Curless was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, in 1932, and moved with his family to Massachusetts at the age of eight. In 1948, Curless began his music career in Ware, Massachusetts, where he hosted a radio show and toured with a local band called the "Trail Blazers." He married his wife, Pauline, in 1951, and only six months after the wedding, he was drafted into the army. He served in the Korean War from 1952 to 1954 first as a truck driver and later as a radio host with the stage name "Rice Paddy Ranger."
He returned home to Maine in 1954 and continued performing on radio shows, but he spent much of the following year, 1955, in the privacy of his home due to a chronic illness. In 1956, Curless returned to the public spotlight and appeared on the CBS television show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He spent much of the late 1950s performing in clubs in California and Las Vegas but occasionally returned home to Maine to recover from periods of illness and fatigue.
In 1965, Curless recorded one of the biggest hits of his career, "A Tombstone Every Mile," which cracked the top-5 on the Billboard country charts and propelled him to national fame. From 1966 to 1968, he toured the nation with the Buck Owens All American Show. The pinnacle of his career came in the late 1960s with eleven top-40 hits, including "Six Times a Day (the Trains Came Down)." Altogether, he recorded twenty-two Billboard top-40 hits throughout his career.
After his success in 1970 with the hits "Big Wheel Cannonball" and "Hard, Hard Traveling Man," he recorded infrequently until he released the albums Welcome To My World and It Just A Matter Of Time in Norway in 1987. The albums were successful in Europe, especially in Norway and Germany.
Curless recorded an album with German country musician Tom Astor in 1991. During the later part of his life, he performed often at the Cristy Lane Theater in Branson, Missouri. He died of stomach cancer in 1995.
Lazy Bones
Dick Curless Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How you spect to get your day's work done
You never get your day's work done
Sleepin' in the noon day sun
Lazy bones sleepin' in the shade
How you spect to get your cornmeal made
You never get no cornmeal made
When taters need sprayin' I'll bet you keep prayin'
The bugs fall off of the vine
And when you go fishin' I'll bet you keep wishin'
Them fish don't bite at your line
Yeah lazy bones loafin' through the day
How you spect to make a dime that way
You'll never make no dime that way
Well I declare you never heard a word I say
In this song by Dick Curless, the lyrics tell the story of a lazy bones who spends his days sleeping in the sun and the shade, neglecting his work and responsibilities. The first verse states that the lazy bones will never get his day's work done if he continues to sleep in the noon day sun. The second verse suggests that he will never get his cornmeal made if he continues to sleep in the shade. The lazy bones is depicted as someone who shirks his duties and avoids work at all costs.
The following lines reveal the consequences of laziness: the taters need spraying and the bugs are not falling off the vine because the lazy bones is not doing his job. The singer also goes fishing but doesn't catch anything, again due to his own lack of effort. The chorus then repeats the first verse, emphasizing that the lazy bones will never be successful if he continues to be lazy and unproductive.
The central theme of the song seems to be the importance of hard work and dedication to one's craft. The lazy bones is not only failing to succeed but also hindering the success of those around him. The lyrics provide a warning against laziness and a reminder to stay focused and committed.
Line by Line Meaning
Lazy bones sleepin' in the sun
Addressing someone who's sleeping in the sun and telling them that they will not be able to complete their day's work this way.
How you spect to get your day's work done
Asking the person who's sleeping how they expect to finish their work if they continue to sleep.
You never get your day's work done
Stating that the person who's sleeping is never able to complete their work because of their laziness.
Sleepin' in the noon day sun
Pointing out that the person is sleeping in the hot afternoon sun which is not conducive to working.
Lazy bones sleepin' in the shade
Addressing the same person who's now sleeping in the shade and pointing out that even in the shade they won't be able to get any work done.
How you spect to get your cornmeal made
Asking the person how they plan to make cornmeal if they're constantly sleeping instead of working.
You never get no cornmeal made
Stating that the person never gets any work done, including making cornmeal because of their laziness.
Sleepin' in that noon day shade
Pointing out that the person is still sleeping during the day, this time in the shade.
When taters need sprayin' I'll bet you keep prayin'
Suggesting that when there is work to be done such as spraying potatoes, the person prays for someone else to do it instead of doing it themselves.
The bugs fall off of the vine
Imagining the above scenario, when the bugs fall off the vine instead of being sprayed, where the person remains lazy and does nothing.
And when you go fishin' I'll bet you keep wishin'
Putting forth that when the person goes fishing, they hope and wish that fish just jump into their hands rather than having to work to catch them.
Them fish don't bite at your line
Pointing out that the person is again unsuccessful in their laziness and the fish don't bite their line.
Yeah lazy bones loafin' through the day
Addressing the person once more and suggesting that they laze around all day.
How you spect to make a dime that way
Asking the person how they expect to earn any money if they're so lazy and unproductive.
You'll never make no dime that way
Stating that it's not possible for the person to earn any money if they don't put in their fair share of work.
Well I declare you never heard a word I say
Exasperatedly telling the person that they never listen to any advice given to them and continue being lazy despite being told otherwise.
Contributed by Juliana O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cynthia Ferguson
he was the best