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
No
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
Nothin's been the same since you left me
Everything has gone from right to wrong
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
The red and golden rainbow turned to blue
With every breath I take I think I'm dyin'
Life just ain't worth livin' when I ain't got you
Each and every day I've spent without you
Is one more hurtin' lonely day too long
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
The lyrics to Skeeter Davis's song "No" tell the story of a woman who is heartbroken because her lover has left her. She opens the song with the confession that she has not done anything except cry since he left. She further explains that she has not been able to find any comfort or love because she is waiting for him to come back to her. The woman expresses that her life has turned completely upside-down since he departed, and nothing is the same as it used to be. She repeats that she won't be able to find love again until he returns.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the woman's loneliness without her lover. She reveals that even the memories of their happy times that once brought her joy now only make her want to cry. The colors that used to be bright and beautiful in her life are now faded and dull. She feels like she is suffocating without him, and each day that goes by without him feels like a never-ending, painful experience. Despite her pain, she holds onto the belief that he will one day come back to her and bring happiness and love back into her life.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't done one single thing this morning except for crying all alone
I have done nothing but cry alone this morning since you went away.
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
I have not had any love since you left me.
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
I will not receive any love until you return.
Nothin's been the same since you left me
Everything has changed since you departed.
Everything has gone from right to wrong
Everything has turned for the worse since you left.
Smiles of yesterday now find me cryin'
The happy memories now bring me to tears.
The red and golden rainbow turned to blue
The once bright and colorful world now seems dull and depressing.
With every breath I take I think I'm dyin'
I feel as if I am dying with every breath I take without you.
Life just ain't worth livin' when I ain't got you
My life has lost its meaning without you.
Each and every day I've spent without you
Every day without you has been painful and difficult.
Is one more hurtin' lonely day too long
Each additional day without you is unbearable and lonely.
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
I have been without love since you left me.
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
I will not experience love until you return.
Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone
I have not received any love since you left.
And I ain't gonna get no lovin' till you come home
I will not find love until you come back to me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dallas Frazier
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@williamsinnocent6779
Growing up with my late father. I remember filling my young minds, head and HEART with all this old blues. and it that love kept me going till date. Thanks for the memories. INSPT Williams. Nigeria
@irenecoy4437
My Dad got me my first LP... and this was on it.. been with me always
@gamini71
Hi...what a song....the 1st time I heard it on our radio...I still remember..So penetrating voice and the smoothing piano piece...great
@laracroft5443
I loved this song when I was little
@skeeterfan3626
I always will.
@feliciawijnaar230
🌬️🙏🏼👋🏾
@feliciawijnaar230
💨.🙏.🌈
@Ozmulki
Skeeter did an alternate version to this song which was better - I think it did not have the piano intro...has anyone got that version?
@Ozmulki
There was another 'nicer' version of this song, perhaps slower? I rememebr hearing it over Radio Ceylon many years ago. Does anyone have it?
@rotimicoker721
Yes ,I was just searching for the slower version, that was better than this