Arnold was born on May 15, 1918 on a farm near Henderson, Tennessee. His father, a sharecropper, played the fiddle, while his mother played guitar. As a boy Arnold helped on the farm, which later gained him his nickname—the Tennessee Plowboy. Arnold attended Pinson High School in Pinson, Tennessee, where he played guitar for school functions and events. He quit before graduation to help with the farm work, but continued performing, often arriving on a mule with his guitar hung on his back. Arnold also worked part-time as an assistant at a mortuary.
In 1934, at age 16, Arnold debuted musically on WTJS-AM in Jackson, Tennessee and obtained a job there during 1937. He performed at local nightclubs and was a permanent performer for the station. During 1938, he was hired by WMPS-AM in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was one of its most popular performers. He soon quit for KWK-AM in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a brief stint at WHAS-AM in Louisville, Kentucky.
He performed for WSM-AM on the Grand Ole Opry during 1943 as a solo artist. In 1944, Arnold signed a contract with RCA Victor, with manager Colonel Tom Parker, who later managed Elvis Presley. Arnold's first single was little noticed, but the next, "Each Minute Seems a Million Years", scored No. 5 on the country charts during 1945. Its success began a decade of unprecedented chart performance; Arnold's next 57 singles all scored the Top Ten, including 19 number one scoring successes.
In 1946, Arnold scored his first major success with "That's How Much I Love You". In 1948, he had five successful songs on the charts simultaneously. That year he had nine songs score the top 10; five of these scored No. 1 and scored No. 1 for 40 of the year's 52 weeks. With Parker's management, Arnold continued to dominate, with 13 of the 20 best-scoring country music songs of 1947–1948. He became the host of Mutual Radio's Purina-sponsored segment of the Opry and of Mutual’s Checkerboard Jamboree, a midday program shared with Ernest Tubb that was broadcast from a Nashville theater. Recorded radio programs increased Arnold’s popularity, as did the CBS Radio series Hometown Reunion with the Duke of Paducah. Arnold quit the Opry during 1948, and his Hometown Reunion briefly broadcasted in competition with the Opry on Saturday nights. In 1949 and 1950, he performed in the Columbia movies Feudin’ Rhythm and Hoedown.
Arnold began working for television in the early 1950s, hosting The Eddy Arnold Show. The summer program was broadcast successively by all three television networks, replacing the Perry Como and Dinah Shore programs. He also performed as a guest and a guest host on the ABC-TV show Ozark Jubilee from 1955–60. Arnold featured in the syndicated Eddy Arnold Time from 1955 to 1957. From 1960 to 1961, he hosted NBC-TV's Today on the Farm.
With the rise of rock and roll in the 1950s, Arnold's record sales declined, though he and fellow RCA Victor recording artist Jim Reeves had a greater audience with popular-sounding string-laced arrangements. Arnold annoyed many people of the country music establishment by recording with the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra at RCA's studios in New York. The pop-oriented arrangements of "The Cattle Call" and "The Richest Man (in the World)", however, helped to expand his appeal beyond its country music base. This style, pioneered by Reeves and Arnold, became known as the "Nashville Sound". During 1953, Arnold and Tom Parker had a dispute, and Arnold dismissed him. From 1954 to 1963, Arnold's performances were managed by Joe Csida; during 1964 Csida was replaced by Jerry Purcell.
Arnold embarked on a second career that brought his music to a more diverse audience. In the summer of 1965, he had his first Number One country song in ten years, What's He Doing in My World and struck gold again six months later with the song that would become his most well-known Make the World Go Away accompanied by pianist Floyd Cramer on piano and featuring the Anita Kerr Singers. As a result, Arnold's rendition became an international success.
Bill Walker's orchestra arrangements provided the lush background for 16 continuous successes sung by Arnold in the late 1960s. Arnold performed with symphony orchestras in New York City, Las Vegas and Hollywood. He performed in Carnegie Hall for two concerts, and in the Coconut Grove in Las Vegas.[9] During 1966, Arnold was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the youngest performer to receive the honor. The following year Arnold was voted the first-ever awarded Country Music Association's Entertainer Of The Year. Two years later, Arnold released an autobiography named It's A Long Way From Chester County.
Having been with RCA Victor since his debut during 1944, Arnold left the company in 1973 for MGM Records, for which he recorded four albums, which included several top 40 successes. He returned to RCA in 1976.
During the 1980s, Arnold declared himself semi-retired; however, he continued recording. In 1984, the Academy of Country Music awarded Arnold its Pioneer Award. His next album, You Don't Miss A Thing wasn't released until 1991. Arnold performed road tours for several more years. By 1992, he had sold nearly 85 million records, and had a total of 145 weeks of No. 1 songs, more than any other singer.
In 1996, RCA issued an album of Arnold's main successes since 1944 as part of its 'Essential' series. Arnold, then 76 years old, retired from active singing, though he still performed occasionally. On May 16, 1999, the day after his 81st birthday, he announced his final retirement during a concert at the Hotel Orleans in Las Vegas. That same year, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences inducted the recording of "Make The World Go Away" into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 2005, Arnold received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, and later that year, released a final album for RCA entitled After All These Years.
Eddy Arnold died from natural causes at 5:00 a.m. Central Time on May 8, 2008 in a nursing home in Nashville, exactly one week before his 90th birthday. His wife of 66 years, Sally Gayhart Arnold, had preceded him in death by two months. They were survived by two children (Richard E. Arnold, Jr., and JoAnn Arnold Pollard), two grandchildren (K. Michelle Pollard and R. Shannon Pollard, Jr.), and four great-grandchildren (Katie E. Pollard, Sophie Pollard, Rowan Pollard and Ben Johns).
On May 31, 2008, RCA released "To Life", as a single from the album After All These Years. It debuted at No. 49 on the Hot Country Songs charts, Arnold's first entry in 25 years and the recording by the oldest person to chart in Billboard magazine. It set the record for the longest span between a first chart single and a last: 62 years and 11 months ("Each Minute Seems Like a Million Years" debuted on June 30, 1945), and extended Arnold's career chart history to seven decades.
Four Walls
Eddy Arnold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Closing in on me)
Out where the bright lights are glowing
You're drawn like a moth to a flame
You laugh while the wine's over-flowing
While I sit and whisper your name
Four walls to hear me
Four walls to see
Four walls too near me
Closing in on me
Sometimes I ask why I'm waiting
But my walls have nothing to say
I'm made for love, not for waiting
But here where you've left me, I'll stay
[Chorus]
One night with you is like heaven
And so, while I'm walking the floor
I'll listen for steps in the hallway
And wait for your knock on my door
[Chorus]
Closing in on me
The lyrics to Eddy Arnold's song “Four Walls” express the feeling of loneliness and confinement experienced by a person who is waiting for their lover to come back. The first two lines of the song, "Four walls too near me, closing in on me," set the mood for the rest of the song, showing the frustration and unhappiness of the person who is singing.
The second verse continues to describe the feeling of being trapped, with the person contrasting their situation with that of their lover, who is out enjoying themselves in the bright lights and carefree atmosphere of the world outside. The contrast is further emphasized in the chorus, with the repeated refrain of "Four walls to hear me, Four walls to see, Four walls too near me, Closing in on me."
The final verse of the song expresses the hope that the person's lover will return to them, ending their confinement and loneliness. The song's powerful lyrics and mournful melody make it an enduring classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Four walls too near me
These four walls are suffocating me by being in such close proximity.
Closing in on me
These walls are getting closer and closer to me as time goes on, making it feel like there is no escape.
Out where the bright lights are glowing
You are always drawn to the glitz and glamour of the outside world.
You're drawn like a moth to a flame
Similar to a moth being drawn to a fire, you are helplessly attracted to the bright lights and excitement.
You laugh while the wine's over-flowing
You enjoy indulging in excess, such as pouring overflowing glasses of wine and enjoying a good laugh.
While I sit and whisper your name
Meanwhile, I am constantly thinking of you and whispering your name into the emptiness of the four walls around me.
Sometimes I ask why I'm waiting
I often question why I'm waiting for you and why I'm putting up with this situation.
But my walls have nothing to say
The walls that surround me offer no comfort, advice, or comfort; they simply exist without purpose.
I'm made for love, not for waiting
Although waiting feels like a waste of time, love is what I was born for and what I believe in.
But here where you've left me, I'll stay
Despite my desire to be with you, I am stuck in this barren and lonely place that you left me in.
One night with you is like heaven
Being with you for even one night is like experiencing a paradise.
And so, while I'm walking the floor
While I'm pacing back and forth on this empty floor, I can't stop thinking about being with you.
I'll listen for steps in the hallway
I'll be alert and listening for any signs or sounds of you arriving in the hallway, hoping that it'll be a reality.
And wait for your knock on my door
I'll be patiently waiting for you to knock on my door, giving me the chance to be with you again.
Four walls to hear me
These walls are the only ones who can hear me and my thoughts in this lonely place.
Four walls to see
These walls are the only ones who can truly see the pain and sorrow that I experience within them.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CAMPBELL MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind