Ray Edward Cochran was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota; however, as his parents were from Oklahoma, he considered himself an Oklahoman, and introduced himself as such in interviews. He took music lessons in school, but eventually quit the band to play drums. Rather than take piano lessons, Cochran began learning guitar, playing the country music he heard on the radio. As time went on, Cochran moved to Los Angeles, California in 1953. Together with Hank Cochran, Eddie formed The Cochran Brothers, though the two shared no relation.
Around the same time, Cochran worked as a session musician, but aspired to be a songwriter and artist in his own right, and recorded a demo with songwriting partner and future manager, Jerry Capeheart. Cochran's first notable foray into the public eye was as one of the many performing artists featured in the musical comedy film The Girl Can't Help It starring Jayne Mansfield, eventually resulting in a recording contract with Liberty. He would follow up on this appearance by appearing in several films of the same genre. He also performed as a support act for such stars as Gene Vincent and Little Richard, who were among Cochran's co-stars in the aforementioned film.
For his recordings, Cochran often used experimental techniques that would later become part and parcel for other recording artists, notably recording numerous overdubs in order to create the rich, distinctive guitar sound for "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon Everybody". "Twenty Flight Rock", the song Cochran performed in The Girl Can't Help It, was the very first song a young Paul McCartney played for John Lennon as his audition for Lennon's group, The Quarrymen, which would later metamorphose into The Beatles.
Cochran was killed in an automobile accident in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England during a tour of Britain with Gene Vincent. Vincent and Cochran's fiancee, who were both in the car, survived the crash. Scholars have noted that, somewhat eerily, Cochran's last single release in his lifetime was "Three Steps to Heaven", although the song's lyrical context has nothing to do with death. Cochran's death occurred little over a year after the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, to whom he paid tribute in his recording of the song "Three Stars", which remained unreleased until 1966.
A majority of Cochran's recorded legacy would be released posthumously; in his lifetime, only one album, Singin' to My Baby (1957), was ever released. Perhaps owing to the brevity of his career, Cochran never attained the same star status as other rockers of the era; however, his lyrical themes of teenage desires and rebellion, being somewhat more morose and raucous than his contemporaries, had a profound influence on many of the greatest artists of the '60s and '70s, such as The Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones.
Don't Bye Bye Baby Me
Eddie Cochran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you know I love you so
How can our love grow
If you bye-bye-baby me
Well honey-honey say you'll stay
Please don't ever go away
Each night I drag the day
That you bye-bye-baby me
I gotta rattle my bones
'Cause I'm a rollin' stone
I'm always movin' around
As the weeks go by, I feel like I
Oughta get out of this town
Well my baby packs my suitcase
And comes down to the train
With a tear in her eye she breathes a sigh
And I can hear my baby say
Well she says honey-honey please don't go
Sittin' on that choo-choo train
Sing a little rockin' rhyme
I visualize my baby
I can almost hear her cry
I try hard not to listen, turn my head away
But each chug-chug of the choo-choo train
I can hear my baby say
Well she said a-honey-honey please don't go
Honey I love you so
How can our love grow
If you bye-bye-baby me
The lyrics of Eddie Cochran’s song Don’t Bye Bye Baby Me speak of a plea from the singer to his lover, requesting her not to leave him. The song starts with his love leaving him and him pleading with her, stating that he loves her and their love cannot grow if she leaves. He tells his lover that he drags every night without her, and begs her to stay with him. The chorus repeats the plea to his lover to not "bye-bye-baby me". As the song progresses, we learn that the singer is a "rolling stone", living a transient lifestyle, and his lover always packs his bags and sees him off at the train station. As he sits on the train, he remembers his lover's tearful goodbyes and begs her not to leave him, singing about how he can almost hear her cry. The song ends with him once again, asking his lover to stay with him.
The lyrics of this song showcase the vulnerability of a man in love who is scared of losing his lover. The singer acknowledges his somewhat unstable lifestyle and recognizes his lover's contribution in making him feel grounded. His plea to his lover is a desperate attempt to make their relationship work, to make him feel loved and to stop his lover from leaving him. The song's melody is catchy, and the lyrics have a certain emotional depth that is relatable to anyone who has loved and lost. Cochran's beautiful vocals add an extra element of longing and sentimentality to the song, making it one of his most memorable hits.
Line by Line Meaning
Well honey-honey please don't go
The singer is begging their lover not to leave them.
Don't you know I love you so
The singer is expressing their love and trying to convince their lover to stay.
How can our love grow
The singer is questioning how their love can continue to grow if the lover keeps leaving (bye-bye-baby me).
If you bye-bye-baby me
The artist is referring to their lover leaving them.
Well honey-honey say you'll stay
The artist is asking their lover to commit to staying with them.
Please don't ever go away
The singer is pleading with their lover to never leave them.
Each night I drag the day
The singer is expressing their sadness and the long, slow passage of time without their lover.
That you bye-bye-baby me
The artist is once again referring to their lover leaving them.
I gotta rattle my bones
The artist is saying they need to keep moving and can't stay in one place for too long.
'Cause I'm a rollin' stone
The artist is explaining that they are used to traveling and living a nomadic lifestyle.
I'm always movin' around
The singer is emphasizing their restlessness and inability to settle down.
As the weeks go by, I feel like I
The artist is saying that despite their wanderlust, they are starting to feel the pain of being away from their lover.
Oughta get out of this town
The singer is considering leaving their current location.
Well my baby packs my suitcase
The singer's lover helps them prepare to leave.
And comes down to the train
The singer's lover goes with them to the train station.
With a tear in her eye she breathes a sigh
The artist's lover is sad to see them go and expresses her emotions through tears and sighs.
And I can hear my baby say
The artist is remembering what their lover said to them when they left.
Sittin' on that choo-choo train
The singer is now on the train and reminiscing about their lover.
Sing a little rockin' rhyme
The singer is occupying themselves by singing a song to pass the time.
I visualize my baby
The artist is imagining their lover and what they are doing at that moment.
I can almost hear her cry
The artist can imagine their lover crying because they miss them.
I try hard not to listen, turn my head away
The artist is trying to avoid feeling sad by not focusing too much on their lover's absence.
But each chug-chug of the choo-choo train
The sound of the train reminds the singer of their lover and their sadness.
Honey I love you so
The artist is once again expressing their love for their lover.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MORRIE MCCALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind