Price, born in Perryville, Texas, served with the U.S. Marines from 1944–1946, and began singing for KRBC in Abilene, Texas during 1948. He joined the Big D Jamboree in Dallas in 1949. He relocated to Nashville in the early 1950s, rooming for a brief time with Hank Williams. When Williams died, Price managed his band, the Drifting Cowboys, and had minor success. He was the first artist to have a success with the song "Release Me" (1954), a top five popular music hit for Engelbert Humperdinck in 1967.
In 1953, Price formed his band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Among its members during the late 1950s and early 1960s were; Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Darrell McCall, Van Howard, Johnny Paycheck and Johnny Bush, Buddy Emmons, Pete Wade, Jan Kurtis, Shorty Lavender and Buddy Spicher. Miller wrote one of Ray Price's classics in 1958, "Invitation to the Blues", and sang harmony on the recording. Additionally, Nelson composed the Ray Price song "Night Life".
Price became one of the stalwarts of 1950s honky tonk music, with hit songs such as "Talk To Your Heart" (1952) and "Release Me". He later developed the famous "Ray Price Shuffle," a 4/4 arrangement of honky tonk music with a walking bassline, which can be heard on "Crazy Arms" (1956) and many of his other recordings from the late 1950s.
During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the so-called Nashville sound, singing slow ballads and utilizing lush arrangements of strings and backing singers. Examples include his 1967 rendition of "Danny Boy", and "For the Good Times" in 1970 which was Price's first country music chart No. 1 hit since "The Same Old Me" in 1959. Written by Kris Kristofferson, the song also scored No. 11 on the popular music chart and featured a mellower Price backed by sophisticated musical sounds, quite in contrast to the honky tonk sounds Price had pioneered two decades before. Price had three more No. 1 country music successes during the 1970s: "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me." His final top ten hit was "Diamonds In The Stars" in early 1982. Price continued to have songs on the country music chart through 1989. Later, he sang gospel music and recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", "Farther Along" and "Rock of Ages."
In 2006, Price was living near Mount Pleasant, Texas and still performing in concerts throughout the country. In 2009, Price made two performances for the Fox News show Huckabee. The first was with the Cherokee Cowboys and host Mike Huckabee, and he performed "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By The Number". Weeks later he performed with the Cherokee Cowboys and Willie Nelson (again with Huckabee playing bass guitar). This time they performed duets of "Faded Love" and "Crazy."
Price worked on his latest album, Last of the Breed, with fellow country music singers Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. This album was released on March 20, 2007 by the company Lost Highway Records. The two-disc set features 20 country classics as well as a pair of new compositions. The trio toured the U.S. from March 9 until March 25 starting in Arizona and finishing in Illinois. This was Price's third album with Nelson and first album with Haggard. After the tour, Haggard remarked, "I told Willie when it was over, 'That old man gave us a goddamn singing lesson.' He really did. He just sang so good. He sat there with the mic against his chest. And me and Willie are all over the microphone trying to find it, and he found it."
On November 6, 2012, Ray Price confirmed that he was fighting pancreatic cancer. Price told the San Antonio Express-News that he had been receiving chemotherapy for the past six months. An alternative to the chemo would have been surgery that involved removing the pancreas along with portions of the stomach and liver, which would have meant a long recovery and stay in a nursing home. Said Price, "That's not very much an option for me. God knows I want to live as long as I can but I don't want to live like that." The 87-year-old Country Music Hall of Famer also told the newspaper, "The doctor said that every man will get cancer if he lives to be old enough. I don't know why I got it – I ain't old!" Price retained a positive outlook and hoped to play as many as a hundred concert dates in 2013.
As of early February 2013, the cancer appeared to be in remission. Sometime in May 2013, Price was hospitalized with severe dehydration. On December 2, 2013, Price entered a Tyler, Texas, hospital in the final stages of pancreatic cancer, according to his son, then left on December 12 for home hospice care. Price died at his home in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, on December 16, 2013.
08. There's No Fool Like A Young Fool
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who forgets about tomorrow and lives for just today
If she could only realize the sorrow that's in store
She'd try behavin' on for sights and honky tonk no more.
It breaks my heart to see her sitting there
With tavern lights shining in her hair
Life won't be as sweet to her tomorrow as today
There's no fool like a young fool who throws her life away.
Now the dim lights and the drinking seem like fun I know
But she'll find out one morning you reap just what you sowed
The sad part is she'll be alone once she starts to fall
There's no fool like a young fool who thinks she knows it all.
It breaks my heart to see her sitting there
With tavern lights shining in her hair
Life won't be as sweet to her tomorrow as today
There's no fool like a young fool who throws her life away
In Ray Price's song "There's No Fool Like A Young Fool", the lyrics speak to the consequences of living a wild and careless life in one's youth. The song tells a story of a woman who is lost in the thrill of the moment, forgetting about the consequences of her actions. The singer of the song tries to warn her of the sorrow and regret that will come with such reckless behavior.
The first verse highlights the idea that the younger generation tends to live in the present, forgetting about the future. The "sorrow that's in store" is a reference to the regret and negative consequences that will come from living a life of excess. In the chorus, the singer expresses his heartbreak at seeing this woman throwing her life away, sitting in a tavern, lost in the moment. The song acknowledges that the excitement of youth is alluring, but ultimately it warns that a life lived recklessly will ultimately come back to haunt you.
The second verse shifts from an observational view to that of the singer's own experience. The singer understands that the allure of dim lights and drinking can seem fun, but one must live with the consequences of their actions. The last line of the verse, "There's no fool like a young fool who thinks she knows it all", emphasizes that young people often have a sense of invincibility and lack of foresight that can lead to careless and dangerous behavior.
Overall, the song captures the melancholic feeling of watching someone you care about throw their life away. It is a warning to young people to consider the consequences of their choices and to make smart decisions for their future.
Line by Line Meaning
There's no fool like a young fool with wild and careless way
A young person who is reckless and carefree, is the biggest fool of all.
Who forgets about tomorrow and lives for just today
They ignore the future and indulge only in present pleasures.
If she could only realize the sorrow that's in store
If only she could understand the sadness that awaits her.
She'd try behavin' on for sights and honky tonk no more.
Then she would stop behaving recklessly, in the nightclubs and bars.
It breaks my heart to see her sitting there
The sight of her sitting there makes me sad.
With tavern lights shining in her hair
The lights from the bar are reflecting on her hair.
Life won't be as sweet to her tomorrow as today
Tomorrow is not going to be as enjoyable as today.
There's no fool like a young fool who throws her life away.
A young person who wastes their life, is the biggest fool of all.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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