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.
Stairway of Love
Marty Robbins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
Come my love with me (bom-bom)
Take me by the hand (bom-bom)
And we soon will be (bom-bom)
Heaven waits for those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
The stairway of love
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
Kiss by kiss we'll go (bom-bom)
Up to paradise (bom-bom)
Darling don't you know (bom-bom)
Heaven only lies (bom-bom)
In the reach of those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
The stairway of love
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-ba-bom-bom-bom)
Close your eyes, hold me tight
And we'll climb the stairway of love tonight (stairway of love)
(ba-dom-dom-dom-dom)
We could touch the stars (bom-bom)
Way up in the blue (bom-bom)
If you'd only say (bom-bom)
Darling I love you (bom-bom)
Heaven waits for those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
The stairway of love
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
Close your eyes, hold me tight
And we'll climb the stairway of love tonight (stairway of love)
(ba-dom-dom-dom-dom)
We could touch the stars (bom-bom)
Way up in the blue (bom-bom)
If you'd only say (bom-bom)
Darling I love you (bom-bom)
Heaven waits for those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
The stairway of love
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
The stairway of love
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
(bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom)
The stairway of love
The song "Stairway of Love" by Marty Robbins is about taking a journey of love with someone special. The lyrics suggest that the couple will climb a stairway and enter a magical land where the heaven waits. The song describes the ups and downs of a relationship, but also the possibility of reaching paradise if they dare to continue climbing. The lyrics suggest that the journey to love is not easy, but it is worth it if they hold onto one another and continue to move forward.
The use of repetition in the lyrics ("bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom") adds to the song's dream-like setting, creating an ethereal auditory landscape for the imagination to inhabit. The lyrics imply that they will climb the "stairway of love" with slow and steady steps, and if they just hold each other tight they will reach heaven, their ultimate goal.
In summary, the song "Stairway of Love" by Marty Robbins is a romantic ballad about two people journeying through love as they climb a stairway together. It celebrates the perseverance in pursuing a love that is worth fighting for even amidst hardships and uncertainties.
Line by Line Meaning
Come my love with me (bom-bom)
The singer invites their lover to go with them.
Take me by the hand (bom-bom)
The singer wants their lover to lead them towards their destination.
And we soon will be (bom-bom)
The singer is confident that they will arrive at their destination soon.
In a magic land (bom-bom)
The artist's destination is a place of wonder and enchantment.
Heaven waits for those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
The artist believes that their destination will be a heavenly place, but only those who are brave enough will reach it.
The stairway of love
The way to reach the singer's destination is through love.
Kiss by kiss we'll go (bom-bom)
The singer will progress towards their destination by sharing kisses with their lover.
Up to paradise (bom-bom)
The artist's destination is paradise.
Darling don't you know (bom-bom)
The artist wants their lover to understand the importance of their journey.
Heaven only lies (bom-bom)
The artist believes that heaven is only accessible through their journey.
In the reach of those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
Only those who are willing to take the risk will reach their destination.
Close your eyes, hold me tight
The artist wants their lover to trust them and rely on them during their journey.
And we'll climb the stairway of love tonight (stairway of love)
The singer and their lover will embark on their journey towards a better place tonight.
We could touch the stars (bom-bom)
The singer believes that their destination is so high that they can almost touch the stars.
Way up in the blue (bom-bom)
The singer's destination is high up in the sky.
If you'd only say (bom-bom)
The artist needs to hear their lover's affirmation to continue their journey together.
Darling I love you (bom-bom)
The artist wants to hear their lover say that they love them.
The stairway of love
The way to reach the singer's destination is through love.
Heaven waits for those who dare to climb (ba-bom)
The singer believes that their destination will be a heavenly place, but only those who are brave enough will reach it.
The stairway of love
The way to reach the artist's destination is through love.
The stairway of love
The way to reach the artist's destination is through love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROY C. BENNETT, SID TEPPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheJonaco
Marty Robbins is still my all-time favorite country singer- make that one of my all-time favorite singers, period. He could literally sing the Nashville phone book and make it a hit. This was only a B-side here, but it was far more popular across the pond: no less than four UK artists had chart hits with it in '59. The best and biggest was by the late Michael Holliday, a classic Crosby-style crooner from Liverpool who died, very tragically, in the early '60s. Marty, however, never made a bad record, and he had 30 years of both country and crossover hits before he passed away, too soon, in '82. This, not "Just Married", should have been the crossover hit here. I love his Western, Hawaiian, standards, folk, rockabilly- he did everything and did it well. His voice, with that distinct Western lilt (he was from Arizona), never wavered. Great singer, great songwriter, great guy. RIP. Fun fact: Marty wrote most of his own hits, but this one was from the prolific Tin Pan Alley team of Tepper and Bennett. They wrote many songs for Elvis movies (although they never met the King), "Red Roses For A Blue Lady", "Nuttin' For Christmas", "The Young Ones" (great teen-pop song, #1 hit for Cliff Richard in the UK), and- best of all- "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane" (#1 for the Ames Brothers in '54). If you don't know this song, maybe your folks do. Look it up- I guarantee you'll love it, because it's one of the most memorable- and wittiest- hits of the '50s.
sauquoit13456
On this day in 1958 {April 20th} "Stairway of Love" by Marty Robbins peaked at #2* {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Best Selling Country & Western Records In Stores chart, for the two weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for both those weeks was "Oh, Lonesome Me" by Don Gibson...
Also at the time, "Stairway of Love" was at #8 on Billboard's Most Played C&W Records By Disk Jockeys chart...
Between 1952 and 1983 the Glendale, Arizona native had eight-five records on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, forty-four made the Top 10 with ten reaching #1...
One of his eighty five charted records was a duet with Jeanne Pruett, it was re-recording of his 1973 #9 hit "Love Me", the duet version reached #58 in 1983...
Sadly, Martin David Robinson passed away at the young age of 57 on December 8th, 1982 {cardiovascular disease}...
May he R.I.P.
* "Stairway of Love" was his only record to peak at #2, he did have three records reached #3...
And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, the remainder of the Best Selling C&W Records In Stores Top 10 on April 20th, 1958:
At #3. "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" by Elvis Presley
#4. "Ballad of A Teenage Queen" by Johnny Cash
#5. "All I Have To Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers
#6. "Breathless" by Jerry Lee Lewis
#7. "Stop The World (And Let Me Off)" by Johnnie and Jack
#8. "Send Me The Pillow You Dream On" by Hank Locklin
#9. "Don't" by Elvis Presley
#10. "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Kitty Wells
Debora Skerencak
Great song. Marty Robbins could sing about anything and he did it with style. Fantastic entertainer, great race car driver and now he’s one of God’s precious Angels.
Jim Hilliker
Another good one by Marty. I didn't know it was the flip side of Just Married. Haven't heard this one in a while. Thanks.
Rene LeClerc
At this point in his career - in a determined effort to crack the Pop market (i.e. teenyboppers) - Marty was not sounding very Country. His least Country-sounding song from this period was "The Last Time I Saw My Heart," which I first heard on his album "Marty's Greatest Hits" released in 1959. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtgT3KslTSs
David Hamilton
So talented even a nascar driver Marty could do it all.
Daniel Burns
this song went to #2 on the country charts in 1958!!!
Kimberly I Sue Potter Bushong Jackson
many blessings