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.
Prisoner's Song
Eddy Arnold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yes, someone to call me their own
Oh, I wish I had someone to live with
Cause I'm tired of living alone.
Oh, please meet me tonight in the moonlight
Oh, please meet me tonight all alone
For I have a sad story to tell you
It's a story that's never been told.
I'll be carried to the new jail tomorrow
Leaving my poor darling alone
With the cold prison bars all around me
And my head on a pillow of stone.
Now, I have a grand ship on the ocean
All mounted with silver and gold
And before my poor darling would suffer
Oh, that ship would be anchored and sold.
Now if I had the wings like an angel
Over these prison walls I would fly
And I'd fly to the arms of my darling
And there I'd be willing to die
The song Prisoner's Song by Eddy Arnold is a heartbreaking song about a prisoner who wishes for someone to love and to live with. The lyrics express the prisoner's longing for companionship as he is tired and lonely. He asks someone to meet him at night in the moonlight so he can tell his sad story, which has never been told before. The prisoner is set to be taken to a new jail the following day and he will leave his loved one behind, surrounded by bars and with his head on a pillow of stone.
The song goes on to describe the prisoner's hope of a better life with his darling. He mentions his grand ship, which is mounted with silver and gold, suggesting that he has wealth and a high-status life outside of prison. He vows to sell his ship instead of letting his darling suffer. The lyrics reveal how the prisoner is powerless to escape his fate, as he does not have the wings of an angel to help him escape the prison walls.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, I wish I had someone to love me
The singer is expressing his desire for a companion who loves him.
Yes, someone to call me their own
The singer wants a person to have an intimate relationship with.
Oh, I wish I had someone to live with
The singer yearns for someone to spend life with, instead of living alone.
Cause I'm tired of living alone.
The artist is tired of being lonely and wants companionship.
Oh, please meet me tonight in the moonlight
The artist is asking somebody to come and meet them in the moonlight.
Oh, please meet me tonight all alone
The singer wants to spend some alone time with the person they have invited.
For I have a sad story to tell you
The singer has a woeful story to share.
It's a story that's never been told.
The artist has kept this story secret until now and is opening up to the person they have invited.
I'll be carried to the new jail tomorrow
The artist is going to be taken to prison the next day.
Leaving my poor darling alone
The artist is going to leave their loved one behind while they are in prison.
With the cold prison bars all around me
The singer will be confined in a cell made of cold steel.
And my head on a pillow of stone.
The artist will not have a comfortable place to rest in prison.
Now, I have a grand ship on the ocean
The singer is describing a ship they own that is sailing on the ocean.
All mounted with silver and gold
The ship is decorated with valuable materials like silver and gold.
And before my poor darling would suffer
The singer would rather sell their ship than have their loved one suffer.
Oh, that ship would be anchored and sold.
The artist would give up their valuable possession to ensure their partner doesn't suffer.
Now if I had the wings like an angel
The artist is expressing a hypothetical desire to have wings like an angel.
Over these prison walls I would fly
The singer would soar over the walls of the prison if they had wings.
And I'd fly to the arms of my darling
The singer wants to embrace their beloved when they fly to them.
And there I'd be willing to die
The artist is willing to give up their life if they can be with their loved one.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: GUY MASSEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
marilyn moffatt
my mother always sang this song to us as children. I am not sure if it had any meaning to it for her. trying to figure that out.
jeu verschueren
Kenny rogers wil ik hóren
jeu verschueren
Kennyrogers
Gael Richmire-Holmes
Mine too!!
David L. Rogers
This is Brenda Lee performing the same song, enjoy!
http://youtu.be/75cnhZZpc2Q