Yoakam was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, the son of Ruth Ann, a key-punch operator, and David Yoakam, a gas-station owner. He was raised in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Columbus's Northland High School in 1974. During his high school years, he excelled in both music and drama, regularly securing the lead role in school plays, such as "Charlie" in a stage version of Flowers for Algernon, honing his skills under the guidance of teacher-mentors Jerry McAfee (music) and Charles Lewis (drama). Outside of school, Yoakam sang and played guitar with local garage bands, and entertained his friends and classmates with his impersonations, such as Richard Nixon, who, at the time, was heavily embroiled in the Watergate controversy.
Yoakam briefly attended Ohio State University, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in 1977 with the intent of becoming a recording artist. Later on, Ohio Valley University in Parkersburg, West Virginia awarded and presented Dwight with an honorary doctorate degree on May 7, 2005.
When he began his career, Nashville was oriented toward pop "urban cowboy" music, and Yoakam's brand of hip honky tonk music was not considered marketable.
Not making much headway in Nashville, Yoakam moved to Los Angeles and worked towards bringing his particular brand of new Honky Tonk or "Hillbilly" music (as he called it) forward into the 1980s. Writing all his own songs, and continuing to perform mostly outside traditional country music channels, Yoakam did many shows in rock and punk rock clubs around Los Angeles, playing with roots rock or punk rock acts like The Blasters (Yoakam scored a small video hit with his version of their song "Long White Cadillac"), Los Lobos, and X. This helped him diversify his audience beyond the typical country music fans, and his authentic, groundbreaking music is often credited with rock audiences accepting country music.
Yoakam's recording debut was the self-financed EP Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. on independent label Oak Records produced by lead-guitarist Pete Anderson; this was later re-released by Reprise records, with several additional tracks, as his major-label debut LP, 1986's Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. It launched his career. "Honky Tonk Man", a remake of the Johnny Horton song, and "Guitars, Cadillacs" were hit singles. His stylish video "Honky Tonk Man" was the first country music video ever played on MTV. The follow-up LP, Hillbilly Deluxe, was just as successful. His third LP, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room, included his first No. 1, a duet with his musical idol, Buck Owens, on "Streets of Bakersfield". 1990's If There Was a Way was another best-seller.
Yoakam's song "Readin', Rightin', Route 23" pays tribute to his childhood move from Kentucky, and is named after a local expression describing the route that rural Kentuckians took to find a job outside of the coal mines. (U.S. Route 23 runs north from Kentucky through Columbus and Toledo, Ohio and through the automotive centers of Michigan.) Rather than the standard line that their elementary schools taught "the three Rs" of "Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic", Kentuckians used to say that the three Rs they learned were "Readin', 'Ritin, and Route 23 North".
Johnny Cash once cited Yoakam as his favorite country singer. Chris Isaak called him as good a songwriter that ever put a pen to paper. Time Magazine dubbed Yoakam "A Renaissance Man" and Vanity Fair declared that "Yoakam strides the divide between rock's lust and country's lament." Along with his bluegrass and honky-tonk roots, Yoakam has written or covered many Elvis Presley-style rockabilly songs, including his covers of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in 1999 and Presley's "Suspicious Minds" in 1992. He recorded a cover of The Clash's "Train in Vain" in 1997, a cover of the Grateful Dead song "Truckin'", as well as Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me". Yoakam has never been associated only with Country music; on many early tours, he played with Hardcore Punk bands like HΓΌsker DΓΌ, and played many shows around Los Angeles with Roots/Punk/Rock & Roll acts. His middle-period-to-later records saw him branching out to different styles, covering Rock & Roll, Punk, 1960's, Blues-based "Boogie" like ZZ Top, and writing more adventurous songs like "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere". In 2003, he provided background vocals on Warren Zevon's last album The Wind.
In the 21st century, Yoakam released dwightyoakamacoustic.net, an album featuring solo acoustic versions of many of his hits; left his major label and started his own label.
2005 saw the release of Yoakam's well-reviewed album Blame the Vain, on New West Records. Yoakam also released an album dedicated to Buck Owens, Dwight Sings Buck, on October 23, 2007. His duet with Michelle Branch, a song titled "Long Goodbye", was released as a free download on Branch's official website in early 2011.
In July 2011, Yoakam re-signed with Warner Bros. Nashville and announced plans to release a new album. 3 Pears was released on September 18, 2012 with twelve new tracks. The album, produced by Yoakam, includes collaborations with Kid Rock, Beck, and Ashley Monroe. 3 Pears was released to resounding critical acclaim and earned Yoakam the highest-charting debut of his career on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Country Albums charts. 3 Pears reached #1 on the Americana Radio chart on October 29, 2012 and went on to break the 2012 record for most weeks at #1 on Americana Radio.[4] By the end of 2012, the album was named on annual best of lists by NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, AOL's The Boot, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, and Rhapsody, and has been included in more critic's "best of 2012" lists than any other artist in the country genre.
Yoakam won the Grammy Award for "Best Male Country Vocal Performance" in 1993 for the song "Ain't That Lonely Yet". He was also named "Artist of the Year" by CMT Europe in 1993 and given the International Touring Artist Award by CMA in 2007.
In 2011, Yoakam received the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award for his trailblazing achievements in the country music genre.
Always Late With Kisses
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always late with your kisses
Won't you come to my arms sweet darlin' and stay
You're always late with your kisses
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way
How long do you think that i can wait
When you know you're always late
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way
Always late, always late
Always late, always late
How long do you think that i can wait
When you know you're always late
Always late with your kisses
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way
[Chorus:]
Always late with your kisses
Won't you come to my arms sweet darlin' and stay
You're always late with your kisses
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way
I said, why oh why do you want to do me this way
The song "Always Late With Your Kisses" by Dwight Yoakam is a country classic that speaks of a lover's frustration towards their partner's habitual tardiness when it comes to showing affection. The chorus repeats the phrase "always late with your kisses" four times, questioning the reason for such behavior and pleading for the lover to come and stay in their arms.
The song's melancholic tone is maintained through Yoakam's vocals, which are slow and express a mix of disappointment and heartache. The lyrics paint a picture of a lover waiting patiently for their partner's affection, but growing increasingly tired of being kept waiting. The lines "How long do you think that I can wait, when you know you're always late" speaks directly to this sense of frustration felt by the singer.
The repetition of the phrase "always late" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's sense of disappointment that their partner cannot meet their expectations, despite their repeated promises to do so. However, the last two lines of the song reveal a hint of vulnerability as the singer asks, "why, oh why do you want to do me this way?" suggesting a desperate need for an explanation as to why their partner can't seem to show up for them.
Overall, "Always Late With Your Kisses" is a poignant and relatable exploration of the difficulties that come with waiting for someone who cannot seem to show affection in a timely manner.
Line by Line Meaning
Always late with your kisses
You never show up on time for us to be intimate
Won't you come to my arms sweet darlin' and stay
Please, be with me and don't keep me waiting
You're always late with your kisses
You consistently fail to fulfill this basic need of mine
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way
What have I done to deserve this neglect from you?
How long do you think that i can wait
I've already been patient, but how much longer can I endure this?
When you know you're always late
You're aware that you're failing to meet this expectation, yet you still do not make changes
Always late, always late
This is an ongoing issue that never gets resolved
I said, why oh why do you want to do me this way
I can't help but wonder why you choose to treat me with such disregard
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BLACKIE CRAWFORD, LEFTY FRIZZELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike Sisley
Lefty Frizzell did this song first. He was a legend in old country song writing. Many have done this song, but Dwight does it justice.
Kayleam Ransey
This version is great but it still has nothing on George Jones n Randy Travis singing it on stage with just their guitars
Mike Sisley
AND....I love me some Dwight!!! Why? He just is the stuff. His screan acting is good but his music is FANTASTIC.
Jim Edge
Seen him do a small show (1000 people) was the best personal show ever ,will remember for ever.non stop music ,rolled from one song to the next without missing a beatπ
Suh Synched
When you cover Lefty you got to have the confidence, and Dwight got that in abundance.
Tyler Gavin
He's Talented at Doing The classics and he's good
Chuck Yufarley
Lefty would have been proud of this one, for sure.
Kathy Green
There is NO ONE like Dwight! A style all his own!
Matthew David Landberg
His style of country music is styled after Buck Owens, his mentor, friend and inspiration
Imayorkiemom
There is only one man that can sing a Dwight Yoakam song and that IS Dwight Yoakam himself!!