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.
Pocket of a Clown
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is a sad place to hang around
Just watching smiles turn into frowns
Inside the pocket of a clown
Inside the heartache of a fool
You'll learn things they don't teach in school
And lessons there can be real cruel
Hollow lies
Make a thin disguise
As little drops of truth
Fall from your eyes
Hollow lies
Make a thin disguise
As little drops of truth
Fall from your eyes
Inside a memory from the past
Lives every love that didn't last
And sweet dreams can start to fade real fast
Inside a memory from the past
Is a real sad place to hang around
Inside the pocket of a clown
Dwight Yoakam's song Pocket of a Clown is a poignant and reflective song that speaks to the pain of heartache, loneliness, and regret. The lyrics use the image of a clown's pocket as a metaphor for the despair that can be hidden within. Yoakam sings, "Inside the pocket of a clown, is a sad place to hang around. Just watching smiles turn into frowns, inside the pocket of a clown." The image of watching smiles turn into frowns is particularly powerful, suggesting the depth of despair that can be experienced by those who are trapped in their own sadness.
The song also speaks to the ways in which heartache can be a teacher, offering lessons that cannot be learned in school. Yoakam sings, "Inside the heartache of a fool, you'll learn things they don't teach in school. And lessons there can be real cruel, inside the heartache of a fool." The use of the word "fool" here suggests a sense of regret or self-recrimination, as if the singer is looking back on a past relationship and realizing their mistakes.
The final verse of the song speaks to the power of memory, how even the sweetest dreams can fade away in the face of loss. Yoakam sings, "Inside a memory from the past, lives every love that didn't last. And sweet dreams can start to fade real fast, inside a memory from the past." Again, the lyrics suggest a sense of regret and loss, perhaps even a longing to go back and change the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Inside the pocket of a clown
Within the facade of a performer, there exists a place of sadness and pain.
Is a sad place to hang around
Being in the company of someone who is hiding their pain can be emotionally difficult.
Just watching smiles turn into frowns
Witnessing the transformation of happiness into sorrow can be disheartening.
Inside the heartache of a fool
In the suffering of someone easily deceived, there is wisdom that cannot be gleaned from traditional education.
You'll learn things they don't teach in school
Real-life lessons can often hold more value than anything learned from textbooks.
And lessons there can be real cruel
The knowledge gained from painful experiences can be harsh and unforgiving.
Hollow lies
Empty and insincere words that are meant to deceive.
Make a thin disguise
A flimsy and unreliable cover-up for one's true intentions.
As little drops of truth
Even a small amount of honesty can pierce through the falsehoods and reveal the truth.
Fall from your eyes
Tears can be a sign of admitting to oneself the hurtful reality of a situation.
Inside a memory from the past
Within one's recollections of prior experiences lies every romance that did not stand the test of time.
Lives every love that didn't last
Every relationship that ended too soon still resides within one's thoughts and memories.
And sweet dreams can start to fade real fast
The happy thoughts and aspirations once linked to those memories can diminish rapidly.
Inside the pocket of a clown
The cycle of pain and performance is ongoing and difficult to break.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DWIGHT YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dustinthompson32
Inside the pocket of a clown
Is a sad place to hang around
Just watching smiles turn into frowns
Inside the pocket of a clown
Inside the heartache of a fool
You'll learn things they don't teach in school
And lessons there can be real cruel
Inside the heartache of a fool
Hollow lies
Make a thin disguise
As little drops of truth
Fall from your eyes
Hollow lies
Make a thin disguise
As little drops of truth
Fall from your eyes
Inside a memory from the past
Lives every love that didn't last
And sweet dreams can start to fade real fast
Inside a memory from the past
Is a real sad place to hang around
Inside the pocket of a clown
@boogitybear2283
The most underrated Dwight Yoakam song he’s ever recorded.
@HPDrifter2
Easily
@typvian
Ever?
Good Album all around
@jd7745
Your on zombie drugs if you think that way okay
@jd7745
YOU DIDN'T MAKE ONE SONG IN YOUR HOLE LIFE AND THIS SONG WAS NUMBER ONE FOR 5 YEARS STRAIGHT MY FRIEND OKAY
@vinceryan6454
Sad this this man hasn't won more awards and gotten more recognition from country music, this is what it's all about folks!
@boogitybear2283
I’m from Nashville. It’s a disgrace what my former hometown has done to not just him, but tons of legends. I don’t claim that city anymore.
@FloydFloyd-ot5eo
Well I hope he “does alright” and I’m sure he does. The real travesty is the younger cats that don’t leave the FM dial may never hear much of him. Surely they’d only need to hear one tune and they would search YouTube, right?!? 😎
@nancygorsuch7694
Dwight was one of the best country singers. Absolutely under rated. Should had won an Emmy for best singer and songs. This is one of my favorites ❤❤🎶🎶💕🎵🎵👋👋
@InfectiousGroovePodcast
I grew up mostly on metal and rap in the 80s. This era of Dwight was what opened my mind to so much more music. I almost bought this CD in secret lol, but I'm so glad I did.