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
I'm Saving My Love
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For someone who loves me the way I loved you
I'm saving my lips for someone to kiss me
For someone to kiss me the way I kissed you.
Time after time I've waited for your caress
Time after time I've waited in loneliness
I'm saving my dreams for someone to dream of
Time after time I've waited for your caress
Time after time I've waited in loneliness
I'm saving my love for someone who loves me
For someone who loves me the way I loved you...
In the first verse of "I'm Saving My Love," Skeeter Davis explains that she is saving her love for someone who will love her in the same way that she loved her past lover. She wants to have the same intensity and depth of affection reciprocated from her new partner. She also mentions that she is saving her lips, which implies she is waiting for a true romantic kiss. The second verse echoes the same message, except for the fact she is now waiting for a person that will dream and fantasize about her similarly to how she did with her ex.
The chorus is especially emotive and powerful, where Davis repeats the notion that she is saving her love for a person who will love her as deeply as she once loved her prior love interest. Moreover, she emphasizes the value of her love, and that she will not waste it on someone who cannot return it. Skeeter's longing for a kind of love that is requited is palpable through these lyrics as she emphasizes the word 'waiting.' The words "time after time" indicate her past experiences of unrequited love and a lack of affection.
In summary, the song is about someone who has had their heartbroken and is now waiting for a true and pure love, which will be reciprocated equally. It is a reflection of her yearning for a deeper connection, with lyrics that long for the same depth of affection that she had previously experienced.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm saving my love for someone who loves me
I am keeping my affection reserved for someone who cares for me.
For someone who loves me the way I loved you
I am looking for someone who reciprocates my feelings.
I'm saving my lips for someone to kiss me
I am waiting for a special person to share intimacy with.
For someone to kiss me the way I kissed you.
I am searching for a passionate lover who can match my level of affection.
Time after time I've waited for your caress
Repeatedly, I have longed for your touch.
Time after time I've waited in loneliness
I have spent many moments yearning for companionship.
I'm saving my dreams for someone to dream of
I am keeping my aspirations reserved for a significant other.
For someone to dream of like I dreamed of you.
I am seeking a partner who can envision a future with me like I did with you.
I'm saving my love for someone who loves me
I am keeping my emotions in check and waiting for someone who truly loves me.
For someone who loves me the way I loved you...
I am looking for a love that is equal and fair, just like the love that I offered you.
Contributed by Lila N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
steelmanK
This is likely the best of Skeeter's entire repertoire. So well done...the violins and piano are remarkable elements of this recording.
Frankie C
Her voice just GETS ME everytime.What a beautiful song like all the others she recorded.
Morrigan Ravenchild
Sadly missed. But a least we have her wonderful recordings. I never tire of listening to her lovely songs.
Gary Bryson
What a great recording! Beautiful song, both melody and lyrics. Thanks to Alex Zanetis. Great song for Skeeter, and she does it beautifully. Wonderful arrangement too. Love it.
Music Rocks!
I love her voice. She is one of the best female singers we will ever see. ❤❤❤Skeeter❤❤❤ One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. A beautiful singer inside and out.
Rosona Ramsaroop
When Skeeter sang this I was too young to know of love spent holidays with my aunt on the day as we were leaving the house to go back home the song started Oh my goodness tears to fill an ocean no one could comprehend the reason for the extreme sadness
Marge Gentry
love to listen to her...this was back in my time
Chris McDonald-69
I Still Love skeeter Davis, No Matter What !!
sauquoit13456
On this day in 1963 {May 24th} Skeeter Davis performed "I'm Saving My Love" on the ABC-TV network weekday-afternoon program 'American Bandstand'...
The next month on June 5th, 1963 the song entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #78; five weeks later it would peak at #41 {for 1 week} and it spent 7 weeks on the Top 100...
It reached #9 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart...
Between 1957 and 1976 she had forty records on the Hot Country Singles chart; ten* made the Top 10 with her two biggest hits both peaking at #2, "(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too" {1960} and "The End of the World" {1962}...
Three of her forty hits were duets; two with Bobby Bare, "A Dear John Letter" {1965} & "Your Husband, My Wife" {1970} and one with Don Bowman, "For Loving You" {1967}...
Ms. Davis, born Mary Frances Penick, passed away at the age of 72 on September 19th, 2004...
May she R.I.P.
* She just missed having four more Top 10 records when "Am I That Easy To Forget" {1960}, "The Hands Your Holding Now" {1961}, "A Dear John Letter" {1965} and "Fuel the Flame" {1967}, all peaked at #11...
anthony belcher
Brilliant song