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.
Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ya ma said you cried in your sleep last night
You should've seen that look in her eyes
I had to tell her some little white lies
I know I haven't been so true to you
I know I haven't been so true to you
Don't ya cry
Don't ya cry
Please
Ain't gonna be the way it was before
Oh
My love
Oh
My love - let me kiss you
Let me hold you tight
Oh
My love
Oh
My love
And your ma said you cried
Your ma said you cried
Your ma said you cried in your sleep last night
I know I haven't been so true to you
Oh
My love
Oh
My love - let me kiss you
Let me hold you tight
Oh
I love you
Oh
I love you, don't you cry
Don't you cry
And your ma said you cried
And your ma said you cried
Your ma said you cried
Your ma said you cried
Your ma said you cried
Oh
Your ma said you cried in your sleep last night
The lyrics to Shakin' Stevens's song "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night" is a plea for forgiveness from a lover who has been unfaithful. The song starts with a repetition of the title, indicating the gravity of the situation. The singer then admits to not being true to the lover and tries to reassure them not to cry anymore as things will change for the better. The chorus reinforces the need for the lover not to cry, and the last verse is a repetition of the chorus with the singer promising to love and hold the lover.
Line by Line Meaning
Ya ma said you cried in your sleep last night
Your mother told me that you were crying in your sleep last night
You should've seen that look in her eyes
Your mother had a worried, concerned expression on her face
I had to tell her some little white lies
I had to lie to your mother to make her feel better about our relationship
I know I haven't been so true to you
I am aware that I have not been faithful to you
Don't ya cry
Please don't cry
Don't ya cry no more
Stop crying and don't cry anymore
Please
I am asking you politely
Ain't gonna be the way it was before
Things will not be the same as they were in the past
Oh
My love
Oh
My love - let me kiss you
Let me hold you tight
Oh, my love, please let me show you affection by kissing and holding you tightly
Oh
I love you
Oh
I love you, don't you cry
I love you so much, please don't cry
And your ma said you cried
Again, your mother told me that you had been crying
Oh
Your ma said you cried in your sleep last night
Your mother told me that you cried in your sleep last night
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MELVIN J. GLAZER, STEPHEN SCHLAKS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
the king
Shaky is the best. I am a life long shaky fan and have been since his sunsets days. 👍👍
Any Fantastic
Love this song .. oh i love it
Any Fantastic
@Jari Rusi coooool. Thank you
Jari Rusi
Check out Kenny Dino's original too, it's in Youtube.
Dietmar H.
My idol! :)
colin tapp
Great song forget Kenny Dios version and listen to Doug Sheldon,hes the one Shaky copied.