His first band, The Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM from a butcher shop in his native West Plains, Missouri where Wagoner cut meat. Wagoner's big break came in 1951, when he was hired as a performer by station KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to a contract with RCA Records. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds.
In 1953, his song entitled "Trademark" became a hit for Carl Smith, followed by a few hits of his own on RCA. He was a featured performer on ABC's Ozark Jubilee and moved to Nashville and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1957.
Wagoner was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002. His 81 charted records include "Satisfied Mind" (#1, 1955), “Misery Loves Company” (#1, 1962), “I've Enjoyed As Much of This As I Can Stand” (#7, 1962–1963), “Sorrow on the Rocks” (#5, 1964), “Green, Green Grass of Home” (#4, 1965), “Skid Row Joe” (#3, 1965–1966), “The Cold Hard Facts of Life” (#2, 1967), and “The Carroll County Accident” (#2, 1968–1969). Among his hit duets with Dolly Parton were a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind" (1967), "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (1968), "Just Someone I Used To Know" (1969), "Better Move it on Home" (1971), "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (#1, 1974) and "Making Plans" (#2, 1980). He also won three Grammy Awards for gospel recordings.
The Porter Wagoner Show ran on syndicated television from 1960 to 1981. There were 686 thirty minute episodes filmed, the first 104 being shot in black and white, the remainder in color. At its peak, it was featured in over 100 markets, with an average viewership of over three million. Reruns of the program currently air on the rural cable network RFD-TV.
Wagoner brought James Brown to the Grand Ole Opry, produced a rhythm & blues album for Joe Simon, and appeared in the Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. [1] During the mid 1980s, Wagoner formed an all girl group called The Right Combination which was named after one of Porter and Dolly Parton's hit records. He also hosted "Opry Backstage" during the 1990s on The Nashville Network where he interviewed guests. Though Parton's departure caused some animosity on both sides, the two reconciled in the late 1980s and have appeared together a number of times in the years since; Parton inducted Wagoner into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.
Wagoner made a guest appearance on the HBO comedy series Da Ali G Show, being interviewed by the fictional character Borat, in its second season.
On July 14, 2006, Wagoner was hospitalized and underwent surgery for an abdominal aneurysm.
Wagoner was honored on May 19, 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry for both his fifty years of membership and his 80th birthday. This was telecast on GAC's Grand Ole Opry Live that day with artists such as Stuart, Parton, and Patty Loveless. Grand Ole Opry Live host Nan Kelley was part of the birthday celebration as well.
On June 05, 2007, Wagoner released his final album called Wagonmaster. The album was produced by Marty Stuart for the Anti-label. This album received the best reviews ever in Porter's career and briefly charted on the country charts.
Wagoner also toured during the summer of 2007 to promote the album. One of these was opening for the rock group The White Stripes at a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Wagoner's publicist Darlene Bieber announced on October 19, 2007 that the singer had been hospitalized and was in very serious condition. WSMV-TV reported that Wagoner was admitted earlier that week for observation from an illness. Bieber gave no further information but said that the country star was asking for prayers from his family and fans.
On October 21, 2007, his publicist confirmed that Wagoner had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
On October 26, 2007, Porter was released into hospice care. He died two days later in Nashville, Tennessee. Wagoner's funeral was held on November 1, 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry House followed by interrment at the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
Up until his illness and death, he appeared regularly on the Grand Ole Opry and toured actively.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born To Lose
Porter Wagoner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my life I've always been so blue born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose it seems so hard to bear how I long to always have you near
You've grown tired and now you say we're through born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose my every hope is gone it's so hard to face an empty dawn
You were all the happiness I knew born to lose and now I'm losing you
There's no use to dream of happiness all I see is only loneliness
The song "Born to Lose" sung by Porter Wagoner is a melancholic tune about a life lived in vain, filled with disappointment and regret. The opening line "Born to lose I've lived my life in vain" sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The singer expresses his despair and feeling of being unlucky throughout his life. He speaks of his failed dreams that only brought him pain.
The second verse talks about how the most important person in his life has grown tired of him and they are ending their relationship. He acknowledges his bad luck by saying "Born to lose and now I'm losing you". The hopelessness of the situation is strengthened by the line "Born to lose it seems so hard to bear how I long to always have you near".
The third verse, which is the final verse, shows the singer at his lowest, with all hope gone and only loneliness in sight. The repetition of the phrase "Born to lose and now I'm losing you" emphasizes the singer's sense of doom.
Overall, the song "Born to Lose" speaks of the pain and regret that comes with a life lived with a sense of constant defeat.
Line by Line Meaning
Born to lose I've lived my life in vain every dream has only brought me pain
I have always lived a hopeless life where every dream of mine has only resulted in immense pain.
All my life I've always been so blue born to lose and now I'm losing you
Throughout my life, I have always been unhappy and now, in addition to that, I am losing you as well.
Born to lose it seems so hard to bear how I long to always have you near
My destiny of losing seems unbearable and all I desire is to have you by my side always.
You've grown tired and now you say we're through born to lose and now I'm losing you
You have grown weary of me and have decided to leave me, which is only adding to the list of things I'm losing due to my destiny of losing.
Born to lose my every hope is gone it's so hard to face an empty dawn
As a person who is born to lose, all my hope and aspirations have vanished, and facing every new day seems even harder without them.
You were all the happiness I knew born to lose and now I'm losing you
You were the only source of happiness in my life, and now that you are leaving, I am losing that too as I continue to face my destiny of losing.
There's no use to dream of happiness all I see is only loneliness
Because of my fate of constantly losing, there's no point in dreaming of happiness, as all I can see is loneliness and nothing else.
All my life I've always been so blue born to lose and now I'm losing you
Throughout my life, I have suffered extreme sadness, and now I am losing you, which only adds to my misery, as my destiny of losing prevails.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Ted Daffan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind