Gary Stewart (May 28, 1944 – December 16, 2003), a country musician known f… Read Full Bio ↴Gary Stewart (May 28, 1944 – December 16, 2003), a country musician known for his drinking songs, was one of the first so-called "outlaw" country performers of the 1970s.

A singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, he was born in the Letcher County, Kentucky town of Jenkins, the son of a coal miner. In 1958 his father sustained an injury while working in the mines, and shortly after the family moved to Fort Pierce, a city on Florida's Atlantic coast.

Stewart began recording at twelve, moved on to songwriting, and married Mary Lou Taylor when he was eighteen. While playing a Honky-Tonk club in Okeechobee, Florida, known as the Wagon Wheel, he met country singer Mel Tillis, who advised Stewart to travel to Nashville to pitch his songs. He recorded songs for the small Cory label in 1964. In Nashville, Jerry Bradley, the son of record-producer Owen Bradley, worked with Stewart and collaborator Bill Eldridge to refine their songs, and in 1965 Stonewall Jackson's recording of their "Poor Red Georgia Dirt" made the country charts.

Signed to the Kapp label in 1968, Stewart made several unsuccessful recordings. But Carl Smith, Billy Walker and Nat Stuckey had hits with Stewart's songs. Dropped from Kapp and then from Decca, Stewart made a series of demo tapes that found their way into the hands of producer Roy Dea, who signed Stewart to RCA Records. Their collaboration produced the hits "Drinkin' Thing," "Out of Hand" and "She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)," the latter which was his only number-one song. Other hits from this most commercially successful period of Stewart's career (1974-1977) include "Flat Born Natural Good Timin' Man," "In Some Room Above the Street" and "Your Place or Mine." Through this time during the seventies and into the eighties, Gary played with a group named Aberdeen Rockfish Railroad, or as Gary called them the Honky Tonk Liberation Army. This band which consisted of Donnie Coleman, Chris Casses, Bob Melton, Darrell Dawson, Howie Folcarelli, and Ralph Profetta travelled and played with him. They also sang backup on several of Stewart's RCA releases, including "Easy People", "Can't You See", "Pretend I Never Happened", and played behind him on several unreleased songs recorded at Bradley's Barn. They were nominated for Instrumental Group of The Year by Country Music Magazine and were the driving force behind Stewart's signature raucous live sound. Stewart's recordings are characterized by his barely controlled vocals, rock-and-roll-like instrumentation, and a classicism that recalls both the country music and the rockabilly of the 1950s.

By the late 1970s Stewart no longer sold records in the quantities of a few years before, but many critics rank recordings from this era, such as "Single Again," as among his best work. He recorded an album with producer Chips Moman in 1980, Cactus and a Rose, and left RCA for the Hightone label, where he recorded Brand New in 1988. Drug and alcohol problems plagued him in the '80s, and his son, Gary Joseph Stewart, committed suicide late in the decade.

Despite these hardships, Stewart and his wife continued to tour the honky tonk circuit through the 1990s, playing venues such as Fort Worth's Billy Bob's Texas several times a year.

In 2003, Stewart released a live album, Live at Billy Bob's Texas. But on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, his wife died of pneumonia. They had been married forty years.

Stewart, who had been scheduled to play Billy Bob's three days later, cancelled his concert appearances. His friends later told reporters that he was extremely despondent after Mary Lou's death. On December 16, his daughter's boyfriend and Stewart's very close friend Bill Hardman visited Stewart's Fort Pierce, Florida home to check on his welfare. Gary Stewart was dead, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the neck.

Writer Jim Lewis summed up Stewart thus: "Stewart really didn't fit in anywhere. He wasn't Southern rock, and he wasn't Nashville country." Still, Stewart's work has gained in critical esteem since the '70s. As music critic Robert Christgau wrote, "...he's the equal of any postoutlaw you care to name except maybe John Anderson."

Ramona
Gary Stewart Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh Ramona I love you and I want you
I'll do anything for you
Ramona I could hold you
Oh Ramona sometimes I wished I'd never known you
But to know you is to love you
And I do love you Ramona

The ring you wanted I could not afford

So I got brave and robbed a jewelry store
I got caught with the ring in my hand
It'll be sometime they say till I see you again

Oh Ramona I love you and I want you…

Beneath the streetlight on the corner
Each night you're standing there
And I'm jealous of the wind blowing in your hair
I can only look at you behind these bars
But tonight in my dreams I hold you in my arms

Oh Ramona I love you and I want you…

Overall Meaning

The song Ramona by Gary Stewart is a haunting love song that is both touching and dark. The singer is in love with Ramona but is forced to confront the reality of their situation. The lyrics convey the depth of his feelings for her, even as he faces the consequences of his actions.

The opening lyrics set the tone for the song, expressing the singer's deep love and devotion for Ramona. He is willing to do anything for her, which is evident in the second verse where he admits to robbing a jewelry store to get her the ring she wanted. The singer then grapples with the consequences of his actions, facing punishment and wondering when he will be able to see Ramona again. The lyrics in the third verse hint at a sense of jealousy and frustration that the singer feels towards Ramona. He is locked up and unable to be with her, while she remains out in the world.

Overall, Ramona is a song that explores the complexities of love, devotion, and the harsh realities of life. The lyrics are raw and emotional, conveying the singer's passion and regret.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh Ramona I love you and I want you
Deeply desire and cherish Ramona

I'll do anything for you
Willing to sacrifice for Ramona

Ramona I could hold you
Long to physically embrace Ramona

Oh Ramona sometimes I wished I'd never known you
Regretful that Ramona's love led to unlawful acts

But to know you is to love you
Despite consequences, cannot help loving Ramona

And I do love you Ramona
Reaffirming strong feelings for Ramona

The ring you wanted I could not afford
Lack of financial means to satisfy Ramona's wish

So I got brave and robbed a jewelry store
Resorted to unlawful means to fulfill Ramona's desire

I got caught with the ring in my hand
Punished for criminal action

It'll be sometime they say till I see you again
Separated from Ramona due to incarceration

Beneath the streetlight on the corner
Visualizing Ramona standing in a specific location