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.
Only Want You More
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You warned me to go
But girl, but girl
Little did I know
All the things you told me
About what lay in store
Would only make me want you more
No, not a word
Had one chance to save me
From your love
That wicked love
There's not a prayer
Left for me escaping
From your love
Yeah, that wicked love
Hey girl, hey girl
I begged and hollered please
But girl, but girl
Even from my knees
All the things you told me
About what lay in store
Only made me want you more
Chorus:
No pain can stop
Or rid me what I'm needing
From your love
That wicked love
'Cause what I crave all night
And end each day still seeking
Is your love
Yeah, that wicked love
Hey girl, hey girl
I tried to understand
But girl, but girl
There ain't no way I can
'Cause all the things you told me
About what lay in store
Only made me want you more
Yeah, all those things you told me
About what lay in store
Yeah, they only made me
want you more
In the song "Only Want You More" by Dwight Yoakam, the lyrics explore the theme of the overwhelming nature of desire, particularly in the presence of warning signs. The song's narrator, represented as a man, is warned by a girl to stay away, but he can't help but be drawn to her despite the potential consequences. He begs and hollers at her but remains powerless against the powerless love he feels for her. The chorus emphasizes the singer's helplessness, as he admits that there is no escaping from this love.
The lyrics paint a picture of a love that is intense, even dangerous - described as "wicked love." The singer is so consumed by his want for the girl that he is willing to put up with any pain or hardship associated with it. The repeated line "all the things you told me about what lay in store would only make me want you more" shows the presence of warning signs but the ultimate inability to resist temptation.
Overall, the song captures the feeling of being pulled towards something, even when you know it's bad for you. It speaks to the idea of desire being so overpowering that it can make us lose sight of ourselves and our own well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey girl, hey girl
Addressing the subject of the song, a girl.
You warned me to go
The girl had given a warning to the singer to leave.
But girl, but girl
Despite the warning, the singer is still interested in the girl and addresses her again.
Little did I know
The singer did not know what he was getting himself into.
All the things you told me
The girl had informed the singer of certain things.
About what lay in store
This information was about events or consequences to come.
Would only make me want you more
Instead of dissuading him, the information made the singer more interested in the girl.
No, not a word
The girl did not say anything to dissuade him.
Had one chance to save me
If the girl had said something to discourage him earlier, it would have changed his decision to pursue her.
From your love
The girl's love is what the singer wants.
That wicked love
The singer acknowledges the danger in the pursuit of this love.
There's not a prayer
There is no hope or chance for the singer to escape from the girl's love.
Left for me escaping
No options are available to evade or leave the situation.
Hey girl, hey girl
Another address to the girl.
I begged and hollered please
The singer pleads for the girl to reconsider or help him.
Even from my knees
The singer is in a desperate position, kneeling before the girl.
No pain can stop
Not even the pain that this pursuit causes is enough to stop the singer from wanting the girl's love.
Or rid me what I'm needing
The love that the girl can provide is what the singer needs to satisfy his desires.
'Cause what I crave all night
The singer's desire for the girl's love is constant, even at night.
And end each day still seeking
The singer thinks about the girl's love at the end of each day.
Is your love
The only thing the singer wants is the girl's love.
Yeah, that wicked love
The singer acknowledges the dangers of this pursuit.
I tried to understand
Despite the difficulties and warning, the singer attempts to understand the girl.
But girl, but girl
However, the singer still wants the girl despite the complications.
There ain't no way I can
Ultimately, the singer cannot understand or rationalize his desire for the girl.
Yeah, all those things you told me
Reiteration of the information the girl gave the singer about what lay in store.
About what lay in store
Events or consequences in the future that the girl mentioned to the singer.
Yeah, they only made me
Rather than dissuading him, the information had the opposite effect on the singer.
want you more
The singer's desire for the girl's love has only increased.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DWIGHT YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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