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.
I'm Not Ready Yet
Marty Robbins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And my way of life I'd have to rearrange
Thought I'd give when you were ready
Now I find it very hard to make the change
It's all over now
I'll make the change somehow
I'll get over you
What else is there to do
I know I must forget
I'll make the change somehow
Though I'm not ready now
I'm surprised, I thought I'd make it
I've been trainin' for this day a long, long time
Now I find that I'm not ready
To accept the fact that you're no longer mine
It's all over now
I'll make the change somehow
I'll get over you
What else is there to do
Though I'm not ready yet
I know I must forget
I'll make the change somehow
Though I'm not ready now
The lyrics of Marty Robbins's song "I'm Not Ready Yet" describe a man who has always known that his partner would find someone new, and that he would have to rearrange his life accordingly. He had hoped to be ready to move on when the time came, but now that it has, he finds it difficult to accept that his partner is no longer his. The chorus of the song emphasizes his struggle to forget and move on, even though he is not ready to do so just yet.
The lyrics reveal the complexities of the human heart and emotions, and the difficulty in letting go of someone you once loved. The man in the song had prepared himself mentally and emotionally for his partner to leave him, but his emotions betray him and he finds that he is not as ready as he thought he was. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the man's determination to move on, even though he is not sure how to do so.
Overall, the lyrics of "I'm Not Ready Yet" capture a universal sentiment that people experience when they go through a breakup. It shows that even when we think we are ready to move on, our emotions can be unpredictable and make the process more difficult than we anticipated.
Line by Line Meaning
Always knew you'd find another
I had the feeling that you would eventually move on to someone else
And my way of life I'd have to rearrange
I knew that your departure would cause major changes in how I live my life
Thought I'd give when you were ready
I believed that I would be able to let you go when you were ready to leave
Now I find it very hard to make the change
But now that you have left me, it's a difficult adjustment to make
It's all over now
Our relationship has come to an end
I'll make the change somehow
I'll find a way to move on and adapt to this new situation
I'll get over you
I'll eventually learn to let go of my feelings for you
What else is there to do
There's nothing else I can do but move on and let you go
Though I'm not ready yet
Even though I'm not emotionally prepared for this change
I know I must forget
I understand that I need to forget about you to move forward
I'll make the change somehow
I'll find the strength to adjust and move on
Though I'm not ready now
Even though I'm not currently capable of handling this change
I'm surprised, I thought I'd make it
I'm taken aback that I'm struggling to let go despite mentally preparing myself for this scenario
I've been trainin' for this day a long, long time
I've mentally and emotionally prepared myself for the possibility of a breakup for a considerable amount of time
To accept the fact that you're no longer mine
It's difficult for me to come to terms with the reality that you're no longer in my life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MARTY ROBBINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Herb Houston
I believe it was Larry Gatlin who said; "I never heard him hit a bad note".... What an incredible voice!
Shirley lawlor
Just listened for a couple of hours to Marty singing ,,,he is so wonderful,,
jhtenvelde
Another great song of Marty,but for me there were no bad songs,because his wonderful voice made every song sound great.Thanks to you Tarquin for posting all these wonderful great music.
Wes Hunter
what a great talent Marty was...they don't make em like him anymore! Great entertainer/showman!
tarquin45
Marty's vocals just ooze a deep soulful feeling and the listener knows that he is or has probably experienced the feelings that he is singing about.
When people in the future need to look for a great singer of these kind of songs they really need to look no further than Marty Robbins, whose unequalled greatness in front of a microphone may never be surpassed.
Bud Maxwell
I agree 100% !!!!!!!!
Zane Starr
Even now no other singer of this style comes close, he was & still is, the best
betty peel
This is a beautiful song, I had never heard it . It could be on one of my many, many albums . Thanks for posting . I will now go through all my albums to see if I have it. And no matter what Marty sings ,he is the BEST!!
bluedream428
This is another song that should have been a big hit! When you hear him sing this beautiful song you can see why they called him Mr Teardrop.
Shirley Lawlor
Just wonderful . Could listen all day x