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 Where the River Bends
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This might be our last goodbye
Our country calls you to defend a great land
So do your part just like a man
Down where the river bends
With God's help we'll meet again
Under the same old sycamore tree
I go down to the ocean blue
Its just as close as I came to you
This old ocean might keep us apart
But it won't keep you dear out of my heart
If the worst should happen and the poppies should wave
Over your far distant, lonely grave
All the rest of my life I'll spend in prayer
I'll meet you in heaven there'll be no war there
Dwight Yoakam's song "Down Where the River Bends" is a poignant and heartfelt tribute to soldiers who have to leave their loved ones behind to fight in a war. The opening lines of the song, "It's hard to keep tears out of my eyes, this might be our last goodbye," set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is struggling with the thought of saying goodbye to someone who is going off to serve their country. The next line, "Our country calls you to defend a great land, so do your part just like a man," highlights the sacrifice that the soldier has to make to serve their country.
The chorus of the song, "Down where the river bends, with God's help we'll meet again, under the same old sycamore tree, proud of each other and the land of the free," speaks to the hope that the singer has that they will be reunited with their loved one again after the war is over. The image of the two of them meeting under the same sycamore tree is symbolic of the continuity of their love even though they have been separated by war.
The next verse, "I go down to the ocean blue, it's just as close as I came to you, this old ocean might keep us apart, but it won't keep you dear out of my heart," shows that the singer is trying to cope with the distance between him and his loved one. Even though they are separated by the ocean, he still feels close to her, and she remains in his heart.
Finally, the last verse, "If the worst should happen and the poppies should wave over your far distant, lonely grave, all the rest of my life I'll spend in prayer, I'll meet you in heaven, there'll be no war there," is a powerful statement of the depth of the singer's love for his loved one. Even if she falls in battle, he will devote the rest of his life to praying for her and looking forward to the day when he can be reunited with her in heaven.
Line by Line Meaning
It's hard to keep tears out of my eyes
I am deeply emotional, and it's difficult to hold back my tears
This might be our last goodbye
I fear that we may not see each other again
Our country calls you to defend a great land
Our nation needs you to fight for the protection of our homeland
So do your part just like a man
Be courageous and fulfill your duties as a soldier
Down where the river bends
In a peaceful place where the river flows gently
With God's help we'll meet again
I trust in God to reunite us in the future
Under the same old sycamore tree
In a familiar spot that we both know
Proud of each other and the land of the free
We are proud of each other and our nation's freedom
I go down to the ocean blue
I visit the ocean, which is the closest I can get to you
It's just as close as I came to you
Even though we're apart, the ocean helps me feel connected to you
This old ocean might keep us apart
Despite our desire to be together, physical distance separates us
But it won't keep you dear out of my heart
I will always hold you close to my heart, even when we are apart
If the worst should happen and the poppies should wave
In the event of your death in battle, symbolized by the poppy flower
Over your far distant, lonely grave
If you are buried in a place far from home, surrounded by loneliness
All the rest of my life I'll spend in prayer
I will dedicate my remaining days to saying prayers for you and your memory
I'll meet you in heaven there'll be no war there
In death, I hope to be reunited with you in a peaceful place free from conflict
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANGLIN, PECK, WRIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheQueenOfCountry
Lyrics:
Its hard to keep tears out of my eyes
This might be our last goodbye
Our country calls you to defend a great land
So do your part just like a man
Down where the river bends
With god's help we'll meet again
Under the same old sycamore tree
Proud of each other and the land of the free
I go down to the ocean blue
Its just as close as I came to you
This old ocean might keep us apart
But it won't keep you dear out of my heart
Down where the river bends
With god's help we'll meet again
Under the same old sycamore tree
Proud of each other and the land of the free
If the worst should happen and the poppies should wave
Over your far distant, lonely grave
All the rest of my life I'll spend in prayer
I'll meet you in heaven there'll be no war there
Down where the river bends
With god's help we'll meet again
Under the same old sycamore tree
Proud of each other and the land of the free
Låtskrivere: John Prine
Louise Rawle
How wonderful is this..love it
BluegrassBuzzbomb
This version was originally on the Ralph Stanley "Saturday Night / Sunday Morning" 2xCD / "Saturday Night" CD release from 1992.
Antoine Brosseau
@mountaintyme2000 Very cool. Did they record this twice with different instrumentation and tempos for Ralph and for Dwight's releases? There's more than 1 master for this song right.
mountaintyme2000
Cross release agreement. I was in the room when this got cut.
mountaintyme2000
I don't recall two separate versions. Best I remember, Dwight specifically chose to cut this song with Ralph for the project.
folkblueroots
Very good!
Fernando Rocha
Very nice and cool song
Elaine Smith
Sweet