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.
You And I Were Meant To Be
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know I'm your lovin' man
oh when you tease I wanna squeeze
oh baby, please please please
Baby bay take my hand
Don't you know I'll understand
Can't you see I'm on my knees
Ooooh went out rumble, and I tumble
You know I flip flop and fly
You got me reelin' and rockin'
Ooooh when you're knockin'
I know you're gonna taking me high
Baby baby hold my hand
I'll take you to the Promised Land
Honey honey can't you see
You and I were meant to be
Ooooh went out rumble, and I tumble
You know I flip flop and fly
You got me reelin' and rockin'
Ooooh when you're knockin'
I know you're gonna taking me high
Baby baby hold my hand
I'll take you to the promised land
Honey honey can't you see
You and I were meant to be
Wow!
Baby baby can't you see
Baby baby can't you see
Baby baby can't you see
You and I was meant to be
You and I was meant to be
You and I was meant to be
Baby baby can't you see
You and I were meant to be
The lyrics of Shakin' Stevens's song "You and I Were Meant to Be" express a deep desire and affection for someone the singer is in love with. The opening lines, "Baby baby hold my hand, you know I'm your lovin' man" reveal the singer's need for physical touch and assurance that this person loves him. The chorus, "Honey honey can't you see, you and I were meant to be" emphasizes a sense of destiny and inevitability in their relationship.
The verses continue with lines such as "when you tease I wanna squeeze" and "you are the only one for me," emphasizing the singer's strong desire and devotion to this person. The bridge, "Ooooh went out rumble, and I tumble, you know I flip flop and fly, you got me reelin' and rockin', Ooooh when you're knockin', I know you're gonna taking me high" adds a layer of excitement and passion to the song, with a sense that being in this person's presence is thrilling and exhilarating.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby baby hold my hand
Take my hand, and let's be together.
You know I'm your lovin' man
I'm the one who loves you and will always care for you.
oh when you tease I wanna squeeze
When you tease me, I want to hug you tightly and never let go.
oh baby, please please please
Please be with me and never leave me alone.
Baby take my hand
Come with me and take my hand.
Don't you know I'll understand
I'll always be there with you, and I'll understand everything about you.
Can't you see I'm on my knees
I'm begging you to be with me, and I'll do anything for you.
You are the only one for me
You're the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life.
Ooooh went out rumble, and I tumble
I'm feeling unsteady, and I'm not sure what to do.
You know I flip flop and fly
I'm unsure of my feelings, and I'm always in a state of confusion.
You got me reelin' and rockin'
You make me feel excited and happy, and my emotions are all over the place.
Ooooh when you're knockin'
When you're around, I feel like I'm on top of the world.
I know you're gonna taking me high
I know that being with you will bring me so much joy.
I'll take you to the Promised Land
I'll show you a life of happiness and love.
Honey honey can't you see
Please open your eyes and see what we can have together.
You and I were meant to be
We were destined to be together, and nothing will ever change that.
Wow!
I'm amazed by our connection, and I love you so much.
Contributed by Max T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.