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.
Old Violin
Johnny Paycheck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've felt as lonely as I do tonight
I feel like I could lay down, and get up no more
It's the damndest feelin', I never felt it before
Tonight I feel like an old violin
Soon to be put away and never played again
Don't ask me why I feel like this, hell, I can't say
I guess it's 'cause the truth
Is the hardest thing I ever faced
'Cause you can't change the truth
In the slightest way, I tried
So I asked myself
I said, "John, where'd you go from here?"
And then like a damned fool
I turned around and looked in the mirror
And there I saw, an old violin
Soon to be put away and never played again
So one more time, just to be sure
I said, "John, where in the hell do you go from here?"
You know that when a nickel's worth of difference
And I looked in the mirror, that's when I knew
That there I was seein', an old violin
Soon to be put away, and never played again
And just like that, it hit me
That old violin and I were just alike
We'd give our all to music
And soon, we'll give our life
The lyrics to Johnny Paycheck's "Old Violin" depict a moment of despair and hopelessness. Paycheck sings, "I can't recall, one time in my life / I've felt as lonely as I do tonight," conveying a deep sense of loneliness and isolation. He then compares himself to an old violin, meant to be put away and never played again. While he doesn't know why he feels this way, he suggests that it might be because he's facing a difficult truth that he can't change. He reflects on his choices and path in life and confronts the inevitability of death, acknowledging that both he and the old violin have given their all to music and will soon give their lives.
The song's lyrics are a powerful reminder of the fleeting nature of life and the need to make the most of the time we have. The metaphor of the old violin that has seen better days is both poignant and multi-layered. On the surface, it represents the aging of the musician and his instrument. But on a deeper level, it could also symbolize the passing of a generation or an entire musical tradition. The fact that the singer compares himself to the violin suggests that he sees himself as an artist who's no longer able to create something new and relevant.
Overall, "Old Violin" is a powerful and introspective song that speaks to the human condition. Its themes of loss, mortality, and the need to cherish life are universal and timeless.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I can't recall, one time in my life
I've felt as lonely as I do tonight
Tonight, I am feeling unusually lonely and melancholic, like I have never felt before in my entire life.
I feel like I could lay down, and get up no more
It's the damndest feelin', I never felt it before
I feel so hopeless and helpless that I just want to give up and never get up again. This is a feeling that is new and strange to me.
Tonight I feel like an old violin
Soon to be put away and never played again
I feel like an old, forgotten violin that is no longer useful and will be put away forever, just like how I feel about myself tonight.
Don't ask me why I feel like this, hell, I can't say
I only wish this feelin' would just go away
I can't explain why I feel this way, and I wish that this feeling of loneliness and despair would just disappear.
I guess it's 'cause the truth
Is the hardest thing I ever faced
'Cause you can't change the truth
In the slightest way, I tried
I think the reason I feel this way is because I have been faced with a harsh truth that I cannot change no matter how hard I try.
So I asked myself
I said, "John, where'd you go from here?"
And then like a damned fool
I turned around and looked in the mirror
I asked myself where to go from here, but foolishly looked in the mirror for answers.
And there I saw, an old violin
Soon to be put away and never played again
In the mirror, I saw an old, discarded violin, just like how I see myself tonight.
So one more time, just to be sure
I said, "John, where in the hell do you go from here?"
You know that when a nickel's worth of difference
And I looked in the mirror, that's when I knew
I asked myself again where to go from here, but realized that the difference between success and failure can be minuscule. When I looked in the mirror, I realized that I have already given up on myself.
That there I was seein', an old violin
Soon to be put away, and never played again
I was seeing myself, an old and forgotten violin that will never be played again.
And just like that, it hit me
That old violin and I were just alike
We'd give our all to music
And soon, we'll give our life
Suddenly, I realized that the old violin and I were very similar. We both dedicated our lives to music and soon, both the violin and I will give our lives.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Johnny Paycheck
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind