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.
What'd I Say
Charlie Daniels Lyrics
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Come and love me all night long.
Oh oh, hey hey,
All right now.
See the girl with the diamond ring,
She knows how to twist that thing.
Oh oh, hey hey,
Tell your mama, tell your pa
I'm gonna ship you back to Arkansas.
Oh yes, you don't do right,
You don't do right.
Tell me what'd I say,
Tell me what'd I say right now.
Tell me what'd I say,
Tell me what'd I say.
Tell me what'd I say,
Tell me what'd I say.
Yes, I wanna know,
I wanna know.
Baby, I wanna know right now,
Yes, I wanna know.
Honey, I wanna know,
Yes, I wanna know.
Hey hey
Ho ho
Hey hey
Ho ho
Hey hey ho ho hey.
Sing me one more time.
Sing me one more time.
Sing me one more time.
Sing me one more time.
Sing me one more time.
Sing me one more time.
Hey hey
Ho ho
Hey hey
Ho ho
Hey hey ho ho hey.
Make me feel so good.
Make me feel so good.
Make me feel so good right now.
Make me feel so good.
Make me feel so good.
Make me feel so good.
Huh huh
Ho ho
Huh huh
Ho ho
Huh huh ho ho huh.
Baby, it's all right.
Baby, it's all right right now.
Baby, it's all right.
Baby, it's all right.
Baby, it's all right.
Baby, it's all right.
Come on, twist that thing.
Come on, twist that thing.
Keep a twistin' that thing.
Keep a twistin' that thing.
Keep a twistin' that thing.
Keep a twistin' that thing.
Make me feel all right.
Well, I feel all right.
Well, I feel all right.
Well, I feel all right.
Well, I feel all right.
Well, I feel all right.
The song "What'd I Say" by Charlie Daniels is about a man pleading for his lover to treat him properly and satisfy him sexually. He asks his mother not to treat him wrong and to love him all night long. He then mentions a girl with a diamond ring who knows how to twist that thing, implying that this girl is satisfying him in ways his current lover is not. He threatens to ship his lover back to Arkansas if she continues to not do right by him. The chorus repeatedly asks the question "tell me what'd I say," which can be interpreted as the man asking his lover to tell him what he needs to do or say in order for her to give him what he wants.
The song has a very upbeat and catchy rhythm, with a lot of repetition and call-and-response style lyrics. It is a classic example of country and southern rock music from the 1970s. The lyrics are quite suggestive and sexually charged, which was not uncommon in the genre at the time. The song can also be interpreted as a commentary on male entitlement and the idea that men expect women to fulfill their sexual desires without putting in effort towards a mutually satisfying relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey mama, don't you treat me wrong,
Charlie Daniels is requesting his mama to treat him right.
Come and love me all night long.
He wants his mama to love him the entire night.
See the girl with the diamond ring,
Charlie Daniels notices a girl with a diamond ring.
She knows how to twist that thing.
The girl is skilled at dancing.
Tell your mama, tell your pa
Charlie Daniels intends to inform the girl's parents.
I'm gonna ship you back to Arkansas.
He wants to send the girl back home to Arkansas as a punishment.
Oh yes, you don't do right,
Charlie Daniels believes the girl is behaving poorly.
Tell me what'd I say,
He wants to know what he said to upset the girl.
Yes, I wanna know,
Charlie Daniels is curious to find out what caused the girl's reaction.
Sing me one more time.
He wants the girl to perform her dance again.
Make me feel so good.
Charlie Daniels wants to experience pleasure.
Huh huh
An exclamation of approval or enjoyment.
Baby, it's all right.
Charlie Daniels reassures the girl that everything is fine now.
Come on, twist that thing.
He wants the girl to continue dancing.
Keep a twistin' that thing.
Charlie Daniels encourages the girl to keep dancing.
Well, I feel all right.
Charlie Daniels expresses that he is feeling good.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RAY CHARLES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind