Starting off singing at the local Optimist Club, Young was discovered by Webb Pierce, who brought him to star on the Louisiana Hayride radio program on KWKH in 1951.
He was drafted into the Army in late 1952, just after he was signed to Capitol Records. Nicknamed "The Hillbilly Heartthrob" and "The Singing Sheriff," he had many hits including:
"Young Love"
"If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')"
"Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young"
"Sweet Dreams"
"Alone With You"
"Hello Walls" (written by Willie Nelson)
"It's Four in the Morning" (written by Jerry Chesnut).
"Here I Am In Dallas"
"I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night"
Young made several appearances during the late 1950s on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee.
His #1 country hit "It's Four in the Morning" was written at his request as he was recuperating from a serious automobile accident in which he suffered head injuries. His tongue had been partly severed in the accident, and it took him several months before he could regain normal speaking ability. He had particular trouble with the "s" sound in most words, so he asked for a song which largely avoided that sound as his comeback effort.
Faron Young's band, the Country Deputies, was one of country music's top bands, and toured with him for many years.
Young co-founded, with Preston Temple, the Nashville trade newspaper, The Music City News.
Young died at the age of sixty-four of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been in failing health when he took his own life.
Legacy and influence
A performance video clip of "It's Four In The Morning" was the first video to air on CMT when it first launched on March 5, 1983.
In 1985, the country singer inspired homage from British rock group, Prefab Sprout, whose multimillion-selling album, "Steve McQueen" contains the song "Faron Young." The song has the refrain: You give me Faron Young four in the morning / Forgive me Faron Young four in the morning..."
In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
In the comic strip Peanuts, Frieda's cat was named "Faron" after Faron Young, of whom Charles Schulz was a fan.
Worked with Webb Pierce on the Louisana Hayride in 1951. First recorded with Tillman Franks & his Rainbow boys in 1951. Went solo in 1952. Appeared in the 1956 movie "Hidden Guns" and got his nickame "The Young Sheriff", and his band name, "Country Deputies" from that movie. Also appeared in the movies, Stampede, Daniel Boone, Raiders Of Old California, and That's Country. Founder and one-time publisher of the Music City News in Nashville. First charted song "Going Steady went to #2 on the Country Charts in 1953. Put 79 songs into the top 40 of the country charts from 1953-1978. Had 5 #1s. Last # 1 was It's Four In the Morning in 1971. During the '90s, Young was stricken with a debilitating emphysema. Depressed by his poor health, he shot himself on December 9, 1996, and passed away the next day Source Joel Whitburn's Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country
Face to the Wall
Faron Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I suspected there was something that you weren't telling me
And last night I learned the reason for it all
I was looking through your window saw you kissing someone else
You reached up and turned my picture slowly face to the wall
Face to the wall so you wouldn't have to see anything at all to make you think of me
Did the cheapness of the moment make you feel ashamed and small
Was I farther from your conscience standing face to the wall
Alone out in the darkness were the eyes that worshiped you
As you cheated me I watched my idle fall
With your arms around another and his lips where mine should be
Then I saw you turned my picture slowly face to the wall
Face to the wall...
The lyrics to Faron Young's song Face to the Wall tell a heartbreaking story of betrayal and deceit. The singer of the song suspects that something is not right in his relationship, but can't quite put his finger on it. He feels distant from his partner and wonders if he is being kept in the dark about something. Then one night, he sees his partner kissing someone else through the window. To his shock and horror, she turns his picture face to the wall, as if to hide her guilt and erase any memory of him.
The singer is left alone in the darkness, watching the person he loves cheat on him with someone else. He is hurt and angry, but also feels a sense of pity for his partner's shame and smallness. The image of his picture slowly turning away from her is a powerful one, symbolizing the turning away of love and trust in their relationship. The refrain, "Face to the wall," is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the emotional distance between the two people and the sense of betrayal that the singer feels.
Overall, Face to the Wall is a poignant and emotional song about the pain of betrayal and the loss of trust in a relationship. The haunting melody and raw lyrics make it a classic country ballad that continues to resonate with listeners today.
Line by Line Meaning
Was I farther from your conscience standing face to the wall
Did you feel less guilty and ashamed about what you were doing to me while I stood with my back against the wall?
I suspected there was something that you weren't telling me
I had a feeling that there was more going on between you and someone else and you were keeping it from me.
And last night I learned the reason for it all
Finally, I found out the truth about what you were doing, and it explained everything.
I was looking through your window saw you kissing someone else
I caught a glimpse of you cheating on me with someone else when I was peering inside your window.
You reached up and turned my picture slowly face to the wall
You hid the picture of me so that you did not have to think about me while you were cheating.
Face to the wall so you wouldn't have to see anything at all to make you think of me
You deliberately put the picture of me out of sight because you did not want to have any reminders of me while you were cheating on me.
Did the cheapness of the moment make you feel ashamed and small
Did you feel humiliated for behaving cheaply with the other person?
Alone out in the darkness were the eyes that worshiped you
Once I realized what you were doing, I was left feeling alone and hurt while you were being worshipped by someone else in a place where it was dark.
As you cheated me I watched my idle fall
As you betrayed me, I watched everything I had between us come crashing down.
With your arms around another and his lips where mine should be
You were holding someone else in your arms, and they were kissing you where I should have been.
Then I saw you turned my picture slowly face to the wall
In that moment, I saw you hide my picture, and it was then that it hit home how much you had been deceiving me.
Face to the wall...
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILL ANDERSON, RON YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheFishdoctor1952
Just as good today as back in 1959. Great music never dies.
@vernonwalls3465
Love to hear Faron Young. That is truly classic country the way it should be.
@danielburns987
this song went to #10 on the country charts in 1960!!!
@olivemarin7595
One of my favorite Faron Young songs. He could sing anything and do it well. Sure miss the true, traditional country music and the legends that sang it.
@geena6
Love this song & Faron Young singing it..
Thanks Tommy 🌹
@barrygioportmorien1
One of my all time favourites by the talented Faron Young.
@ojadkins
Love these good old songs. Gonna add this to the stuff that I play and sing in and around the old homestead. Many thanx for posting this one!
@antoniofernandesdequeiroga6197
Faron Young so young and so good.
@innerpeaceproject
Love this! One of my favorites - grew up listening to him.
@albertwild466
Another great song Al UK x