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 Can't Stay Mad At You
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can make me cry
You can break my heart
But I'll never say we're through
Even when I cry, I can't stay mad at you
You can run around
But there's nothing I can do
I'll never say goodbye
Cause I can't stay mad at you
I got mad at you last night
When you were holding another girl tight
But when I thought of all your charms
I bounced right back into your arms
One thing you'll know for sure
I won't be the one to fall in love with someone new
I'll love you til I die
And I can't stay mad at you
I bounced right back into your arms
One thing you'll know for sure
I won't be the one to fall in love with someone new
I'll love you til I die
And I can't stay mad at you
You got me where you want me
The lyrics to Skeeter Davis's song "I Can't Stay Mad at You" speak to the theme of forgiveness and the power that love can have over anger and hurt. The singer acknowledges that their partner has the ability to make them cry and break their heart, but they cannot bring themselves to say goodbye or stay mad at them. Despite being upset over their partner's infidelity, the singer bounces back into their arms again, and they express unwavering loyalty and love towards their partner.
Throughout the song, the singer struggles with the complicated emotions that come with being in a relationship. They can't help but feel hurt by their partner's actions, but their love for them is stronger than their anger. They know that their partner has flaws and can do wrong, but they forgive them regardless. Even though their partner can run around and tell lies, the singer cannot bring themselves to fall in love with someone new. In the end, they declare their love for their partner and express their inability to stay mad at them.
Overall, "I Can't Stay Mad at You" is a song that speaks to the universality of love and the ability it has to overcome hurt and anger. It acknowledges that relationships can be complicated and that forgiveness is necessary to keep them going.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't stay mad at you
No matter what you do, I always forgive you and can never stay angry with you.
You can make me cry
You have the power to make me cry when you hurt or disappoint me.
You can break my heart
You have the ability to break my heart and cause me tremendous pain.
But I'll never say we're through
No matter how much you hurt me, I will never end our relationship.
Even when I cry, I can't stay mad at you
My emotions are so strong for you that even when I cry due to your actions, I cannot hold onto that anger towards you.
You can run around
You have the freedom to do whatever you want, even if it hurts me.
You can tell me lies
You have the ability to deceive me with false information.
But there's nothing I can do
I am powerless to stop you from doing what you want to do, even if it hurts me.
I'll never say goodbye
I am committed to our relationship and will never leave you.
I got mad at you last night
I experienced anger towards you recently.
When you were holding another girl tight
I became upset when I saw you with another girl in a close physical embrace.
But when I thought of all your charms
However, when I remembered all of the positive qualities you possess, my anger disappeared.
I bounced right back into your arms
I immediately forgave you and returned to your loving embrace.
One thing you'll know for sure
You can be certain of one thing:
I won't be the one to fall in love with someone new
I will never leave you for someone else.
I'll love you til I die
My love for you is eternal.
And I can't stay mad at you
No matter what you do, I cannot hold onto my anger towards you for long.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAROLE KING, GERRY GOFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ralph Moore
I just adore Skeeter. She is a life long favorite of mine. I will never tire of hearing that pleasing soothing voice. So sad she is gone.
No Approval Needed
I love this old doo wop stuff. It has this appealing, haunting sound. It's a testament to the time and the equipment that they used back then. Obviously the song is ridiculously catchy too..great stuff. Could never be duplicated.
mary rawson
Yes, you are so right..the equipment now is a bit outdated, but still a great sound..just loved this..when I was sweet 16
Cbria
sit back , chill, and smoke a shoobie doobie doobie........
Leslie Scarver
This particular song isn't doo wop. But it's catchy for the songs of that time period.
Richard Raymond
Seemed to have some heart in it.
Fred Heigl
Better than today's crap by far.
😊👍
Jane Rothrock
One of my favorite songs of all time, Love this song. That voice!!
Arturo Villalobos
Skeeter songs are in a class of their own. They move me still.
Frederick Green
This was one of my favorite songs during my junior year in high school.. I love Skeeter's voice. She's like the perfect girl next door.