Daniels began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels wrote a song called "It Hurts Me" which Elvis Presley recorded. He worked as a session musician, including playing on three Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970. Daniels recorded his first solo album, Charlie Daniels, in 1970. His first hit, the novelty song "Uneasy Rider", came off his 1972 second album, Honey in the Rock, and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1974, Daniels organized the first in a series of Volunteer Jam concerts based in or around Nashville, Tennessee. Except for a three-year gap in the late 1980s, these have continued ever since.
In 1975, he had a top 30 hit as leader of the Charlie Daniels Band (CDB) with the Southern rock self-identification anthem "The South's Gonna Do It Again". "Long Haired Country Boy" was also a minor hit in that year.
Daniels won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1979 for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which reached #3 on the charts.
Subsequent Daniels pop hits included "In America" (#11 in 1980), "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" (#31 in 1980), and "Still in Saigon" (#22 in 1982).
In the late 1980s and 1990s several of Daniels' albums and singles were hits on the country charts. Daniels also released several gospel and Christian records.
Charlie Daniels has never shied away from politics. "The South's Gonna Do It" had a mild message of Southern cultural identity within the Southern rock movement. Daniels was an early supporter of Jimmy Carter's presidential bid and performed at his January 1977 inauguration.
"In America" was a reaction to the 1979-1981 Iran Hostage Crisis; it described a patriotic, united America where "we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank / That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks." In contrast, "Still in Saigon" (written by Dan Daley) was an effective portrayal of the plight of the American Vietnam veteran ten years after the war; it was part of an early 1980s wave of attention to the subject, in contrast to treatments such as Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." and "Shut Out the Light", Billy Joel's "Goodnight Saigon", and somewhat later Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road".
In 1990, Daniels' country hit "Simple Man" seemingly advocated a pseudo-Biblical form of vigilantism; lines such as "Just take them [rapists, killers, child abusers] out in the swamp / Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump / Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest," got Daniels considerable media attention and talk show visits.
In 2003, Daniels published an Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch in defence of George W. Bush's Iraq policy. His 2003 book Ain't No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag contains this letter as well as many other personal statements. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Daniels acknowledged that having never served in the military himself, he did not have the right to criticize John Kerry's service record.
In 2005, he has made a cameo appearance along with Larry the Cable Guy, Kid Rock, and Hank Williams, Jr. in Gretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up", whose album has been released.
In November 2007, Daniels was invited by Martina McBride to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
In October 2016, Daniels officially became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
On October 26, 2018, Daniels released a new side album project that was not solo or CDB, but a new band called Beau Weevils, along with CDB bass player, Charlie Hayward, producer James Stroud on drums and Billy Crain on guitar.
Homesick
Charlie Daniels Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The scene was so blue and sound so right
Your homesick
Listen close to the guitar man
A native son in a foreign land
Boy's homesick
Smokin' that dope and drinking that wine
And you were an outlaw
Piston drums beat an old refrain
Shakes your feet and it pounds your brain
Like a buzz saw
He's homesick
For days by gone
He's homesick
For home sweet home
In the darkness down the hall
Black light posters on the wall
Jimi Hendrix
Someone's lost in yesterday
Hazy dreams of Monterey
And Woodstock
Listen close to the guitar man
A native son in a foreign land
Makes you homesick
Listen close to the guitar man
A native son in a foreign land
The boy is homesick
He's homesick
For days by gone
He's homesick
For home sweet home
He's homesick
For days by gone
He's homesick
For home sweet home
He's homesick
For them times gone by
He's homesick
For that kickin' southern sky
He's homesick
(Listen close to the guitar man)
Said he's homesick
Boy is homesick
(Listen close to the guitar man)
(He's homesick)
The song "Homesick" by Charlie Daniels is an emotional ballad that speaks to anyone who has ever been away from home for a long period. The song is about a native son in a foreign land, who is feeling homesick and wants to go back to his roots. The lyrics begin with the sound of guitars ringing in the dead of night, symbolizing the memory of home that is deep within the soul of the singer. The scene is so blue and sounds so right that the singer becomes homesick.
The Guitar Man that the singer refers to is a fellow countryman who has also felt the pangs of missing home, and his music speaks to the singer's soul. The line "Where were you in '69, smoking that dope and drinking that wine?" is a reminiscence of a time gone by when life was simpler, and the singer did not have to worry about the complexities of the world. The chorus "He's homesick for days gone by, for home sweet home" is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt like they were missing out on something important.
The song is a powerful reminder of how important it is to remember where we come from, to stay grounded, and to never forget the things that make us who we are. The guitar man's music takes the singer back to the time and place where he feels most at home, and listening to it brings him great joy and solace. The song is a tribute to anyone who has ever felt like they were missing out on something important, and it reminds us all to cherish the memories of our past and hold them dear.
Line by Line Meaning
Guitars ring in the dead of night
The sound of guitars can be heard late at night.
The scene was so blue and sound so right
The environment was perfect for listening to music.
Your homesick
You feel nostalgic for something or someplace.
Listen close to the guitar man
Pay attention to the person playing the guitar.
A native son in a foreign land
Someone who belongs to a place but is currently in a different location.
Boy's homesick
A young person feels nostalgic for something or someplace.
Where were you in '69
What were you doing in the year 1969?
Smokin' that dope and drinking that wine
Engaging in recreational drug use and alcohol consumption.
And you were an outlaw
When you engaged in those activities, you were breaking the law.
Piston drums beat an old refrain
The drums played a familiar rhythm.
Shakes your feet and it pounds your brain
The music is so engaging that it causes physical and mental reactions.
Like a buzz saw
The sensation is similar to the sound of a buzz saw.
He's homesick
The person feels nostalgic for something or someplace.
For days by gone
For times in the past that are no longer accessible.
For home sweet home
For the comforting familiarity of home.
In the darkness down the hall
In a nearby, yet hidden place.
Black light posters on the wall
Posters that glow in the dark are displayed on the wall.
Jimi Hendrix
A reference to the musician Jimi Hendrix.
Someone's lost in yesterday
Someone is stuck in memories of the past.
Hazy dreams of Monterey
Unfocused memories of a place called Monterey.
And Woodstock
And memories of the Woodstock music festival.
He's homesick
The person feels nostalgic for something or someplace.
For them times gone by
For times in the past that are no longer accessible.
For that kickin' southern sky
For the feeling of being in the southern part of the United States.
(Listen close to the guitar man)
Pay attention to the person playing the guitar.
Said he's homesick
He expressed feeling nostalgic for something or someplace.
Boy is homesick
A young person feels nostalgic for something or someplace.
(Listen close to the guitar man)
Pay attention to the person playing the guitar.
(He's homesick)
He expressed feeling nostalgic for something or someplace.
Lyrics © EUFAULA MUSIC, INC., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EUGENE KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind