Cause I'm lookin' for someone to love
Caught myself thinkin' of you
You can't love me and another one too
Well I'm lookin' for someone to love
Yeh I'm lookin' for someone to love
Well if you're not here my baby I don't care
'Cause I'm lookin' for someone to love
Drunk man, street car
Foot slipped, there you are
Well I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
Well if you're not here my baby I don't care
'Cause I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
I'm lookin' for someone to love
In this song, Buddy Holly sings about his search for someone new to love after a failed relationship. He's staying home, waiting for his ex-partner to return, but realizes that it's not going to happen because she's moved on. Holly decides to play the field during the day, trying to forget about her. He repeatedly states that he is looking for someone new to love, and that he doesn't care if his previous partner isn't there because he's searching for someone else.
The lyrics show the conflicting emotions of someone who has just been dumped. Holly is sad about the breakup but also doesn't want to be stuck in a relationship that isn't working. He's looking for someone who wants him and who can love him in the way that he needs. In the bridge, Holly sings of a chance encounter with his ex on the street. It's a lighthearted moment in the song, but it also shows the pain that comes with running into an ex-lover unexpectedly.
Line by Line Meaning
Stayin' at home waitin' for you
I am waiting at home for you but it's not helping because you have already broken up with me.
Just won't get it 'cause you say we're through
My waiting will not make things right because you have already ended our relationship.
I'm lookin' for someone to love
I am searching for a new person to love.
I'm lookin' for someone to love
Again, I am looking for someone who I can give my love to.
Well if you're not here my baby I don't care
If you are not willing to be with me, I will not bother myself trying to hold on to you.
Because I'm lookin' for someone to love
I feel the need to find someone that I can love and cherish.
Playin' the field all day long
Since you left me, I have been single and exploring my options.
Since I found out that I was wronged
After realizing that I was treated unfairly or deceived, I have stopped waiting for you to come back to me.
Caught myself thinkin' of you
I still have you on my mind despite trying to move on.
You can't love me and another one too
It is not possible for you to love both me and someone else at the same time.
Drunk man, street car
This line does not have a clear meaning or connection to the rest of the song.
Foot slipped, there you are
This line is also unclear in meaning and connection to the rest of the song.
I'm lookin' for someone to love
Reiterating the search for love.
Yeh I'm lookin' for someone to love
Same as the previous line.
I'm lookin' for someone to love
Same as the previous lines, emphasizing the theme of seeking love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dennisfothergill
Buddy Holly was well ahead of time in his music.Ive been an avid fan of his music, for over 50 years now, and I'm still drawn to The Chirpin Crickets L.P. of which my late brother owned, what fantastic arrangements there were on that Album, all those years ago, absolutely "BRILL" R.I.P. Charles Harding Holly xx
@Tonetwisters
The all-time best rock and roller. Period.
@sauquoit13456
'Drunk man, street car; foot slipped, there you are now'...
One of the their best songs, but then again, the Crickets never had a bad song!!!
@gabize
greil marcus: There’s the lack of care in the singer’s plea, the plea of someone looking for love, bereft, alone, but also cruising, not in any hurry, laughing at himself—and it’s the lack of care that makes the room in the song, room in its story, in its heart, room, in this case, for the cool walk of the last verse, which turns out to be as complete a definition of rock ’n’ roll as Holly’s guitar solos, the verse that was nothing but a Holly family saying, which here seems a Zen koan, a frontier password, and lines left out of “Not Fade Away” all at once: “Drunk man / Street car / Foot slip / There you are.”
@bigsinger1981
He wrote this while travelling to studio to record that il be the day and his brother gave him that line which was something their mother used to say. Watch documentary and Gary and Roma tollett explained the story .
@rogerdodger4444
His brother Travis wrote that line of the song
@jaredtomlin85
Never a bad song, that's why Buddy will always be my favorite!
@morna45
Great song that I had on an original EP, along with Not Fade Away, Oh Boy and That'll Be the Day. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so.
@geraldlewis9963
I almost agree
@jeffjeeves6337
What a fine guitar player he was.