Perhaps best known for his distinct yodelling, he charted more than seventy singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980, including the Number One hits 'I'm Movin' On' and 'I Don't Hurt Anymore'. Performing in lavish and colourful sequin-studded suits, Snow had a career covering six decades during which he sold more than 80 million albums, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1979.
THERE IS A HANK SNOW MUSEUM CLOSE TO BROOKLYN IN LIVERPOOL, NOVA SCOTIA, APPROPRIATELY, IT IS HOUSED IN AN ABANDONED TRAIN STATION. VERY WELL DONE
I reckon Hank Snow was better known for his distinctive self taught guitar style. Hank was influenced by the famous Rail road blues singer Jimmie Rodgers and though Hank did copy Rodgers style in his early days, including the "blue yodel" he later abandoned this and developed his own gritty style of singing. His guitar playing was so good he once cut a duet album of guitar music with the late Chet Atkins, master country Guitarist and music producer for RCA Victor. Hank was with RCA Victor label for almost 50 years and towards the end of his waning career RCA dropped him, just before he would have celebrated his half century with that label-always thought that was a bit mean of them.. Hank Snow and his Rainbow ranch boys, with Chubby Hayes on fiddle gave really great live concerts and the singing and playing they did was superlative and sounded as good as, if not equal to their recorded works.
Ninety Miles An Hour
Hank Snow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we kissed in fun,
A few stolen kisses and no harm was done.
Instead of stopping when we could,
We went right on,
Until suddenly we found
The brakes were gone.
It's just too crazy being here with you.
As a bad motorcycle with the devil in the seat,
Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street.
I didn't want to want to now I have no choice.
It's too late to hear the warning voice.
All I hear is thunder as our two hearts beat,
Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street.
You're not free to belong to me
and you know I can never be your own.
Your lips on mine are like sweet sweet wine,
But we're headed for a wall of stone.
Warning signs are flying by us
But we pay no heed,
Instead of slowing down the pace
We keep pickin' up the speed.
Disaster's getting closer every time we meet.
Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street.
The song "Ninety Miles an Hour" by Hank Snow tells the story of two people who kiss at a party and, despite knowing that they belong to other people, cannot resist the temptation of continuing their relationship. They are aware of the consequences of their actions, but they choose to ignore the warning signs and continue on their reckless path. The singer uses a powerful image of a "bad motorcycle with the devil in the seat" to describe the intensity of their passion and the feeling of being out of control.
The lyrics are a warning about the dangers of giving in to temptation and acting impulsively without considering the consequences. The metaphor of driving "90 miles an hour down a dead end street" suggests that their actions will only lead to disaster. The line "You're not free to belong to me and you know I can never be your own" highlights the forbidden nature of their relationship and the impossibility of it lasting. Despite this, they continue on their path of destruction, with each encounter bringing them closer to disaster.
Overall, "Ninety Miles an Hour" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of giving in to temptation and the consequences of acting recklessly. The image of driving at high speed towards a dead end suggests that there is no way out for the characters in this story. They have made their choices and now must face the consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
I took you home from a party
I escorted you home after a social gathering
And we kissed in fun,
We shared a playful, harmless kiss
A few stolen kisses and no harm was done.
We simply shared a couple of innocent kisses without causing any harm
Instead of stopping when we could,
Rather than stopping when we had the chance
We went right on,
We continued indulging in our kiss
Until suddenly we found
Until we abruptly realized
The brakes were gone.
We were unable to stop our actions
You belong to someone else and I do too.
We are both in committed relationships with other people
It's just too crazy being here with you.
It's reckless for us to be together in this manner
As a bad motorcycle with the devil in the seat,
Our actions can be described as those of a reckless motorcycle rider with a devilish attitude
Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street.
We are recklessly speeding down a path with an inevitable end
I didn't want to want to now I have no choice.
Initially I did not want to desire you, but now I feel compelled to continue
It's too late to hear the warning voice.
We have disregarded all cautions or warnings
All I hear is thunder as our two hearts beat,
Our hearts beat wildly, making it impossible to hear any potential warnings or hesitations
Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street.
We are continuing recklessly despite an inevitable downfall
You're not free to belong to me
You are not available for me to be in a committed relationship with
and you know I can never be your own.
We are unable to be together in a romantic way
Your lips on mine are like sweet sweet wine,
Our physical affection feels addictively appealing
But we're headed for a wall of stone.
Our reckless behavior is leading us to an inevitable disaster
Warning signs are flying by us
Cues of caution flash by us as we continue on our destructive path
But we pay no heed,
We ignore any signs of potential harm
Instead of slowing down the pace
Rather than slowing down, we are continuing to escalate our actions
We keep pickin' up the speed.
Our behavior is becoming more dangerous and out of control
Disaster's getting closer every time we meet.
Our inevitable downfall is drawing closer with each encounter
Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street.
Our actions are leading us to an inevitable and destructive end
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DON ROBERTSON, HAL BLAIR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sauquoit13456
On this day in 1963 {December 1st} "Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead-End Street)"* by Hank Snow peaked at #2 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, for the week it was at #2, the #1 record for that week was "Love's Gonna Live Here" by Buck Owens...
"Ninety Miles An Hour" reached #124 on Billboard's Bubbling Under The Top 100 chart...
Between 1949 and 1980 the Brooklyn, Nova Scotia native had eighty-seven records on the Billboard Country charts, forty-three made the Top 10 with seven reaching #1...
Five of his eighty-seven charted records were duets, two each with Anita Carter and Chet Atkins and one with Kelly Foxton...
Hank Snow, born Clarence Eugene Snow, passed away at the age of 85 on December 20th, 1999...
May he R.I.P.
* "Ninety Miles An Hour" was Hank Snow's fourth of four of his records to peak at #2, his three other #2 records were "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts" {a duet with Anita Carter} in 1951, "Gold Rush Is Over" in 1952 and "Lady's Man" in 1952...
And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, the remainder of the Hot Country Singles' Top 10 on December 1st, 1963:
At #3. "Talk Back Trembling Lips" by Ernest Ashworth
#4. "The Matador" by Johnny Cash
#5. "Cowboy Boots" by Dave Dudley
#6. "Mountain of Love" by David Houston
#7. "500 Miles Away From Home" by Bobby Bare
#8. "8 x 10" by Bill Anderson
#9. "Thanks, A Lot" by Ernest Tubbs
#10. "Call Me Mr. Brown" by Skeets McDonald
@wjack4728
Hank Snow is one of my favorite music makers. He had some of the best story songs ever made.
@johnmurnighan3901
Am 73 now & have always loved anything he did. Gene Pitney took me a way from country but i still listen to his music. Went country in the 70's but any of his songs held up ..Wish i could say "i don't hurt anymore" but he's always been there for me
@nathanmaaka1631
Thankyou again Mr Zimmerman for once again showing songs I would never ever know if it wasn't for your encyclopedic mind!
@susanreynolds661
My favorite Hank Snow song!!😊
@archierockey
This is what you call country music
@sauquoit13456
On this day in 1963 {December 1st} "Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead-End Street)"* by Hank Snow peaked at #2 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, for the week it was at #2, the #1 record for that week was "Love's Gonna Live Here" by Buck Owens...
"Ninety Miles An Hour" reached #124 on Billboard's Bubbling Under The Top 100 chart...
Between 1949 and 1980 the Brooklyn, Nova Scotia native had eighty-seven records on the Billboard Country charts, forty-three made the Top 10 with seven reaching #1...
Five of his eighty-seven charted records were duets, two each with Anita Carter and Chet Atkins and one with Kelly Foxton...
Hank Snow, born Clarence Eugene Snow, passed away at the age of 85 on December 20th, 1999...
May he R.I.P.
* "Ninety Miles An Hour" was Hank Snow's fourth of four of his records to peak at #2, his three other #2 records were "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts" {a duet with Anita Carter} in 1951, "Gold Rush Is Over" in 1952 and "Lady's Man" in 1952...
And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, the remainder of the Hot Country Singles' Top 10 on December 1st, 1963:
At #3. "Talk Back Trembling Lips" by Ernest Ashworth
#4. "The Matador" by Johnny Cash
#5. "Cowboy Boots" by Dave Dudley
#6. "Mountain of Love" by David Houston
#7. "500 Miles Away From Home" by Bobby Bare
#8. "8 x 10" by Bill Anderson
#9. "Thanks, A Lot" by Ernest Tubbs
#10. "Call Me Mr. Brown" by Skeets McDonald
@bobdan2815
No comparison between this and what is called country today.
@rickkeogh1163
One of Hank's best ... love to hear the Stone's cover it!
@scotgibson7020
Bob dylan did
@MrRazorblade999
Don Robertson wrote it