Born Donald Eugene Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio, he began playing guitar by age 6 and made his first record at age 15. After a time served in the United States Navy (which included a court-martial for assault), he began performing under the name Donny Young. The singer took a job with country music star George Jones, for whom he played bass and steel guitar for several years, co-writing Jones' hit song, "Once You've Had the Best." By the 1960s, he had changed his name to Johnny Paycheck, a name similar to Johnny Cash, which has sometimes caused confusion.
A member of the Grand Ole Opry, PayCheck is best remembered for his 1977 cover of, "Take This Job and Shove It" (written by David Allan Coe) which sold over 2 million copies and inspired a motion picture of the same name. Colorado Kool-Aid is another of his most famous songs. In his career, PayCheck recorded eleven songs that made it into country music's top ten chart plus he co-wrote several successful songs for other country singers including "Apartment #9," a hit for Tammy Wynette.
His life was often filled with turmoil and in 1985, PayCheck was convicted of shooting a man in Hillsboro, Ohio and spent two years in prison. His tax problems with the IRS led to his filing for bankruptcy in 1990. Later in the 1990s, he began capitalizing the fourth letter of his name in a style later dubbed CamelCase, preferring to be known as Johnny PayCheck.
PayCheck suffered from drug and alcohol addiction during his career, although he was said to have "put his life in order" [1] after his prison stay. Suffering from emphysema and asthma, after a lengthy illness, Johnny PayCheck died at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
He was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
He is survived by his wife Sharon PayCheck and son Jonathan PayCheck.
Barstool Mountain
Johnny Paycheck Lyrics
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all this loneliness you've left behind
On a mountain that's no hill for a climber
Just one step up, sit back and pour the wine
I climb up on barstool mountain
High above your world where there's no pain
And I'm the king of barstool mountain
At closing time I step down off the mountain
I'm strong enough to make it without you
I know that I'll be right back here tomorrow
Too weak to sober up and face the truth
I climb up on barstool mountain
High above your world where there's no pain
And I'm the king of barstool mountain
Pretending I don't love you once again
I climb up on barstool mountain
High above your world where there's no pain
And I'm the king of barstool mountain
Pretending I don't love you
Drinkin' away "I love you"
Pretending I don't love you once again
The lyrics to "Barstool Mountain" by Johnny Paycheck paint a picture of a man who is trying to forget a past relationship through drinking. He sings about finding a place where he can escape his loneliness and pain, on a "mountain" that he calls the "barstool." He believes that this mountain is easy to climb and that he can become king of it by pretending that he doesn't love the woman who left him.
He acknowledges that he is not strong enough to face the truth and that he will be back to drink away his sorrows tomorrow. The repetition of the phrase "I climb up on barstool mountain" is a powerful way to depict how the man is using alcohol to numb his pain. By sitting on the barstool and drinking, he symbolically elevates himself above the world where his ex-girlfriend lives and where the pain exists.
The last line of the song perfectly captures the man's battle with his emotions. He knows that he loves her, but he drinks to forget. The juxtaposition of the two emotions creates a powerful effect, as he is essentially drinking away the words "I love you" that he cannot bring himself to say.
Overall, "Barstool Mountain" is a tragic song about the destructive power of alcohol in the aftermath of a broken relationship. It sheds light on the lengths that people will go to in order to cope with loss and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
I've finally found a place where I can take it
After being lonely and having to deal with the aftermath of a breakup, I have found a place where I can be myself and not worry about anything else.
all this loneliness you've left behind
I am alone now because you left me, and it is a difficult burden to bear.
On a mountain that's no hill for a climber
I have found a place where I can escape my problems easily, without having to put in any effort.
Just one step up, sit back and pour the wine
All it takes for me to get away from my problems and forget about you is getting up on a bar stool and drinking some wine.
I climb up on barstool mountain
I enter a state of mind where I am on a mountain of bar stools, which is the only way I can escape the pain.
High above your world where there's no pain
From up here, I do not experience the pain of missing you and the loneliness that comes with it.
And I'm the king of barstool mountain
When I enter this mental state, I feel powerful and in control of my emotions, like a king of a mountain.
Pretending I don't love you once again
Even though I know I love you and wish we were together again, for now, I pretend I don't feel that way as a way of coping with the pain.
At closing time I step down off the mountain
When the bar closes, and it's time to go home, I come back to reality and face the challenges of life again.
I'm strong enough to make it without you
Even though I still miss you, I know I can live without you and not let your absence break me.
I know that I'll be right back here tomorrow
Tomorrow, I will come back to this place because I know it helps me cope with the pain of missing you.
Too weak to sober up and face the truth
It is challenging for me to face reality and the truth that you're not here, so I keep drinking to avoid it.
Drinkin' away 'I love you'
I drink to forget about the pain of loving someone who is not here with me, and try to escape that feeling.
Pretending I don't love you once again
As I drink and try to forget, I continue to pretend that I don't love you to avoid any extra pain or heartache.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DONN TANKERSLEY, WAYNE CARSON THOMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind