Travis was born in Marshville, North Carolina, the second of six children of Bobbie, a textile factory worker, and Harold Traywick, a horse breeder, turkey farmer, and construction business owner. While growing up, Travis was forced to take guitar lessons by his father and began performing at the age of eight with his brother, Ricky. Travis began drinking at the age of 12, and by 14 was a regular marijuana user, who occasionally dabbled in harder drugs. He often fought with his father and soon dropped out of high school. He became a juvenile delinquent and was arrested for various offenses, including auto theft and burglary.
Harold Traywick entered Randy and Ricky in a talent contest at a nightclub called "Country City, USA" in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the meantime, Ricky, who also had brushes with the law, was sentenced to jail and Randy had to complete the contest alone, but he won anyway. The club's manager, Elizabeth "Lib" Hatcher, took an interest in Travis and gave him a job singing at the club. Travis began focusing on music. He first recorded for Paula Records and released two unsuccessful singles — "She's My Woman" and "Dreamin'". Travis' legal troubles continued and he was due in court for probation violations. Hatcher pleaded with the judge and Travis was released in her custody with the warning that if the judge ever saw him again "he'd better bring his toothbrush, because he would be going to jail for a very long time."
Travis moved in with Hatcher. This put further strain on her already fragile marriage. She eventually left her husband and, in 1982, she and Travis moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Travis was soon turned down by every record label in town. His early demo tapes were criticized by Nashville record executives as being "too country." Hatcher took a job as manager of a nightclub, "The Nashville Palace" and hired Travis as a cook and singer. It was during this time that an unlikely romance began to form between the two; Travis said "I think we discovered how much we needed each other."
Career
In 1982, Travis recorded an independent album Randy Ray Live and Lib Hatcher used it to secure a deal with Warner Bros. Records. However, the label said they had to keep their romance a secret, so as not to turn away fans, and changed his stage name from Randy Ray to Randy Travis. In 1985, Warner Brothers released Travis' single, "On the Other Hand," which topped out at 67 on the country charts. His next single, "1982", became a Top 10 hit followed by the re-release of "On the Other Hand" in 1986. The re-release became Travis' first number one hit.
His debut album, Storms of Life, went on to sell more than 4 million copies. In the late 1980s, he had a string of hits, including "No Place Like Home" and "Diggin' Up Bones." A song from his second Warner Brothers album "Always and Forever" titled "Forever and Ever, Amen" arguably launched the neo-traditionalist country era, boosting the popularity of country music beyond its traditional fan base. For two years in a row, Travis won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, for the albums Always & Forever in 1988, and for Old 8x10 in 1989. Off the success of his first two albums, Old 8x10 shipped platinum. Always and Forever was number one for 43 weeks.
Travis and Hatcher married in 1991. That year Travis took part in Voices That Care, a multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. The project included fellow singers Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Kathy Mattea. By 1992, Travis was no longer charting high, as Brooks, Clint Black and others had taken over Nashville. He took a break from music to concentrate on acting and landed roles in several Western-genre films. He returned to recording with the 1994 album This Is Me and the hit single "Whisper My Name."
In 1997, Travis parted ways with Warner Brothers. He moved to DreamWorks Nashville and recorded You and You Alone, which produced the top 10 hits "Out of My Bones" and "Spirit of a Boy, Wisdom of a Man." These were followed by 2000's albums Inspirational Journey, 2002's Rise and Shine and 2003's Worship and Faith. The single "Three Wooden Crosses" from the Rise and Shine album reached No. 1 and won the CMA song of the year in 2003. That same year, Travis ranked #13 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Travis continues to act in film and television; he appeared on the series finale of Touched by an Angel. His second most recent album, Passing Through, was released in November of 2004. It combines the country music of his earlier years, with a little gospel mixed in from more recent albums. After the release of "Glory Train" in 2005 and the Christmas album "Songs of the Season" in 2007, Travis released his brand new single "Faith In You" as a free download from his official website. It heralds the projected summer [2008] release of his forthcoming album, "Around the Bend". Along with the release of the free single, RandyTravis.com has also underwent a complete overhaul, with opportunities for fans to create blogs and join an upcoming official fan club. The new sleek look of the website has attracted throngs of fans. Contributor Anthony Maurizio has recently produced the Digging Up Bones blog series on the website, which has increased website traffic and is considered one of the most esteemed country music articles available for reading.
Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart
Randy Travis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And in weakness did let your love down
I have prayed that with time and compassion
You'd come around
And I keep waiting for you to forgive me
And you keep saying you can't even start
And I feel like a stone you have picked up and thrown
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
Now this home we have built is still standing
Its foundation is on solid ground
Do we roll up our sleeves and repair it
Or burn it down
And I keep waiting for you to forgive me
And you keep saying you can't even start
And I feel like a stone you have picked up and thrown
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
We can't just block it out, we've got to talk it out
Until our hearts get back in touch
I need your love, I miss it
I can't go on like this it hurts too much
And I keep waiting for you to forgive me
And you keep saying you can't even start
And I feel like a stone you have picked up and thrown
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
The lyrics of Randy Travis's song "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" describe a relationship that has been damaged by the singer's actions. The singer admits to making a mistake that led to the breakdown of the relationship and hopes for forgiveness from their partner. However, the partner seems unwilling to forgive, and the singer feels like they have been cast aside to the "hard rock bottom" of the partner's heart. The use of the metaphorical phrase "hard rock bottom" suggests that the partner's heart is now impenetrable and unwilling to show any love or compassion.
The chorus emphasizes the duality of the relationship, with the singer waiting for forgiveness while the partner refuses to give it. The repeated line "To the hard rock bottom of your heart" drives home the despair and hopelessness of the singer's situation. However, in the second verse, the singer still holds on to the hope that the relationship can be saved. They suggest that the relationship's foundation is still strong and that they have the choice to either repair it or destroy it.
Line by Line Meaning
Since the day I was led to temptation
Ever since the day when I gave in to the temptation of betraying you
And in weakness did let your love down
And in my moment of weakness, I let your love down
I have prayed that with time and compassion
I have prayed that with the passing of time and with your compassion
You'd come around
You would eventually forgive me
I keep waiting for you to forgive me
I am still waiting for your forgiveness
And you keep saying you can't even start
And you keep telling me that you can't even begin to forgive me
And I feel like a stone you have picked up and thrown
I feel like a stone that you have picked up and thrown away
To the hard rock bottom of your heart
To the deepest, most unyielding part of your heart
Now this home we have built is still standing
Even though our relationship has been damaged, our home is still intact
Its foundation is on solid ground
Our home is built on a strong foundation
Do we roll up our sleeves and repair it
Should we work together to fix our damaged relationship
Or burn it down
Or should we just end our relationship completely
We can't just block it out we've got to talk it out
We can't just ignore our problems, we need to have an open and honest conversation about them
Until our hearts get back in touch
Until we are able to connect emotionally again
I need your love I miss it I can't go on like this is
I need your love, I miss it terribly and I can't continue living like this
Hurts too much
It's too painful for me to bear
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Hugh Prestwood
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind