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.
Send a Message to My Heart
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the wings of the wind
Let me hear your sweet voice sayin'
You love me again
Even though we're apart
I hold to your memory
Send a message to my heart
To keep you here with me
Darlin' when you're all alone
Tell me do you think of me
Does my name touch your lips
Am I still in your dreams
Do your arms reach out for mine
In the still of the night
Do you wish that I was with you
When you turn out the lights
Send a message to my heart
On the wings of the wind
Let me hear your sweet voice sayin'
You love me again
Even though we're apart
I hold to your memory
Send a message to my heart
To keep you here with me
All these moments alone
Make me realize
Just how empty this old world is
Without you in my life
Our day is yet to come
And our love is so sweet
Send a message to my heart
To keep you here with me
Send a message to my heart
On the wings of the wind
Let me hear your sweet voice sayin'
You love me again
Even though we're apart
I hold to your memory
Send a message to my heart
To keep you here with me
Send a message to my heart
To keep you here with me
The lyrics to Dwight Yoakam's "Send a Message to My Heart" depict the longing for connection and love in a long-distance relationship. The song begins with the singer pleading for their loved one to send a message to their heart on the wings of the wind. The desire to hear the sweet voice of their beloved saying "you love me again" connects the singer to the memory of their love. The singer is willing to hold onto this memory, no matter the distance between them, to keep their loved one close to them.
The song takes a melancholic turn as the singer asks if their loved one thinks of them when they are alone, if their name touches their lips or if they appear in their dreams. The singer reveals their yearning for the physical closeness they once shared, asking if their loved one's arms reach out for theirs in the still of the night. The final verse speaks to the emptiness that the singer feels without their significant other, but they hold firm that their love is sweet and their day will come. The repeated request of "send a message to my heart" serves as a plea for communication and love, no matter the distance.
Overall, "Send a Message to My Heart" is a passionate song that expertly captures the desperation and yearning involved in long-distance relationships. It is a heartfelt plea for connection and love between two people who are separated by distance.
Line by Line Meaning
Send a message to my heart
Express your feelings to me
On the wings of the wind
In a way that can reach me from far away
Let me hear your sweet voice sayin'
Tell me personally that you love me
You love me again
Rekindle the love that we once had
Even though we're apart
Despite the distance between us
I hold to your memory
I still cherish the moments we shared
To keep you here with me
So that I can continue to feel your presence
Darlin' when you're all alone
When you are by yourself, my love
Tell me do you think of me
Do I ever cross your mind?
Does my name touch your lips
Do you speak my name?
Am I still in your dreams
Do you dream of us being together?
Do your arms reach out for mine
Do you long for my embrace?
In the still of the night
When it is quiet and calm
Do you wish that I was with you
Do you desire my presence?
When you turn out the lights
When you go to bed at night
All these moments alone
The time spent apart from each other
Make me realize
Help me understand
Just how empty this old world is
The world seems meaningless without you
Without you in my life
When you are not present with me
Our day is yet to come
The day when we can be together again still awaits us
And our love is so sweet
Our affection for each other is special
To keep you here with me
So that I can continue to feel your presence
Send a message to my heart
Express your feelings to me
On the wings of the wind
In a way that can reach me from far away
Let me hear your sweet voice sayin'
Tell me personally that you love me
You love me again
Rekindle the love that we once had
Even though we're apart
Despite the distance between us
I hold to your memory
I still cherish the moments we shared
To keep you here with me
So that I can continue to feel your presence
Send a message to my heart
Express your feelings to me
To keep you here with me
So that I can continue to feel your presence
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KATHY LOUVIN, KOSTAS LAZARIDES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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