[edit] Biography
Watson was born in Palestine, Texas, in 1943 and began his music career in the early 1970s, performing in local clubs at night while working in a Houston auto body shop during the day. He only recorded for a few small, regional record labels until 1974, when Capitol Records picked up his album Love in the Hot Afternoon and released it nationally. The title track, a mid-tempo ballad in 3/4 time, was released in June 1975 and it quickly reached Number 3 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.
Watson's national success continued throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, as he recorded several Billboard top-40 hits, including "Where Love Begins," "Paper Rosie," "Should I Go Home (or Should I Go Crazy)," "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You." and "Farewell Party" which was released in 1979 and quickly became Watson's signature song and soon allowed Watson to name his band after the tragic ballad.
In 1982, after switching to the MCA label, he recorded the only number-one hit of his career, "Fourteen Carat Mind." He followed up with several more hits in the early 1980s, including "Speak Softly (You're Talking to My Heart)," "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without" and "Got No Reason Now for Going Home." By the mid-1980s, he was recording for Epic Records, where his most notable hit was 1985's "Memories to Burn."
Watson never gave up his classical country style, even as he continued to record music throughout the 1980s. He signed with Warner Bros. and released two new albums in 1989 and 1991. He recorded his last album, From the Heart, under the Row Music Group label in 2001.
In 2005, Watson released his latest album, "Then & Now."
In May 2007, Gene Watson signed with the independent Shanachie Records & began work on his first album for the label, which will include new material, along with at least 3 covers of some of Gene's favourite classic country tunes including Merle Haggard's classic "Today I started Loving You Again". The new album, 'In a Perfect World', will be officially released on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
It was also in May 2007 (Saturday 5 May 2007) that the (all new) Gene Watson Site went 'live'. The site, which is owned & maintained by Sean Brady, is based in the Republic of Ireland & receives full support from Sarah Brosmer at Lytle Management in Nashville (Gene Watson's management team) & Gene Watson himself.
In September 2007 "In A Perfect World" was released to the public. The album was received by the country music industry as being one of the best recordings of the year.
[edit] External links
The Official Gene Watson Site
Gene Watson Site Based in Ireland
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Watson"
Categories: 1943 births | American country singers | American male singers | Living people | People from Anderson County, Texas | People from Houston, Texas
Though he can sing honky-tonk, Gene Watson built a reputation for soulful ballads in the classical country tradition. Born one of seven children in Palestine, TX, Watson married early and was working as an auto-body man when he began frequenting the clubs in Houston. He recorded for a few small-time regional labels during the early '70s like Wide World and Stoneway. Watson finally had success in 1974, when a steamy single for Resco "Love in the Hot Afternoon" was picked up for national distribution by Capitol Records, igniting a firestorm of national hits: "Where Love Begins," "Paper Rosie," "Farewell Party," "Should I Come Home (Or Should I Go Crazy)," and "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You." In 1982, shortly after moving to MCA, Watson recorded his only chart-topper, "Fourteen Carat Mind." A parade of Top Ten entries followed during the early '80s, including "Speak Softly (You're Talking to My Heart)" and "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without." Watson is a vocal stylist of considerable talent, and still owns his own body shop.
three
Gene Watson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The people shook my hand
They said we two were now as one
And me a lucky man.
From that day on that's all I ever
Wanted us to be
Until the day you told me
Then we began the waiting
And made our little jokes
You couldn't look at monkeys
And I gave up my smokes.
You prophasized he'd be a boy
And look a lot like me
Lord, but I was proud
That we'd be three.
One night the endless days of waiting
All came to an end
You woke me from my restless sleep
And said we must go in.
The sun won't rise on any day
Again like that for me
The day had come when
Two would soon be three.
I smoked an endless burning chain
Of bitter cigarettes
I must have walked a thousand miles
With fear in every step.
Two long days and two long nights
That I refused to sleep
And they were losing hope
That we'd be three.
The preacher's came, the doctor's came
And said I must be brave
I remember saying
It was more than I could take.
Now what's the world to do with
Any crazy man like me
A lonely one who wanted
To be three
The song "Three" by Gene Watson is a poignant narrative about a man who marries the love of his life and is content with just the two of them until one day she tells him they will be three. The man excitedly awaits the birth of his child and gives up smoking, while his wife jokes about not being able to look at monkeys. However, when the day arrives, it turns out to be a difficult delivery, and the man, filled with fear and anxiety, paces back and forth and smokes a lot of cigarettes, hoping that they will still be three in the end. The song ends on a melancholic note, with the man lamenting his loneliness and wondering what the world will do with a "crazy man" like him.
The lyrics of the song resonate with many people, as they capture the bittersweet experience of parenthood, from the joyous anticipation to the pangs of worry and the crushing disappointment of a failed delivery. The song also touches on themes of love, commitment, and sacrifice, as the man gives up smoking for the sake of his unborn child and is willing to endure sleepless nights and endless worry to ensure that his family is safe.
Line by Line Meaning
The day that we were married
The day we got married
The people shook my hand
People congratulated me
They said we two were now as one
They said we were now a couple
And me a lucky man.
I felt lucky to be married to you
From that day on that's all I ever
I only wanted one thing
Wanted us to be
I wanted us to be happy as a couple
Until the day you told me
Until you told me something surprising
We'd be three.
That we were having a baby
Then we began the waiting
Then we started waiting for the baby to be born
And made our little jokes
And tried to stay positive with humor
You couldn't look at monkeys
You couldn't bear to look at monkeys
And I gave up my smokes.
And I stopped smoking for you and the baby
You prophasized he'd be a boy
You predicted that our baby would be a boy
And look a lot like me
And would resemble me
Lord, but I was proud
I was so proud of the idea of a son
That we'd be three.
And becoming a family of three
One night the endless days of waiting
One night after waiting for so long
All came to an end
The waiting was over
You woke me from my restless sleep
You told me to wake up from my sleep
And said we must go in.
And said it was time to go to the hospital
The sun won't rise on any day
I knew that something bad was happening
Again like that for me
I knew that my life would never be the same
The day had come when
The day of the baby's birth had come
Two would soon be three.
We would soon be becoming a family of three
I smoked an endless burning chain
I couldn't stop smoking cigarettes
Of bitter cigarettes
Despite how they made me feel
I must have walked a thousand miles
I was restless and couldn't sit still
With fear in every step.
With worry and fear for the baby and you
Two long days and two long nights
Days and nights of waiting
That I refused to sleep
I couldn't sleep because I was so worried
And they were losing hope
The doctors were starting to lose hope
That we'd be three.
That our baby would survive and we would become a family of three
The preacher's came, the doctor's came
The preacher and doctors came to help
And said I must be brave
They told me to be strong and brave
I remember saying
I remember feeling
It was more than I could take.
That it was too much for me to handle
Now what's the world to do with
Now that everything has changed
Any crazy man like me
What will happen to someone like me who is lost
A lonely one who wanted
A person who only wanted
To be three
To become a family of three
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TOM T. HALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ruth Boykin
Absolutely beautiful song! I love Gene Watson!
Jimmy Lemley
I have lived this song, it’s a hell from which you can’t recover from no matter what the preacher says, I only pray God will help me.
uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by. :)
Mikey Thompson
Marlene Badyka
OH MY GOD THIS IS SO TOUCHING
uronthehill
@Marlene Badyka So do I Marlene... I believe I have over 120 of his songs on my channel. :)
Mikey
Marlene Badyka
@uronthehill I LOVE Anything gene Watson sings
uronthehill
It's a real tear jerker for sure. It was written by Tom T. Hall. Thanks for stoppin' by Marlene. :)
Mikey Thompson
Fran Whewell
Lovely Song....
Fran Whewell
Very touching song...
Fran Whewell
@uronthehill This is a Mighty Mighty Awesome Song! How Wonderful!