Burns was born in Conasauga, Tennessee on March 10, 1920. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee when he was three. In 1936, he auditioned for a talent contest at Knoxville radio station WNOX where he met Henry Haynes, also 16. The two formed a duo and WNOX program director Lowell Blanchard gave them the stage names Homer and Jethro after forgetting their names on the air.
Burns was drafted into the US Army and served in Europe during World War II and reunited with Haynes, who had served in the Pacific, in Knoxville in 1945. By 1947, the duo moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and were working at WLW on the station's Midwestern Hayride. They signed with King Records, where they worked as a house band and recorded singles on their own, and two years later signed with RCA Records. The pair were fired along with other stars by new management at WLW in 1948, and after a brief tour, they moved to Springfield, Missouri and performed on KWTO with Chet Atkins, the Carter Family and Slim Wilson.
In 1949, they moved to Chicago, Illinois and played at the Chicago Theatre. Between shows, they would go to WLS to appear live on National Barn Dance. While performing on WLS, Burns met and married his wife, Lois Johnson, who he called Gussie. Her twin sister Leona was married to Atkins.
In 1959, they won a Grammy for the best comedy performance in 1959 for "The Battle of Kookamonga", a parody of Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans".
Burns was a highly-influential mandolin stylist, preferring clean single-note jazzy melodies and sophisticated chords over the dominant bluegrass stylings of Bill Monroe, and since he performed mostly in a country music setting, introduced many country mandolinists to sophisticated jazz harmonies and improvisational techniques, as well as standards from the songbooks of Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt and Cole Porter.
By the 1970s, Burns' influence had spread to a younger generation of bluegrass and "new-acoustic" musicians, most notably New Grass Revival mandolinist Sam Bush. His participation in Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns, an independently released album produced by promoter Hank Deane, was reportedly at Bush's suggestion. During that same decade, Burns' acquaintance with erstwhile bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman led to Burns' writing a number of music/humor columns in the Grisman-published journal Mandolin World News. Grisman also produced a 1978 duet album on Kaleidoscope Records, Back to Back, featuring Burns and Western swing electric mandolinist Tiny Moore. Although Burns and Moore were approximately the same age and were among the few of their generation to make their reputations playing jazz and swing mandolin, the two had never met prior to the production of the album, its liner notes report.
After Haynes died in 1971, Burns's regular musical partner was guitarist Ken Eidson, with whom he co-authored an influential mandolin method tome (Mel Bay's Complete Jethro Burns Mandolin Book, still in print), and they continued to perform as Homer and Jethro. After the partnership ended, Burns continued to play, most notably with Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman. He appeared on several of Goodman's albums and also toured nationally with him. At times he appeared in the Million Dollar Band on TV's Hee Haw with Atkins and swing fiddler Johnny Gimble. He also became a master teacher of mandolin jazz. He died in 1989 from prostate cancer in Evanston, Illinois.
In 2001, Burns and Haynes were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Some of Burns' most influential recordings (in order of recording):
Bear Family BCD-15728AH Jazz From the Hills, Country All Stars (reissue of sessions from 1952–1955); with Jerry Byrd, Chet Atkins, Henry D. Haynes, Dale Potter
RCA Victor Playing It Straight (1962), Homer and Jethro; reissued on CD by RCA Japan
RCA Victor It Ain't Necessarily Square (1965?), Homer and Jethro; reissued on CD by RCA Japan
RCA Camden Down Yonder and Other Old-Time Favorites (1967) by Wade Ray and the Country Fiddlers.
FRC-653-CD "The Puritan Sessions" with swing fiddler Keith Coleman; cut originally for Puritan label in 1975, but not issued until 1998
Flying Fish Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns (1975)
Acoustic Disc ACD-60 Back to Back (originally 1979 on Kaleidescope), with Tiny Moore, Eldon Shamblin, Shelly Manne, Ray Browne
Acoustic Disc ACD-15 Swing Low Sweet Mandolin (1987); with Don Stiernberg
Acoustic Disc ACD-29 Bye Bye Blues (1987); with Don Stiernberg
The two RCA Victor albums showcased Homer and Jethro as jazz musicians rather than comedy kings. They didn't have wide commercial appeal, so the studio gave them a free hand to select material, arrange and improvise.
The RCA Camden LP was a budget release by a studio group with Wade Ray (overdubbed fiddles), Sonny Osborne (banjo) and Homer and Jethro. Burns played jazzy interpretations of old-time fiddle standards.
Back to Back paired Burns with Western swing giant Moore and an all-star jazz rhythm section with Ron Carter und Shelly Manne.
The two ACD were recorded by Burns after his cancer was advancing; he and Stiernberg worked in an intimate setting to put as many of Burns' musical ideas on high-quality recordings for future generations to enjoy and for aspiring swing mandolinists (and guitarists) to learn from.
I Can't Give You Anything But Love
Jethro Burns Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from
simply rotten to something worse
Who knows, some day I will win too.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
Now though I see what our end is,
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
You have a lifetime before you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
Please don't be blue for the present,
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
The lyrics of Jethro Burns's song "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" tell of the struggles and limitations of being broke, but also the hope and promise of love. The opening verse expresses the harsh reality of being broke, highlighting how it is not only a joke but also a curse. The following verse speaks of the possibility of things getting better in the future, but for now, all that can be given is time.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the idea that love is the only thing the singer has to offer. The lines "I can't give you anything but love, baby. That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby" showcase the pureness of the love that the singer has to give. The second verse addresses the financial struggles once again while also bringing in a sense of patience, promising to wait for the right time to give the world to their partner.
Overall, Jethro Burns's song "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" expresses a sense of hope in the midst of financial struggles, emphasizing the value of true, unconditional love. The song speaks to the idea that while circumstances may limit material possessions, love can remain steadfast.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid.
Being poor is really difficult, my dear.
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
Living in poverty is a serious problem that affects my life.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from simply rotten to something worse
Things are going from bad to worse.
Who knows, some day I will win too. I'll begin to reach my prime.
Maybe someday I'll become successful, and that's when I'll start to truly thrive and enjoy my life.
Now though I see what our end is, All I can spend is just my time.
I can see how our future looks now, but for the moment, time is all I have to offer.
I can't give you anything but love, baby. That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
I don't have material wealth to offer you, but I have an abundance of love to share with you.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile We're sure to find Happiness and I guess All those things you've always pined for.
Let's dream and plan together, we're certain to find happiness and all the things that you've always wanted.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby. Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
I'd love to see you looking fantastic, my love. Even the finest jewelry store can't compare to how beautiful you are.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby. I can't give you anything but love.
Until the day when we're fortunate enough to have more, I can only give you love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid. You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
Big things take time and effort to create, my dear. You have to work for what you want, there's no getting around it.
But I am willing to wait, dear. Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
I'm willing to be patient until we can have more, my love. I won't forget you.
You have a lifetime before you. I'll adore you, come what may.
You have your whole life ahead of you, and I'll always love you, no matter what happens.
Please don't be blue for the present, When it's so pleasant to hear you say
Don't be sad for the moment, my love. I just love hearing you talk.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind