Mary Frances Penick was born on December 30, 1931 in the small Appalachian town of Dry Ridge, Kentucky. As a child, her grandfather nicknamed her "Skeeter" because she was always active and buzzing around like a mosquito. She got her start in music as part of the duo, The Davis Sisters, along with childhood friend, Betty Jack Davis. Thus, Skeeter Davis was born to the rest of the world.
The Davis Sisters sang in the local Lexington, Kentucky area and appeared on local radio WLAX in 1949. From there, they earned radio and television appearances in Detroit, Cincinnati and Wheeling, WV, where they were part of the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree.
In 1952, Skeeter and Betty Jack recorded for Fortune, but won a recording contract with RCA the following year and achieved their first chart success. "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" went to number one on the U.S. country chart and number eighteen on the U.S. pop chart.
Sadly, on August 23, 1953, Skeeter and Betty Jack were involved in a serious car accident in which Betty Jack died and Skeeter was critically injured. It took Skeeter more than a year to recover both physically and mentally. With great difficulty and a lot of persuasion, Skeeter returned to singing with Betty Jack's sister, Georgia Davis, to briefly resume the Davis Sisters' act. But, within a year, the duo broke up and Skeeter pursued a solo career.
She continued to record on the RCA label where she worked with Eddy Arnold and Elvis Presley. In 1955, she toured for RCA on the Caravan of the Stars. Davis teamed up with producer, Chet Atkins and scored her first solo country chart hit in 1958 with "Lost To A Geisha Girl." This was during a time when the female acts were surging forward with "response" songs to some of the biggest hits by male artists. As Kitty Wells had answered Hank Thompson's "Honky Tonk Angels," with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" in 1952, Skeeter Davis put out this answer to Hank Locklin's "Geisha Girl."
A few years later, Davis recorded another answer to a Hank Locklin song and gained another huge hit. Locklin sang "Please Help Me I'm Falling" and Davis' response was, "I Can't Help You, I'm Falling Too."
In 1959, Davis achieved one of her greatest ambitions when she moved to Nashville and became a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry. In 1960, she married WSM personality, Ralph Emery, but the tumultuous marriage ended in 1964.
During the 1960's, Davis was one of RCA's most successful country artists. She harvested 26 U.S. country hits, 12 of which crossed over to the U.S. pop charts. Among these was what was to become her trademark song, the million-selling record "The End Of The World" which peaked at number two in both the U.S. country and pop charts in 1963. She also earned her only UK chart presence with "The End Of The World" which topped out at number eighteen in only thirteen weeks on the chart.
Davis has also acheived songwriting success. Her co-written song "Set Him Free" became her first country Top 10 hit in 1959. She also co-wrote "My Last Date" with Boudleaux Bryant and Floyd Cramer. Cramer, famed pianist and member of the original A-team, recorded it as an instrumental solo and had a million-selling record on it in 1960.
During the 60's and 70's, Davis toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Far East. Her solo career started to wane in the 70's, but she still had several more hits such as "Bus Fare To Kentucky," "I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter," and "One Tin Soldier." Her duets with Bobby Bare, George Hamilton IV, and The Bee Gees gave her a few more hits, but by the mid-70's, Davis was reaching the end of her illustrious career. She ended her twenty-two year relationship with RCA in 1974 and charted her last hit for Mercury in 1976 with "I Love Us."
In 1967, Davis recorded a tribute album to Buddy Holly, which featured Waylon Jennings on the guitar. Later in 1972, she also did a tribute album to her friend, Dolly Parton. In 1985, she re-recorded an old Davis Sisters' hit, "May You Never Be Alone," with the group NRBQ. She married Joey Spampanito of NRBQ, but this marriage ultimately ended in divorce as well.
In 1973, Davis was dropped from the Grand Ole Opry's roster due to her strong criticisms of the Nashville Police Department during one of her performances. Her membership was later reinstated.
Davis has also taken to writing about her real life experiences. Her autobiography, "Bus Fare To Kentucky," was published in 1993. Davis pulls no punches in this brutally honest account of her life. She tells how she endured a family history of alcoholism, incest and murder. She also tells her side of the story regarding her four year marriage to Ralph Emery, following the heavy criticism which she received in Emery's autobiography. In 1997, she co-wrote a children's Christmas book, entitled "The Christmas Note," based on her own childhood.
Skeeter Davis passed away September 19th 2004 after a long battle with cancer.
Written by Sherry Anderson. June 2001
* Article appears courtesy of www.countrypolitan.com
Ain
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's the way it was
Happened so naturally
I did not know it was love
The next thing I felt was
You holding me close
What was I gonna do?
I let myself go
And now we're flyin' through the star
I hope this night will last forever
I've been waitin' for you
It's been so long
I knew just what I would do
When I heard your song
Filled my heart with your bliss
Gave me freedom
You knew I could not resist
I needed someone
And now we're flyin' through the stars
I hope this night will last forever
Oh oh oh oh
Ain't nobody
Loves me better
Makes me happy
Makes me feel this way
Ain't nobody
Loves me better than you
I wait for night time to come
And bring you to me
Can't believe I'm the one
I was so lonely
I feel like no one could feel
I must be dreamin'
I want this dream to be real
I need this feelin'
I make my wish upon a star
And hope this night will last forever
Ain't nobody
Loves me better
Makes me happy
Makes me feel this way
Ain't nobody
Loves me better than you
And first you put your arms around me
Then you put your charms around me
I can't resist this sweet surrender
Oh my nights are warm and tender
We stare into each other's eyes
And what we see is no surprise
Got a feeling most with treasure
And a love so deep we cannot measure
Ain't nobody
Loves me better
Makes me happy
Makes me feel this way
Ain't nobody
Loves me better than you
The song "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan is a soulful love ballad. The lyrics describe the intense feeling of falling in love with someone and realizing that no one else can love you better. The song opens with the singer describing how effortlessly they were captured by someone they didn't even realize they were in love with. As the song progresses, the singer reveals that they had been waiting for this person for a long time and knew what they would do when they finally found them. The chorus repeats the central theme of the song, declaring that there is no one else who loves them better than the person they're with. The bridge describes the physical and emotional connection between the two lovers, with details about how they hold each other and the expression of the depth of their love. The song ends with a wish that this feeling will last forever. Overall, the song is a powerful declaration of a deep love that is hard to find and impossible to replace.
Line by Line Meaning
Captured effortlessly
I was caught by you without much effort on your part
That's the way it was
It happened in a natural way
Happened so naturally
It was not forced or planned
I did not know it was love
I didn't realize that I already fell in love with you
The next thing I felt was, You holding me close
From being strangers to now feeling your arms around me
What was I gonna do?
I couldn't resist your charms and affection
I let myself go
I gave in to my desire for you
And now we're flyin' through the star
We are experiencing an elevated state of happiness and love
I hope this night will last forever
I want to preserve this moment forever
I've been waitin' for you
I have been waiting for someone like you
It's been so long
I have waited for a long time
I knew just what I would do
I knew that I would fall in love with you once I met you
When I heard your song
When I felt your love and affection
Filled my heart with your bliss
You brought me so much happiness
Gave me freedom
You made me feel free and liberated
You knew I could not resist
You knew that I would fall for you
I needed someone
I was looking for someone to love and care for me
And now we're flyin' through the stars
Our love has taken us to a higher, more blissful level
I hope this night will last forever
I wish that this moment wouldn't end
Oh oh oh oh
Expressing excitement, joy, and happiness
Ain't nobody
No one else
Loves me better
Treats me with more love and affection
Makes me happy
Brings me so much joy
Makes me feel this way
Makes me feel so in love and happy
Ain't nobody
No one else
Loves me better than you
You are the only one who loves me this way
I wait for night time to come
I look forward to being with you at night
And bring you to me
Waiting for you to come and join me
Can't believe I'm the one
I am surprised it's me that you love so much
I was so lonely
I have been lonely until you came into my life
I feel like no one could feel
No one else can understand the depth of my love for you
I must be dreamin'
I can't believe this is happening to me
I want this dream to be real
I want our love to be real
I need this feelin'
I need to feel loved and happy like this
I make my wish upon a star
I wish for this love to last forever
And hope this night will last forever
I hope we can preserve this moment forever
And first you put your arms around me
You gave me your love and protection
Then you put your charms around me
Your love became irresistible to me
I can't resist this sweet surrender
I gave in to your love effortlessly
Oh my nights are warm and tender
Our love has made my nights warm and affectionate
We stare into each other's eyes
We gaze lovingly into each other's eyes
And what we see is no surprise
We both know how much we love each other
Got a feeling most with treasure
I have found a love that I will cherish forever
And a love so deep we cannot measure
Our love is so strong and pure, impossible to quantify
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID WOLINSKI, DAVID J WOLINSKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eric Kaski
This is just one of those songs you just have to swing to!
Eric Kaski
Oh, the person who runs the account of Skeeter Davis, congrats for you to reach 300 subscribers! Keep up the good work!