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.
Promises
Randy Travis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fallen angels fill the places
Where I go when my troubles pull me down
And all the lies, I know they'll tell me
And the time that they will sell me
For a while, I'll be the biggest man in town
Back at home
For her love for me is dying
But she'll pray I make it safely through the night
When the morning sun starts showing
To her bedside I'll be going
And she'll hold me
While I face the morning light
And I'll make promises
Promises to change
I'll make her promises
Swear I'll rearrange
And I'll start giving all the love she needs
If only she will stay
Once again, she'll reassure me
And I believe her love will cure me
And I'll fall asleep with tears on my face
And I know she's just a woman
And her love can't last forever
And someday soon
I know she'll leave without a trace
For broken promises will tear her dreams apart
Just token promises will someday break her heart
And for the last time
She'll hold me when I cry and while I'm sleeping
She'll quietly say goodbye
Randy Travis's song Promises tells the story of a man who frequents seedy bars filled with fallen women. He finds solace there, temporarily shedding the weight of his troubles. He knows he is being sold lies and time, but for a while, he can escape from his reality. When he returns home to his partner, he makes empty promises of change and love. She reassures him that she believes in him and will stick by him, but he knows deep down that his promises are just tokens. He falls asleep with tears on his face, knowing that his broken promises will eventually tear apart the woman he loves.
The song is a poignant commentary on the difficulties of addiction and the impact it can have on relationships. It highlights the cycle of making empty promises and temporarily feeling better, only to repeat the same actions and disappoint those closest to us. The lyrics are raw and honest, capturing the pain of knowing that the promises we make will eventually break the hearts of those we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Cheap perfume and painted faces
I find solace in the company of women who are pretending to be someone else.
Fallen angels fill the places
The women I spend time with are not good for me and have their own problems.
Where I go when my troubles pull me down
I turn to these women when I am feeling down and need to escape my problems.
And all the lies, I know they'll tell me
I know these women are lying to me about who they are and what they want.
And the time that they will sell me
I know these women are only interested in spending time with me for money.
For a while, I'll be the biggest man in town
Despite the lies and false affection, I feel important and wanted for a short time.
Back at home
When I return home.
In bed she's crying
My wife is crying while she lies in bed.
For her love for me is dying
My wife's love for me is fading away.
But she'll pray I make it safely through the night
My wife has concern for my safety and wellbeing despite my actions.
When the morning sun starts showing
When morning comes.
To her bedside I'll be going
I will return to bed with my wife.
And she'll hold me
My wife will show me physical affection.
While I face the morning light
As a new day begins.
And I'll make promises
I will make promises to my wife.
Promises to change
Promises to change my ways.
I'll make her promises
I will make promises to my wife again.
Swear I'll rearrange
I will swear to make changes in my life.
And I'll start giving all the love she needs
I will start to show my wife the affection and care she deserves.
If only she will stay
If only my wife will stay with me.
Once again, she'll reassure me
My wife will reassure me of her love for me.
And I believe her love will cure me
I believe my wife's love can heal me and make everything better.
And I'll fall asleep with tears on my face
I will cry myself to sleep.
And I know she's just a woman
I realize my wife is just another person with her own flaws and limitations.
And her love can't last forever
I realize my wife's love for me will not last forever.
And someday soon
In the near future.
I know she'll leave without a trace
I know my wife will leave me without a word.
For broken promises will tear her dreams apart
My broken promises will shatter my wife's hopes and dreams.
Just token promises will someday break her heart
Empty promises will eventually hurt my wife deeply.
And for the last time
One last time.
She'll hold me when I cry and while I'm sleeping
My wife will comfort me even as I cry and sleep.
She'll quietly say goodbye
My wife will leave me quietly.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Randy Travis, John Lindsey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pamela East
Hey, it's 2022 and I'm still listening to Randy. What a voice!! God bless you, Randy Travis!
AN
me. His music has been blessing me for many years now. I am a stroke survivor too. and know his struggle. I wish him all the best
Ralph Curtis
This is one of the best solo's I have ever seen by any country artist. Marvelous job Randy. Take care of yourself bro.
jcostello69
One of the best country ballad performances in the history of music. Absolutely masterful. No vibrato, if you want to be like Randy
William Mills
Chills. Remembering, how great country was. Never be another to be as good as Randy Travis. Love his music. Natural voice. Beautiful..
Constitutions Way 2A
I’m completely blown away by this performance. How did I just find this. Randy Travis and Keith Whitley are the most iconic voices is the history of music. Sadly we have lost both of those voices way to soon
AN
Randy is till with us though and still recovering. His greatest wish is to be able to sing again. he's made a small start and hopefully the improvement will continue.
Marketia Wells
@AN Randy is a blessing a gift from God, we are blessed to have had the pleasure of listening to him
Marketia Wells
Vickie wells
Sara Fisher
Randy is the epitome of country music! He will always be my ALL time favorite. He sings from the heart and soul every time…every song!!❤