He began his career fronting the group Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, managed by Paul Barrett. Also known as the The Sunsets, the 50s-esque rock n roll outfit originaled from Penarth, South Glamorgan. An early break for the band arrived when they were given a support slot for The Rolling Stones in December 1969. Yet, despite landing a recording contract with the seminal label Parlophone Records the following year, the band found success hard to come by. At least in their native Great Britain, they couldn't quite break through commercially, though they had hit singles in other countries. After seven years of constant touring and recording, Shaky left the band in 1977. He gained a lead role in Jack Good's "Elvis!" musical, which brought him praise from many critics.
Regular TV appearances on the revamped TV show Oh Boy led eventually to his first chart success, a reworked version of a Buck Owens song "Hot Dog", which Owens would go on to re-record using Stevens arrangement which had been created by pedal steel guitar player B.J. Cole.
In 1979, Shaky signed what was to be his most successful management deal with Freya Miller, and in 1981, he had his first UK number 1 with "This Ole House" and would have 10 more songs reach the top 5, including three number 1 hits with "Green Door", "Oh Julie" and "Merry Christmas Everyone", while "You Drive Me Crazy" and "A Love Worth Waiting For" reached number 2 in 1981 and 1984 respectively. His 1984 hit "Teardrops" featured Hank B. Marvin on guitar and Stevens has often featured famous musicians such as Albert Lee, Roger Taylor, Bonnie Tyler and more recently Tony Joe White on his recordings. In the mid 80s, Stevens reunited with former producer Dave Edmunds to record an album Lipstick, Powder and Paint and the Christmas smash "Merry Christmas Everyone".
The hits continued throughout the 1980s, making Stevens the biggest selling artist of the decade, and into the early 1990s. Chart successes also included his album Shaky reaching number 1.
It was in the 1990s, however, that Stevens took a lengthy break from recording and was stung by a court ruling requiring a substantial payout to former bandmates The Sunsets. In 1999, Shaky returned to performing and undertook tours that year and the year following. In 2004, things started to look up for Stevens he had a further platinum CD/DVD album in Denmark and a gold album in South Africa.
In 2005, he returned once again to the charts in the United Kingdom, with his greatest hits album The Collection, which reached the UK top 5. That year, he also appeared in the video to Tony Christie's and Peter Kay's #1 hit single "Is This the Way to Amarillo", alongside many other UK stars, including Ronnie Corbett, Jim Bowen, Michael Parkinson and Geoffrey Hayes. He was the winner on the reality television show, Hit Me Baby One More Time. This was quickly followed by a re-release of his cover and his own biggest hit sung in the show, ("Trouble" covering Pink's version) / "This Ole House"), which reached #20 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2005, his 33rd Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom.
In May 2007, Stevens released a brand new album in Denmark entitled Now Listen.
Apron Strings
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To come and go whenever I please
But honey, your love is clipping my wings
I wanna be tied, tied, tied to your apron strings
I kiss you goodnight, honey, what do I do?
I hurry on home to dream about you
It's crazy I know but just one of those things
You touch my hand and I burn like fire
You kiss my lips and the flame grows higher
I'm such a lucky devil to find an angel like you
I'm crossing my heart and I'm telling no lies
So open your arms and close your eyes
I'm sticking real close like ivy that clings
I wanna be tied, tied, tied to your apron strings
In the song Apron Strings by Shakin' Stevens, we hear a man express his desire to be tied to his lover's apron strings. He values his freedom, but cannot resist the pull of her love. He dreams about her and feels a burning passion when she touches him. He considers himself lucky to have found her, and pledges his devotion to her. The image of being tied to her apron strings, a symbol of domesticity and servitude, may seem contradictory to his independence, but he willingly submits to her because of his love.
The lyrics convey the conflicting emotions of a man torn between his desire for freedom and his desire for love. He expresses his longing for her through vivid metaphors and similes, using fire, ivy, and angels to describe his passion. The song has a nostalgic quality to it, evoking a simpler time when men were expected to be providers and women were expected to be caretakers. However, it also has a timeless quality, as the desire to love and be loved is universal.
Overall, Apron Strings is a romantic and emotional song that explores the complexities of love and freedom. It shows that even those who value their independence can still yearn for the security and comfort of a partner.
Line by Line Meaning
It's good to be free, I don't want a release
I enjoy my freedom, but I don't want to be released from our relationship
To come and go whenever I please
I don't want the freedom to abandon you whenever I want
But honey, your love is clipping my wings
Your love is limiting my freedom to a degree that I find acceptable
I wanna be tied, tied, tied to your apron strings
I want to be close to you and have a deep sense of security in our relationship
I kiss you goodnight, honey, what do I do?
I say goodbye to you each night and wish to be in your embrace
I hurry on home to dream about you
I rush home to fall asleep and envision being with you
It's crazy I know but just one of those things
I acknowledge that it may seem irrational, but it's just how I feel
I wanna be tied, tied, tied to your apron strings
I want to be close to you and have a deep sense of security in our relationship
You touch my hand and I burn like fire
Your touch ignites a passionate flame within me
You kiss my lips and the flame grows higher
Your kisses intensify the passion I feel for you
I'm such a lucky devil to find an angel like you
I feel fortunate to have found someone as wonderful as you
I'm crossing my heart and I'm telling no lies
I swear that what I'm saying is truthful and sincere
So open your arms and close your eyes
I want you to embrace me and trust me completely
I'm sticking real close like ivy that clings
I want to be close to you and remain devoted to you
I wanna be tied, tied, tied to your apron strings
I want to be close to you and have a deep sense of security in our relationship
Contributed by Christopher A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.