After Be-Bop-A-Lula had become a huge hit in 1956 (peaking at #7 and spending 20 weeks in the Billboard Pop Chart), Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps (often mis-named as 'the' Blue Caps) were unable to follow it up with the same level of commercial success, but released critically acclaimed songs like Race With The Devil (#96 in Billboard) and Bluejean Bop (#49).
Following a visit to Europe in 1959, Vincent managed to attract a new huge and discerning audience there, especially in England and France. By that time his career had mostly ended in the US. In 1960, while on tour in Britain, Vincent and songwriter Sharon Sheeley were seriously injured in a high-speed traffic accident. Vincent broke his ribs, collarbone, and added further damage to his already weak leg which he had injured in a motorcycle accident in 1955 and refused to have amputated, and Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis. Both Vincent and Sheeley survived, but the accident killed Vincent's tourmate and Sheeley's fiancé, Eddie Cochran.
Vincent subsequently moved to England in 1963. His stage shows became "must see" events and his bands through those years were to spawn some of the most respected players in the world today. It was during his early tours of Britain that he adopted the trademark leather outfit, at the suggestion of British Rock 'n' Roll impressario, Jack Good.
Five Days Five Days
Gene Vincent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A-that's how long that she's been gone
And that's a long time
Five days, five days
Since you walked out the door
Won't you please come home
I couldn't stand five more
I laughed and told my friends
That he'd be back before
The sun is settin' low again
Five days, five days
Since you walked out the door
Won't you please come home
I couldn't stand five more
Well, the second day after she left me
I started to have my doubts
I wondered if she was comin' back
Really had checked out
Five days, five days
Since you walked out the door
Won't you please come home
I couldn't stand five more
(One, two, three, four, five days more)
Well, the third day after she left me
I started to watch the door
Before the day was over
I began to walk the floor
Five days, five days
Since you walked out the door
Won't you please come home
I couldn't stand five more
Well the fourth day after she left me
I really began to sweat
She should have been back days ago
But she ain't got back yet
Five days, five days
Since you walked out the door
Won't you please come home
I couldn't stand five more
(One, two, three, four, five days more)
The song "Five Days Five Days" by Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps is a lamentation about a woman who left the singer and the excruciating amount of time that has passed since she has gone. The song begins by iterating the amount of time that has lapsed since she left, emphasizing that five days is an extended period. The singer pleads with the woman to come back, expressing how he cannot tolerate awaiting five more days. The tone of the first stanza is filled with hope that the woman will return.
As the song progresses, the tone changes, and the singer's thoughts of hope diminish. On the second day, the singer begins to doubt the woman’s intentions and wonders whether she will come back. By the third day, he begins to worry and becomes somewhat paranoid, frequently surveying the door and pacing the floor. By the fourth day, the singer is sweating profusely and is filled with extreme anxiety since the woman should've been back by then, but she hasn't returned. Thus, the lyrics show the singer's progression of emotions from hopefulness to a state of despair and anxiety over five days.
Overall, "Five Days Five Days" provides insight into the mental and emotional state of someone who has lost love and how difficult it is to cope with the feeling of being left behind. The song emphasises the importance of time and how it can feel insufferably long when we are waiting for something to come or someone to return.
Line by Line Meaning
One day, two days, three, four, five
The singer is counting the number of days that have passed since his partner left him, up to five days.
A-that's how long that she's been gone
The singer is specifying that he is measuring the amount of time since his partner left him.
And that's a long time
The singer feels that five days is a long period of time.
Five days, five days
The singer repeats the number of days that have passed since his partner left him.
Since you walked out the door
The singer's partner left him by walking out the door.
Won't you please come home
The singer is pleading for his partner to return home.
I couldn't stand five more
The singer cannot tolerate five more days without his partner.
Well the first day after she left me
The singer is recounting what he felt and did on the first day after his partner left him.
I laughed and told my friends
The singer found the situation a bit humorous and shared it with his friends.
That he'd be back before
The singer believed that his partner would return before something, possibly the sun setting.
The sun is settin' low again
The sun is setting, indicating the passage of time.
Well, the second day after she left me
The singer is recounting what he felt and did on the second day after his partner left him.
I started to have my doubts
The singer began to question whether his partner would come back or not.
I wondered if she was comin' back
The singer is considering the possibility of his partner returning to him.
Really had checked out
The singer thinks his partner may not be returning.
Well, the third day after she left me
The singer is recounting what he felt and did on the third day after his partner left him.
I started to watch the door
The singer is waiting for his partner to return and is keeping an eye on the door.
Before the day was over
The singer was hopeful that his partner would return before the end of the day.
I began to walk the floor
The singer is anxious and pacing back and forth while he waits for his partner to return.
Well the fourth day after she left me
The singer is recounting what he felt and did on the fourth day after his partner left him.
I really began to sweat
The singer is getting worried and anxious that his partner hasn't returned.
She should have been back days ago
The singer is getting frustrated that his partner has not returned within a reasonable timeframe.
But she ain't got back yet
The singer's partner has not returned and he is feeling the effects of her absence.
(One, two, three, four, five days more)
The singer is repeating the number of days that have passed, emphasizing the time that has gone by since his partner left him.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILLIE WILLIE, FRED H FRANKS, JACK RHODES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind