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.
No Future In SIght
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But that don't get prayed to by me
I threw away all I was given
Just so that I could be free
I've got no future in sight
Time won't deny that I'm right
The past has always been bright
So, if for me you have come a-lookin'
You better knock with a gun in your hand
For boldness has started a journey
That only the graveyard will end
I've got no future in sight
Time won't deny that I'm right
The past has always been bright
But I've got no future in sight
I made love to my pretty wife this morning
Then I kissed my sleepin' babies goodbye
And have set forth upon those who decided
That this is the day I'd die
And I've got no future in sight
Time won't deny that I'm right
The past has always been bright
But I've got no future in sight
The lyrics in Dwight Yoakam's song No Future In Sight speak of a person who has abandoned their past and all that they were given to live a life of freedom, without any plans for the future. The clock in their pocket serves no purpose to them, and they believe that if someone comes looking for them, they should come armed as only the graveyard can end the journey they have started. The person has made love to their wife and said goodbye to their sleeping babies, knowing that they may not make it through the day.
The lyrics portray a sense of hopelessness and despair, where the person has no future plans, and they are aware that time won't change that fact. They believe that their past has been bright, but they are unsure of what lies ahead of them. The song could be interpreted in several ways, where the lack of future could stem from a personal perspective, or it could be interpreted as a broader social commentary on the futility of life.
Line by Line Meaning
The clock in your pocket keeps tickin'
Time passes by for everyone, but I don't rely on it to guide my life
But that don't get prayed to by me
I don't see time as a deity to pray to or worship
I threw away all I was given
I gave up everything that was handed to me in order to pursue my idea of freedom
Just so that I could be free
My desire for freedom was strong enough to compel me to let go of everything
I've got no future in sight
I don't see a clear path or direction for my life ahead
Time won't deny that I'm right
Although uncertain, I believe that my choices and actions are correct and justified
The past has always been bright
My memories of the past are positive and happy
So, if for me you have come a-lookin'
If you're looking for me specifically, be prepared for danger or conflict
You better knock with a gun in your hand
You should be armed and ready in case of a potentially dangerous encounter with me
For boldness has started a journey
My boldness and fearlessness have propelled me forward
That only the graveyard will end
This journey I'm on will only come to an end with my death
I made love to my pretty wife this morning
I spent time with my wife and family before embarking on a dangerous mission
Then I kissed my sleepin' babies goodbye
I said goodbye to my children who were still sleeping and couldn't understand the danger I was facing
And have set forth upon those who decided
I am going towards those who made the decision to start a conflict with me
That this is the day I'd die
They are waiting for me to die, but I am determined to fight back even if it costs me my life
Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: DWIGHT YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@joysmith1113
I got the movie, then bought the CD. So glad I did, songs are amazing. Love it 💫DWIGHT 💫. ❤️🎶🎶🎶❤️
@patrickjordan6710
Great song!!!!
@DaPoopIsInDaPudding
This is awesome.
@elainesmith7136
Love the movie Dwight was awesome
@danieljohnclayton2468
Great movie. Didn't recognize Warren Zevon though. And I never saw Dwight without his cowboy hat until now. Huh?
@terryleskow5938
Liked the movie🐴