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.
Wedding Bells
Gene Vincent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's a pretty certain sign
Those wedding bells are breaking up
That old gang of mine
All the boys are singing love songs
They forgot sweet Adeline
Those wedding bells are breaking up
That old gang of mine
Strollin' down lover's lane
Now and then, we meet again
But they don't seem the same
Life gets that lonesome feeling
Then I hear the churchbells ring
Those wedding bells are breaking up
That old gang of mine
Well, there goes Jack, there goes Jim
Strollin' down lover's lane
Now and then, we meet again
But they don't seem the same
Life gets that lonesome feeling
Then I hear the churchbells ring
Those wedding bells are breaking up
That old gang of mine
In Gene Vincent's song "Wedding Bells," he describes the feeling of nostalgia and sadness as he sees his old gang of boys getting married and leaving their bachelor lifestyles behind. The opening lines "Not a soul down on the corner, That's a pretty certain sign," sets up the scene of emptiness and foreshadows the end of the gang. As he continues, he notes how the boys who used to sing love songs to their female interests have now left them behind for their spouses, forgetting about the likes of "sweet Adeline." As the boys walk down "lover's lane," Gene Vincent sees them but acknowledges that they don't seem the same, as they are now committed to another person. The churchbells ringing signify the end of an era and the end of his old gang in the sense of their bachelor lifestyle. This song speaks to the bittersweet feeling of watching one's friends move on to a new chapter in their lives, while still holding on to the memories of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Not a soul down on the corner
No one is hanging out on the street corner
That's a pretty certain sign
This suggests that something specific is happening
Those wedding bells are breaking up
The sound of wedding bells is causing a change
That old gang of mine
A group of people the singer was formerly a part of
All the boys are singing love songs
The male members of the group are singing romantic tunes
They forgot sweet Adeline
They no longer remember or care about a person named Adeline
Well, there goes Jack, there goes Jim
Two members of the group are leaving together
Strollin' down lover's lane
Taking a romantic walk along a particular path or street
Now and then, we meet again
Occasionally, the singer runs into the departed members of the group
But they don't seem the same
The singer has changed, and so have they
Life gets that lonesome feeling
Occasionally, the singer feels depressed and alone
Then I hear the churchbells ring
The sound of church bells catches the singer's attention
Those wedding bells are breaking up
Again, the sound of the bells is causing a change
That old gang of mine
The group of people the singer used to belong to
Contributed by Molly L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.