Tubb was born on a cotton farm near Crisp, in Ellis County, Texas (now a ghost town). His father was a sharecropper, so Tubb spent his youth working on farms throughout the state. He was inspired by Jimmie Rodgers and spent his spare time learning to sing, yodel, and play the guitar. At age 19, he took a job as a singer on San Antonio radio station KONO-AM. The pay was low so Tubb also dug ditches for the Works Progress Administration and then clerked at a drug store. In 1939 he moved to San Angelo, Texas and was hired to do a 15-minute afternoon live show on radio station KGKL-AM. He drove a beer delivery truck in order to support himself during this time, and during World War II he wrote and recorded a song titled "Beautiful San Angelo".
In 1936, Tubb contacted Jimmie Rodgers’s widow (Rodgers died in 1933) to ask for an autographed photo. A friendship developed and she was instrumental in getting Tubb a recording contract with RCA. His first two records were unsuccessful. A tonsillectomy in 1939 affected his singing style so he turned to songwriting. In 1940 he switched to Decca records to try singing again and it was his sixth Decca release with the single "Walking the Floor Over You" that brought Tubb to stardom.
Tubb joined the Grand Ole Opry in February 1943 and put together his band, the Texas Troubadours. Tubb's first band members were from Gadsden, Alabama. They were, Vernon "Toby" Reese, Chester Studdard, and Ray "Kemo" Head. He remained a regular on the radio show for four decades, and hosted his own Midnight Jamboree radio show each Saturday night after the Opry. Tubb headlined the first Grand Ole Opry show presented in Carnegie Hall in New York City in September 1947.
Tubb always surrounded himself with some of Nashville's best musicians. Jimmy Short, his first guitarist in the Troubadours, is credited with the Tubb sound of single-string guitar picking. From about 1943 to 1948, Short featured clean, clear riffs throughout Tubb's songs. Other well-known musicians to either travel with Tubb as band members or record on his records were steel guitarist Jerry Byrd and Tommy "Butterball" Paige, who replaced Short as Tubb's lead guitarist in 1947. Billy Byrd joined the Troubadours in 1949 and brought jazzy riffs to the instrumental interludes, especially the four-note riff at the end of his guitar solos that would become synonymous with Tubb's songs. Actually a jazz musician, Byrd—no relation to Jerry—remained with Tubb until 1959.
Another Tubb musician was actually his producer, Owen Bradley. Bradley played piano on many of Tubb's recordings from the 1950s, but Tubb wanted him to sound like Moon Mullican, the honky tonk piano great of that era. The classically trained Bradley tried, but couldn't quite match the sound, so Tubb said Bradley was "half as good" as Moon. When Tubb called out Bradley's name at the start of one of the piano interludes the singer always referred to him as "Half-Moon Bradley."
In 1949, Tubb helped the famed boogie-woogie Andrews Sisters crossover to the country charts when they teamed on Decca Records to record a cover of Eddy Arnold's "Don't Rob Another Man's Castle" and the western-swing flavored "I'm Bitin' My Fingernails and Thinking of You." Tubb was impressed by the enormous success of Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne, and he remembered that their 1947 recording of "The Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn)" with folk legend Burl Ives produced a Top-10 Billboard hit, and he was therefore eager to repeat that success. He brought the upbeat "Fingernails" tune to the session, hoping that the trio would like it, and they did. Not realizing how tall the Texas Troubador was, the recording technicians at Decca had the sisters stand on a wooden box on one side of the one microphone they shared with Tubb so that the audio would balance. The rhythm trio also wasn't used to Tubb's vocal style, as Maxene once remembered, "He sang different than anybody I've ever heard. He sang the melody of the song, but the timing was different. It wasn't like we were used to...you sing eight bars, and then you sing eight bars, and then you sing eight bars. Not with him. He just sang eight bars, ten bars, eleven bars, and then stopped, whatever it was. So, we'd just start to follow him, and then got paid on 750,000 records sold that never came above the Mason-Dixon Line!"
Tubb never possessed the best voice and actually mocked his own singing. He told an interviewer that 95 percent of the men in bars would hear his music on the juke box and say to their girlfriends, "I can sing better than him," and Tubb added they would be right. In fact, he missed some notes horribly on some recordings. When Tubb was recording "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry" in 1949 and tried to hit a low note, Red Foley, his duet partner at the time, was sitting in the booth when somebody said, "I bet you wish you could hit that low note." Foley replied, "I bet Ernest wishes he could hit that note." The two, who released seven albums together, maintained a friendly on-air "feud" over the years, and Tubb appeared on Foley's Ozark Jubilee on ABC-TV.
In 1957, he walked into the National Life building's lobby in Nashville and fired a .357 magnum, intending to shoot music producer Jim Denny. Tubb shot at the wrong man but did not hit anyone. He was arrested and charged with public drunkenness.
In the 1960s, Tubb was well known for having one of the best bands in country music history. The band included lightning-fingered Leon Rhodes, who later appeared on TV's Hee Haw as the guitarist in the show's band. Buddy Emmons, another pedal steel guitar virtuoso, began with Tubb in fall of 1957 and lasted through the early 1960s. Emmons went on to create a steel-guitar manufacturing company that bears his name. Buddy Charleton, one of the most accomplished pedal steel guitarists known, joined Ernest in spring 1962 and continued to fall of 1973. Buddy Charleton and Leon Rhodes formed a nucleus for the Texas Troubadors that would be unsurpassed.
Beginning in the fall of 1965, he hosted a half-hour TV program, The Ernest Tubb Show, which aired in first-run syndication for three years. That same year, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; and in 1970, Tubb was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Tubb inspired some of the most devoted fans of any country artist — and his fans followed him throughout his career, long after the chart hits dried up. He remained, as did most of his peers, a fixture at the Grand Ole Opry where he continued to appear. He continued to host his Midnight Jamboree radio program a few blocks away from the Opry at his record shop. A notable release in 1979, The Legend and the Legacy paired Tubb with a who's who of country singers on the Cachet Records label, a label which Tubb was connected to financially. This long out of print duets album was re-released in 1999 as a CD on the First Generations label, on the 20th anniversary of its release, and it quickly went out of print again.
In 1980, he appeared as himself in Loretta Lynn's autobiographical film, Coal Miner's Daughter with Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl.
His singing voice remained intact until late in life, when he fell ill with emphysema. Even so, he continued to make over 200 personal appearances a year, carrying an oxygen tank on his bus. After each performance he would shake hands and sign autographs with every fan who wanted to stay. Health problems finally halted his performances in 1982.
He finally died of the illness in 1984 at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. He is buried in Nashville's Hermitage Memorial Gardens.
Tubb was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, and he ranked number 21 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003.
One of his sons, Justin Tubb, made a minor splash on the country music scene in the 1950s; and Justin's sons, Carey and Zachary Tubb, also became musicians. Tubb's nephew, Billy Lee Tubb, was his lead guitarist briefly (fall 1959–April 1960). He also had solo careers under several pseudonyms (Ronny Wade, X. Lincoln) and played with John Anderson, writing several songs with him. Tubb's great nephew, Lucky Tubb, has toured with Hank Williams III.
Cal Smith, who played guitar for the Texas Troubadours during the 1960s, went on to a successful country music career of his own in the 1970s, recording hits such as "Country Bumpkin". Jack Greene, who played drums for the Texas Troubadours, also went on to become a successful country music star following his departure from Tubb's band, recording the hits "There Goes My Everything" and "Statue of a Fool".
Ernest Tubb's nephew, Glenn Douglas Tubb, wrote his first hit song for his uncle in 1952. He then went on to write more than 50 hits songs for more than two dozen country and rock music superstars, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, BJ Thomas, George Jones, Kentucky Headhunters, Charlie Pride, Ann Murray and Kitty Wells. Glenn won a Grammy Award for "Skip A Rope." He currently performs "The Ernest Tubb Tribute Show" at The Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree broadcast on WSM Radio, and theaters across America.
The Ernest Tubb Record Store, founded in 1947, is still in operation in Nashville, along with two branch stores.
Soldier
Ernest Tubb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It filled her dear heart full of joy
But she didn't know till she read the inside
It was the last one from her darling boy
Dear Mom, was the way that it started
I miss you so much it went on
Mom, I didn't know, that I loved you so
But I'll prove it when this war is won
Don't scold if it isn't so neat
You know as you did, when I was a kid
And I'd come home with mud on my feet
The captain just gave us our orders
And Mom, we will carry them through
I'll finish this letter the first chance I get
But now I'll just say I love you
Then the mother's old hands began to tremble
And she fought against tears in her eyes
But they came unashamed for there was no name
And she knew that her darling had died
That night as she knelt by her bedside
She prayed Lord above hear my plea
And protect all the sons that are fighting tonight
And dear God keep America free
The song "Soldier's Last Letter" by Ernest Tubb is a touching and heartbreaking portrayal of a mother receiving the last letter from her son who was serving in the military. As the postman delivers the letter, the mother is filled with joy, but as she reads it, she comes to know that it is the last letter from her beloved son. The letter starts with him addressing his mother, writing about how much he missed her and how he would prove his love to her once the war was won. The letter further describes about his whereabouts and also how he continued to love her despite being away from home.
The son writes the letter down in a trench, and cautions his mother not to scold him if the handwriting is not neat. He also fondly recollects memories of his childhood, where his mother used to take care of him when he used to come home with mud on his feet. The letter ends with the son expressing his love for his mother and promising to finish the letter once he got a chance, but he never got that chance.
As the mother reads the letter, she is moved to tears, as she realizes that her beloved son has passed away in the war. She prays to God to keep all the sons fighting for the country safe and to protect America's freedom. The song captures the pain, grief, and resilience of the families of soldiers who have lost their lives fighting for their country.
Line by Line Meaning
When the postman delivered a letter
The moment a letter was delivered to the mother's house.
It filled her dear heart full of joy
The mother felt happy and excited while holding the letter.
But she didn't know till she read the inside
The mother was not aware of the contents of the letter until she opened it.
It was the last one from her darling boy
This was the final letter the mother received from her son before he passed.
Dear Mom, was the way that it started
The letter began with the son addressing his mother affectionately.
I miss you so much it went on
The son expressed how much he missed his mother in the letter.
Mom, I didn't know, that I loved you so
The son realized how much he loved his mother, which he expressed in the letter.
But I'll prove it when this war is won
Despite being away in a war, the son vowed to prove his love for his mother once the war was finished.
I'm writing this down in a trench, Mom
The son wrote the letter from a trench, which was a difficult situation to write from.
Don't scold if it isn't so neat
The son asked his mother not to criticize his handwriting or mistakes since he was writing in difficult circumstances.
You know as you did, when I was a kid
The son reminded his mother of how she didn't judge or criticize him when he was a child.
And I'd come home with mud on my feet
The son referenced a time during his childhood when he would come home from playing outside with dirty feet.
The captain just gave us our orders
The son received his military orders from his captain.
And Mom, we will carry them through
The son promised to follow through with his orders and complete his mission.
I'll finish this letter the first chance I get
The son expressed his desire to finish the letter but wasn't able to at that moment.
But now I'll just say I love you
The son concluded the letter by saying 'I love you.'
Then the mother's old hands began to tremble
After reading that letter, the mother's hands started shaking.
And she fought against tears in her eyes
She tried not to cry but had difficulty holding back the tears.
But they came unashamed for there was no name
The mother was overcome with emotion when she realized there was no name on the letter, meaning her son had passed away.
And she knew that her darling had died
After seeing the letter, the mother realized that her son had died in the war.
That night as she knelt by her bedside
The mother kneeled by her bed that night.
She prayed Lord above hear my plea
The mother prayed to God, asking for help in her time of sadness.
And protect all the sons that are fighting tonight
The mother asked God to protect all the sons fighting in the war.
And dear God keep America free
The mother ended her prayer by asking God to keep America free.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERNEST TUBB, ERNEST, EST. OF TUBB, HENRY REDD STEWART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@isaacgates8706
My grandpa used to sing this to me as a kid all the time. I just thought of it today and had to give it a listen. Still makes me cry like a baby
@larrywade4258
This song is for the service men that paid the ultimate sacrifice.
@rosareeves3174
THIS SONG FOR MOM.. WITH LOVE IN HER EYES.
@rosareeves3174
THIS SONG FOR MOM. WITH TEARS IN HER EYES.
@anthonyhargis9411
My Dad's outfit released men out of a concentration camp I bet they didn't weight 100 lbs. He said he crossed the Rhine River with bullets flying all over. In about 1946,47 or so for a few years he would sing the song. I was maybe 5 or 6 years old. As a kid I didn't know any better, but now as an old man I believe that WWI and WWII was the worse time in history to live. I despise everyone living and who ever lived who support Nazi's keeping people starving in concentration camps.
@mihaimihai9254
I despise everyone living and who ever lived who support Nazi's, OR SOVIETS keeping people starving in concentration camps.
@westelaudio943
@Mihai Mihai
The FDR administration supported that, lol.
@cindyhoward6100
My daddy sing this around the campfire when I was a kid. It was his mom's favorite song.rip
@nick-th8ug
A very sad song. One of my all time favorites.
@CaseyBraydenLevi
My great grandfather used to sing this to my grandmother plus her brother and sister. Except instead of saying: “I’m writing this down in a trench, mom.” He said: “I’m writing this down in a foxhole.” He was a good man, but I never met him.