Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana, U.S. died … Read Full Bio ↴Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana, U.S. died October 28, 2022 in DeSoto County, Mississippi) was an American rock and roll and country music singer, songwriter, and pianist, as well as an early pioneer of rock and roll music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2022. his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. His nickname is The Killer.

Like Elvis Presley, he was raised singing the Christian gospel music of integrated southern Pentecostal churches. In 1950 he attended Southwestern Bible Institute in Texas but was expelled for misconduct, including playing rock and roll versions of hymns in church. Pearry Green (then president of the student body) related how during a talent show Jerry played some worldly music. The next morning the Dean of the school called both Jerry and Pearry into his office to expel them both. Jerry then said that Pearry shouldn't be expelled because "he didn't know what I was going to do." Years later Pearry asked Jerry: "Are you still playing the devil's music?" Jerry replied, "Yes, I am. But you know it's strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don't."

Leaving religious music behind, he became a part of the burgeoning new rock and roll sound, cutting his first record in 1954. Two years later, at Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee, producer and engineer Jack Clement discovered and recorded Lewis for the Sun label, while owner Sam Phillips was away on a trip to Florida. As a result, Lewis joined Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash as stars who began their recording careers at Sun Studios around this same time.

Lewis' first recording at Sun studios was his own distinct version of the country ballad Crazy Arms. In 1957, his piano and the pure rock and roll sound of Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On propelled him to international fame. Great Balls of Fire soon followed, and would become his biggest hit. Watching and listening to Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis said if he could play the piano like that, he'd quit singing. Lewis' early billing was Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano.

Lewis was a pioneer of piano rock, not only through his sound by also through his dynamic performance. He would often kick the piano bench out of the way to play standing, rake his hands up and down the keyboard for dramatic accent, and even sit down on it. His frenetic performance style can be seen in films such as High School Confidential (he sang the title song from the back of a flatbed truck), and Jamboree. These performance techniques have been adopted by recent piano rock artists, notably admirer Elton John.

Born to Lose
Jerry Lee Lewis Lyrics

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Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain
Every dream has only brought me pain
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose and now I'm losing you

Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear
How I long to always have you near
You've grown tired and now you say we're through

Born to lose and now I'm losing you

Born to lose, my every hope is gone
It's so hard to face an empty dawn
You were all the happiness I knew
Born to lose and now I'm losing you

There's no use to dream of happiness
All I see is only loneliness

All my life, I've always been so blue
Born to lose and now I'm losing you

Overall Meaning

Jerry Lee Lewis's song "Born to Lose" is a heartbreaking ballad that describes a person who has struggled with misery, misfortune, and desolation throughout their life. The song is melancholic in tone and powerful in delivery. From a lyrical standpoint, the opening line "Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain," sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer has struggled throughout their life, and every dream they have had has only brought them pain. This lyric establishes that the singer is in the depths of despair and has been defeated by life.

The song's chorus shows that the singer has lost their loved one and adds to their pain. The chorus sings "Born to lose and now I'm losing you." The lyrics show that the singer's life feels incomplete without their lover, and their dreams have been shattered by the loss. The singer longs to have their loved one near, but they have grown tired and said they are through. This shows that even in love, the singer has lost and further reinforces the idea that they are "born to lose."

The final verse of the song shows that the singer has lost all hope and that even dreaming of happiness feels like a futile exercise. All they see is loneliness, and they have been blue their entire life. The song is a tragic story of a person who has faced a lifetime of pain, loneliness, and loss.

Born to LoseJerry Lee Lewis Lyrics

Born to Lose
Jerry Lee Lewis Lyrics