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 Hüsker Dü, 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.
Down On The Corner Of Love
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's there I'll be found
Down on the corner of love
Beneath the stars that shine
And the neon signs
I'll be down on the corner of love
When night starts to fall
And love starts to call
You'll find me hangin' around
It's there I'll be found
Down on the corner of love
When it's late in the eve'nins
And I can't help but feelin'
That my heart you're a steelin'
'Neath the stars up above
When the sun goes down
And the moon comes 'round
I'll be down on the corner of love
[Instrumental]
When you're passin' by
Too lonesome to cry
Down on the corner of love
Just stop for a while
I'll teach you to smile
Down on the corner of love
A love that you had
Has treated you bad
Down on the corner of love
Forget what you knew
We'll start live anew
Down on the corner of love
When it's late in the eve'nins
And I can't help but feelin'
That my heart you're a steelin'
'Neath the stars up above
When the sun goes down
And the moon comes 'round
I'll be down on the corner of love
[Instrumental]
When it's late in the eve'nins
And I can't help but feelin'
That my heart you're a steelin'
'Neath the stars up above
When the sun goes down
And the moon comes 'round
I'll be down on the corner of love...
In Dwight Yoakam's hit song "Down on the Corner of Love," the lyrics explore themes of love, loneliness, and finding solace in a particular place. The singer of the song is often located on the corner of love, where beneath the shining neon signs and stars, he waits for love to call. He encourages those who pass by feeling lonely and sad to join him and experience the wonders of love. At night, when the moon comes out, he continues to wait on the corner, heart aching but hopeful for love to come his way.
The lyrics go on to indicate that the singer isn't familiar with the person he's inviting to join him on the corner, but he knows that they have been hurt by love before. He offers to start fresh for them and give them a new perspective on love. The song's chorus repeats this image of the singer waiting on the corner, and throughout the song, the instrumentals convey a sense of longing, as if the notes themselves are hoping for love to appear.
Overall, "Down on the Corner of Love" is a song about finding a place to feel hope when love feels impossible. It's an ode to the idea that even when you're feeling low, there's a chance for love around the corner if you're willing to wait for it.
Line by Line Meaning
You'll find me hangin' around
I spend a lot of time in this area
It's there I'll be found
If you look for me, this is where you'll find me
Down on the corner of love
This is the name of the place where I spend my time
Beneath the stars that shine
The sky is clear and bright, and the stars are visible
And the neon signs
The lights of the city flicker and glow
I'll be down on the corner of love
This is where I choose to be
When night starts to fall
As the day comes to an end and darkness creeps in
And love starts to call
When I feel the pull of romance
Down on the corner of love
This is the place where I can fulfill my desires
When it's late in the eve'nins
When it gets to be well into the night
And I can't help but feelin'
And I can't help but feel
That my heart you're a steelin'
That you are stealing my heart
'Neath the stars up above
Under the night sky
When the sun goes down
When daytime ends and darkness arrives
And the moon comes 'round
And the moon reaches its highest point in the sky
I'll be down on the corner of love
This is where I'll be
When you're passin' by
If you happen to be nearby
Too lonesome to cry
So lonely that I can't even cry about it
Down on the corner of love
Come to this spot, which is where I go to escape loneliness
Just stop for a while
Take a moment to pause and rest
I'll teach you to smile
I'll show you how to be happy
A love that you had
A previous relationship of yours
Has treated you bad
Did not treat you well
Down on the corner of love
This is where you can come to forget about your past relationship
Forget what you knew
Let go of what you thought you knew about love
We'll start live anew
We can begin again and make a fresh start
When it's late in the eve'nins
When the night grows later
And I can't help but feelin'
And I can't help but feel
That my heart you're a steelin'
That you are stealing my heart
'Neath the stars up above
Under the night sky
When the sun goes down
When the day comes to an end
And the moon comes 'round
And the moon rises in the sky
I'll be down on the corner of love
I'll still be in my usual spot
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BUCK OWENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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