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.
I Want You to Want Me
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me, hey yeah
I'm beggin' you to beg me
And I want you to want me
I need you to need me
Yeah, I'd love you to love me
I'll put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
See you cryin'
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
Hear you cry
Yeah, feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin'
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
Hear you cry
And I want you to want me
Yeah, I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
Hey, I'm beggin' you to beg me
I'll shine up the old brown shoes
Put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
See you cryin'
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
Hear you cry
Yeah, feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin'
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
Hear you cry
I'll shine up the old brown shoes
Put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
See you cryin'
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
Hear you cry
Yeah, feelin' all alone without a friend
You know you feel like dyin'
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I
Hear you cry
And I want you to want me
Yeah, I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
Oh, I want you to want me
The song "I Got You" by Dwight Yoakam is a classic love song about a man confessing his love and begging for the love he desires in return. The lyrics in the chorus, "And I want you to want me, Yeah, I need you to need me, I'd love you to love me," show how the singer is desperate for the affection of his lover. He is not just asking for her love, but also emphasizing how much he needs her to love him. The repetition of the chorus reinforces his yearning. The verses of the song indicate that he is willing to go to great lengths to win her heart, such as shining his old brown shoes and putting on a brand new shirt. The song's bridge shows the singer's empathy towards his lover as he says, "Feelin' all alone without a friend, You know you feel like dyin'".
The repetition of the phrases "didn't I, didn't I, didn't I" in the chorus and the verses emphasizes the singer's need for reassurance. He wants to be told that he is loved and desired by his lover. The vulnerability in the lyrics gives insight into the singer's desperation for love and acceptance.
Overall, "I Got You" is a classic love song that emphasizes the importance of communication in relationships. The singer is begging for love but is also willing to listen and empathize with his lover.
Line by Line Meaning
And I want you to want me
I desire for you to have strong feelings towards me
Yeah, I need you to need me
I require you to depend on me
I'd love you to love me, hey yeah
I would cherish if you loved me back
I'm beggin' you to beg me
I'm asking you to plead for my attention
I'll shine up the old brown shoes
I will make an effort to impress you
I'll put on a brand new shirt
I will try to look my best for you
I'll get home early from work
I will prioritize spending time with you
If you say that you love me
I will respond positively to your declaration of love
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I See you cryin'
I witnessed you in a vulnerable state and empathized with your pain
Yeah, feelin' all alone without a friend You know you feel like dyin'
You experienced a sense of isolation and hopelessness
Oh, I want you to want me
I yearn for your desire towards me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Rick Nielsen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nancy4texas
I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me
I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'll shine up the old brown shoes
Put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me
Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Feeling all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me
I'll shine up the old brown shoes
Put on a brand-new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me
Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Feeling all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me
I want you to want me
I want you to want me
I want you to want me
I want you to want me
@annettahaney8924
He sings actually how i feel in so many of his songs
@arealOg8o6
Let’s not forget Dwight’s awesome performance in sling blade
@irishglide8441
And the Newton Boys
@Robbyrool
Even though i grew up loving the live version by Cheap Trick, I love Dwight’s version of this song! It brings a meaning to the lyrics that i never noticed before. Dwight is truly one of the greatest country artists of all time imo.
@rodneyjames70
Stay out of my yard though!!! 😆 🤣 😂
@HP-mw4be
DWIGHT the man with the moves and the singing is pretty phenomenal as well
@marcusdomrese5482
Even as someone who loved the original before I discovered Dwight Yoakamm, I have to say this song just works better as a country song.
@griffinmoore6819
Underrated as one of the best vocalists in the history of rock & roll music. A guitarist who mastered that instrument so well it uniquely became an extension of himself and his music. His performances on stage has always, and always will, raise the temperature of his shows to the point some ladies feel faint and some of the guys just want to be him.
@rodneyjames70
Stay out of my yard though!!!
@DLMusante
Everything this man does is beautiful. i love voice, moves, facial expressions, choice of clothing, boots and the way he doesn't fully enunciate each word. I'm just a fangirl right now.