Thompson's musical style, characterized as Honky Tonk Swing, is a mixture of big-band instrumentation, fiddle and steel guitar that supports his distinctive, gravelly baritone vocals on songs he often writes himself. His backing band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the No.1 Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard Magazine.
He decided to pursue his musical talent after serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II as a radioman and studying electrical engineering at the university level. His first single was "Whoa Sailor" in 1946. The year 1952 brought his first #1 disc, "The Wild Side of Life", which contained the memorable line "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels" (which inspired the Kitty Wells response, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"). Other hits followed in quick succession in the 1950s and 1960s. Although not as prominent in later decades, he has remained an active and respected performer in the field, finding new audiences as a result of the resurgence of a harder-edged sound in country music.
Hank Thompson was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997. He was born 3 September 1925 in Waco, Texas, and passed away at home in Keller, Texas, on 6 November 2007, just four days after cancelling his final tour.
Blue Skirt Waltz
Hank Thompson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
till I heard and orchestra play
I met you where lights were bright,
and people were care-free and gay
You were the beautiful lady in blue,
I was in heaven just waltzing with you
You thrilled me with strange delight,
then softly you stole away
I dream of that night with you,
Lady when first we met We danced in a world of blue,
How can my heart forget B
lue were the skies, and blue were your eyes,
just like the blue skirt you wore
Come back blue lady, come back,
Don't be blue any more
The lyrics of Hank Thompson And His Brazos Valley Boys' song Blue Skirt Waltz tell the story of the singer's encounter with a beautiful lady in blue. It starts with the singer wandering alone until he hears the sound of an orchestra playing. He then meets the lady under the bright lights where people were carefree and gay. As they waltzed, the lady in blue brought strange delight to the singer. However, soft as a breeze, the lady disappeared into the night.
The lyrics then shift into the singer's longing for the lady in blue. He dreams of the first night they met and danced in a world of blue. In the dream, the skies were blue, the lady's eyes were blue, and she wore a blue skirt. He begs the lady in blue to come back and not to be blue anymore, implying that she might have been longing for something too.
Line by Line Meaning
I wandered alone one night,
I was walking by myself on a night without company.
till I heard an orchestra play
Until I caught the sound of an orchestra playing.
I met you where lights were bright,
I came across you in a place where the lights were shining brightly.
and people were care-free and gay
And the people were joyful and without worries.
You were the beautiful lady in blue,
You were the stunning woman wearing a blue dress.
I was in heaven just waltzing with you
I felt as if I were in paradise just by dancing with you.
You thrilled me with strange delight,
You filled me with a peculiar happiness.
then softly you stole away
Then you left quietly without a sound.
I dream of that night with you,
I still have dreams about the night I spent with you.
Lady when first we met
Ma'am, when we first encountered each other.
We danced in a world of blue,
We danced surrounded by a blue atmosphere.
How can my heart forget
It's impossible for me to forget it.
Blue were the skies, and blue were your eyes,
The skies were blue, and so were your eyes, just like the blue skirt you wore.
just like the blue skirt you wore
Just like the blue dress you had on.
Come back blue lady, come back,
Please come back to me, ma'am, please come back.
Don't be blue any more
Please don't be sad anymore.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MITCHELL PARISH, VACLAV BLAHA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@snowbeard54
A Country artist