Dickey Lee Lipscomb (born September 21, 1936, Memphis, Tennessee), known pr… Read Full Bio ↴Dickey Lee Lipscomb (born September 21, 1936, Memphis, Tennessee), known professionally as Dickey Lee (sometimes misspelled Dickie Lee), is an American pop/country singer and songwriter best known for the 1960s teenage tragedy songs "Patches" and "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)." For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... A piece of fabric. ... Lee made his first recordings in his hometown of Memphis for Tampa Records and Sun Records in 1957-58. He achieved his first chart success in 1962, when his composition "She Thinks I Still Care" was a hit for George Jones. Later that year, "Patches," written by Barry Mann and Larry Kobler and recorded by Lee for Smash Records, rose to #6. Lee had a #14 hit in 1963 with a song he co-wrote, a conventional rocker, "I Saw Linda Yesterday." In 1965, he returned to teen tragedy with "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)" a song related to the urban legends known as the vanishing hitchhiker and Resurrection Mary . The song was written by a Memphis psychologist, Milton Addington, based on a newspaper article by Cathie Harmon, who shared songwriting credit. The singer meets a girl at a dance and falls in love with her. He loans her his sweater, and when he goes to her house to retrieve it, he is informed by her father that Laurie "died a year ago today." When a "strange force" draws the singer to the graveyard, he sees his sweater lying on Laurie's grave. The song made only #14 on the national charts, but broke the top ten in a number of regional markets. To many, "Laurie" is still remembered as "the sweater song." An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... The vanishing hitchhiker (or phantom hitchhiker) is a reported phenomenon in which people travelling by vehicle meet with or are accompanied by a hitchhiker who subsequently vanishes without explanation, often from a moving vehicle. ... Resurrection Mary is a famous ghost story and is considered by many to be the original hitchhiker ghost story. ...

After the sixties, Lee devoted his efforts to country music performing and songwriting.

Special
Dickey Lee Lyrics

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The only thing I really own is what you see me wearing on my back
The only friends I've ever known are the kind you meet along a railroad track
The kind you bum tobacco from and see the world through a boxcar door
A friend who talks and makes you laugh has nothing much but gives you half
And maybe you don't see him anymore
Special I hear your lonesome whistle whine
Special keep moving me on down the line

My mackinaw's full of holes and ain't too good at keeping out the cold
My shoes are worn as paper thin my feet can feel the cinders through the soles
Sometimes I see a pretty girl wonder what I've missed along the way
Once someone special wore my ring loved me more than anything
I gave her up and caught a train one day

Special I had a special girl on time Special keep moving me on down the line
Special I hear your lonesome

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Dickey Lee's song "Special" tell the story of a traveler who owns nothing more than what he is wearing on his back. He describes his friends as those he meets on the road, particularly along the railroad tracks. These friends are often fellow travelers with whom he shares tobacco and experiences. These friends are also sometimes fleeting, as they don't stick around for long. The singer acknowledges his poor state, describing his clothes as full of holes and his shoes worn through. However, he still embraces the life of a wanderer and reminisces about a special girl he left behind to continue his travels.

The song is a tribute to the experience of life on the road and the sense of camaraderie among travelers. It suggests that the temporary connections we make while traveling can be just as meaningful as those we make in stationary life. The singer’s repeated invocation of “special” towards the end of the song has a sense of longing and nostalgia behind it. Despite his transient life, he still feels a sense of attachment to people he's known and places he's been.

Line by Line Meaning

The only thing I really own is what you see me wearing on my back
I have nothing much to call my own except for the clothes on my back.

The only friends I've ever known are the kind you meet along a railroad track
The only friends I have made in my life are the ones I met while travelling on the railroad tracks.

The kind you bum tobacco from and see the world through a boxcar door
These friends are the ones with whom I share cigarettes and view the world outside from the boxcar doors.

A friend who talks and makes you laugh has nothing much but gives you half
I cherish the ones who talk and make me laugh, although they have nothing more to give than half of what they have.

And maybe you don't see him anymore
Perhaps, I may not see these friends again as I move on with my life.

Special I hear your lonesome whistle whine
The sound of the train's whistle reminds me of my special someone.

Special keep moving me on down the line
The train moving forward, takes me away to new destinations.

My mackinaw's full of holes and ain't too good at keeping out the cold
My mackinaw jacket is worn out and no longer as warm as it used to be.

My shoes are worn as paper thin my feet can feel the cinders through the soles
My shoes are too worn out and thin so that I can feel the burning cinders beneath the soles of my feet.

Sometimes I see a pretty girl wonder what I've missed along the way
Sometimes I see an attractive girl and wonder what kind of life I could have had if I hadn't chosen to live like a vagabond.

Once someone special wore my ring loved me more than anything
At one point, I was in a relationship with someone who loved me more than anyone else in the world.

I gave her up and caught a train one day
I left her behind and took to the road when I chose a life of mobility.

Special I had a special girl on time Special keep moving me on down the line
I had a special person in my life once, and I know I made a mistake by moving on.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILL RICE, JERRY FOSTER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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