Born in Glendale, Arizona, Robbins taught himself guitar while serving in the United States Navy during World War II, and subsequently drew fame performing in clubs in and around his hometown. In 1956, he released his first No. 1 country song, "Singing the Blues" and one year later, released two more No. 1 hits, "A White Sport Coat" and "The Story of My Life". In 1959, Robbins released his signature song, "El Paso", for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. Later releases that drew critical acclaim include "Don't Worry", "Big Iron" and "Honkytonk Man", the last for which the 1982 Clint Eastwood film is named, and in which Robbins made his final appearance before death.
Over the course of his career, Robbins recorded more than 500 songs and 60 albums, and won two Grammy Awards, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was named the 1960s Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music. Robbins was a commercial success in both the country and pop genres, and his songs were covered by many other famous artists, including Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead and Elvis Presley. His music continues to have an influence in pop culture today, having recently appeared in several contemporary pop culture features, including the video game Fallout: New Vegas, and the series finale of AMC's Breaking Bad.
Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. His mother was mostly of Paiute Indian heritage. Robbins grew up in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of 10 children; however, his hard drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle, who was a local medicine man. At 17, Robbins left his troubled home to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.
Robbins' discography consists of 52 studio albums, 13 compilation albums, and 100 singles. In his career, Robbins charted 17 Number One singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, as well as 82 Top 40 singles.
Robbins' highest charting album is 1959's Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. It charted to #6 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's first single, "El Paso", became a hit on both the country and pop charts, charting to Number One on the Hot Country Songs as well as the Billboard Hot 100. While that would be his only pop Number One, in 1957, "A White Sport Coat" charted to #2, and in 1961, "Don't Worry" charted to #3.
His final Top 10 single was "Honkytonk Man" from the 1982 eponymous film in which Robbins had a role. He died shortly before its release. Since his death, four posthumous studio albums have been released, but they made no impact on the charts.
Robbins married Marizona "Mari" Baldwin on September 27, 1948. They had two children, Ronny and Janet, and were married 34 years until his death.
Bahama Mama
Marty Robbins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the tropic little island of Bimini
I go to bar where lights are bright;
Calypso music everything all right.
Beautiful woman do a dance,
Do the Limbo, put me in a trance.
I say, "Man, what her name be?"
Lonely was I from many days at sea;
I wanted this woman who was wild and free.
Say, Bahama mama, Limbo with me?
She work me over like Hurricane Shirley.
Drink much rum, get me in a fight,
Sailor hit me on head, out go lights.
When I came to, guess what I see?
Bahama mama, and she kissing me.
Bahama mama now tell me she love me;
Her beauty and the rum make me feel dizzy.
From look on her face, I can see
Bahama Mama not belong to me.
Bahama mama do a dance when
She do the Limbo, put me in a trance.
I lucky man, everyone would say;
Bahama mama claim lover today.
Never ever more will I go to sea;
Bahama mama and me will soon marry.
We gonna do everything up right;
Bahama mama gonna love me day and night
Pretty soon, then, there'll be three:
Bahama mama, little baby and me;
I so happy, hard to b'lieve
Bahama mama now belong to me.
Bahama mama do a dance when
She do the Limbo, put me in a trance.
I lucky man, everyone would say;
Bahama mama claim lover today.
Marty Robbins's song Bahama Mama tells a story of a sailor who goes to the tropic little island of Bimini and meets a beautiful woman named Bahama Mama while on shore liberty. He goes to a bar where he hears calypso music and sees a woman performing the Limbo dance, which puts him in a trance. He asks the man beside him about her and learns her name is Bahama Mama, and that she is wild and free. He is immediately drawn to her and wants to be with her.
Despite being lonely from many days at sea and wanting to be with her, he realizes that he is not the only one in her life. He sees the look on her face and understands that she does not belong to him. Although he drinks too much rum, gets in a fight and is hit on the head by a sailor, Bahama Mama comes to his rescue and kisses him when he wakes up. He realizes that he is in love with her, and she professes her love for him too. They become romantically involved and even plan to get married and have children together.
The song depicts a sailor's experience of falling in love with a beautiful woman he meets while on shore liberty. It also portrays the carefree and wild lifestyle of the islands, represented by Bahama Mama's Limbo dance. Despite the dangers presented by drinking too much rum and getting into a fight, Robbins suggests that falling in love with Bahama Mama and being with her is worth it.
Line by Line Meaning
Once when I was on shore liberty,
During a brief moment of freedom on land,
On the tropic little island of Bimini
On a small, tropical island called Bimini
I go to bar where lights are bright;
I went to a brightly-lit bar
Calypso music everything all right.
There was Calypso music playing and everything felt good.
Beautiful woman do a dance,
A beautiful woman began to dance
Do the Limbo, put me in a trance.
She did the Limbo and entranced me
I say, "Man, what her name be?"
I asked the man next to me, "What's her name?"
He say, "Bahama mama, and she wild and free."
He replied, "Her name is Bahama Mama, and she's wild and free."
Lonely was I from many days at sea;
After spending many days at sea, I was lonely
I wanted this woman who was wild and free.
I wanted the attention of the wild and free woman
Say, Bahama mama, Limbo with me?
I asked Bahama Mama to do the Limbo with me
She work me over like Hurricane Shirley.
She danced with me expertly, like a hurricane named Shirley.
Drink much rum, get me in a fight,
After drinking too much rum, I got into a fight
Sailor hit me on head, out go lights.
A sailor hit me on the head, and I was knocked unconscious
When I came to, guess what I see?
When I woke up, I saw something unexpected
Bahama mama, and she kissing me.
Bahama Mama was kissing me
Bahama mama now tell me she love me;
Bahama Mama told me she loved me
Her beauty and the rum make me feel dizzy.
Her beauty, combined with the rum, made me feel dizzy.
From look on her face, I can see
From her expression, I could tell
Bahama Mama not belong to me.
That Bahama Mama did not belong to me.
Bahama mama do a dance when
Bahama Mama danced when
She do the Limbo, put me in a trance.
She did the Limbo and entranced me
I lucky man, everyone would say;
Many people would say that I was a lucky man
Bahama mama claim lover today.
Because she claimed me as her lover.
Never ever more will I go to sea;
I decided to never go to sea again
Bahama mama and me will soon marry.
Bahama Mama and I plan to get married soon.
We gonna do everything up right;
We plan to do everything properly
Bahama mama gonna love me day and night
Bahama Mama will love me constantly
Pretty soon, then, there'll be three:
Soon, there will be three of us:
Bahama mama, little baby and me;
Me, Bahama Mama, and our future child.
I so happy, hard to b'lieve
I'm so happy, it's hard to believe
Bahama mama now belong to me.
Because Bahama Mama now belongs to me.
Contributed by Eva C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
A
on Johnny Fedavo
This is a fantastic, emotional song, thanks to whoever added the meaning behind the lyrics to this song. Makes it easy for some to understand a bit better!