Hendricks was born in Nashville, Tennessee. A lifetime resident of Nashville, she was surrounded by the influences of early country music and the remaining vestiges of ragtime, particularly through the guitar pickers. She took up piano at age five, and played ragtime, gospel, and country music. Despite her parent's best efforts to encourage a direction towards classical music, the environment in Nashville, plus the early local programming on radio, convinced her that she wanted to play piano in the honky-tonk style. Her dream goal was the Grand Ole Opry, something she would realize in her early 30s.
Shortening her married name (Adelaide Hazelwood) to something easier to remember (and intentionally non-gender specific), Wood began playing in bands and honky-tonk joints in her 20s. After a decade of building repertoire and reputation, she spent some time as a staff pianist at WLBJ in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was there that she was heard playing "Down Yonder" among other pieces, which led to a gig with a recording group called Hugh `Baby' Jarrett and his Dixieliners. This led to the first of many recording sessions for the Tennessee Records label starting in 1951. "Down Yonder" soon became a national hit in both the country and pop categories in Billboard record charts, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. She is probably the first female country solo instrumentalist to sell a million copies of a record.
This success was turned into appearances on the Grand Ole Opry starting in 1952, which led to an eventual full-time gig there in 1953, fulfilling her long-time dream. Two years later her fame culminated with a contract from RCA Victor Records, where she would make some of the first country/honky-tonk stereo recordings in the late 1950s. While nothing else that she put out had the same success as "Down Yonder", her offerings over the next decade were frequent and consistent. Wood gained the title, Queen of the Ragtime Pianists, sometimes shared with junior fellow plunker Jo Ann Castle. She was also divorced from her stage-namesake, Carson Hazelwood, during this period, but not before adopting a son they named Wesley.
During the Vietnam War, Wood was part of one of the Grand Ole Opry package tours that entertained troops overseas in 1968. Her recordings after the late 1960s were infrequent at best, but her appearances on the Opry continued until just before her death from a stroke on October 3, 1989 at the age of 69.
She was interred in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.
Bye Bye Blackbird
Del Wood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me
Pack up all my cares and woe, here I go, winging low
Bye, bye, blackbird
Where somebody waits for me
Sugar's sweet, so is she
Bye, bye, blackbird
No one here can love or understand me
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me
Make my bed and light the light, I'll arrive late tonight
Blackbird, bye, bye
Bye, bye, blackbird
Where somebody waits for me
Sugar's sweet, so is she
Bye, bye, blackbird
No one here can love or understand me
Oh what hard luck stories they all hand me
Make my bed and light the light, I'll arrive late tonight
Blackbird, bye, bye
The lyrics to Del Wood's "Bye Bye Blackbird" speak to the feeling of being misunderstood and unloved. The singer is surrounded by people who do not appreciate or connect with them, and are constantly met with difficult stories and situations. The solution to this problem? Packing up all of their cares and woes and setting out on a journey, leaving the blackbird behind.
The final verse of the song holds a glimmer of hope, as the singer imagines a place where someone is waiting for them, where the sweetness of love is appreciated. They prepare to make this journey, knowing that they will arrive late at night but still determined to make it. "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a poignant expression of the need for connection and understanding in a world that can be cold and unfeeling.
Line by Line Meaning
No one here can love or understand me
I feel alone and like no one truly cares for me or comprehends my emotions.
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me
People always tell me about their misfortunes, making me feel like they don't realize how hard it is for me too.
Pack up all my cares and woe, here I go, winging low
I am leaving my worries and sorrows behind me as I try to escape my current situation.
Bye, bye, blackbird
I am saying goodbye to the people and things that have caused me pain and sorrow.
Where somebody waits for me
I believe there is someone out there who genuinely loves and understands me, and I am searching for that person.
Sugar's sweet, so is she
The person I am looking for is kind and loving, just like sugar is sweet.
Make my bed and light the light, I'll arrive late tonight
I am acknowledging that my journey to find someone who truly loves and understands me might be long, but I am willing to undertake it anyway.
Blackbird, bye, bye
I am once again saying farewell to the negativity in my life as I move closer to finding the right person for me.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind