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
What Am I Gonna Do With You
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Told me you've been untrue again
Oh oh you still haven't learned it's wrong
To hurt the girl that you belong to
What am I gonna do with you, hey baby.
You said you'd stop running around
And once again you've let me down
To see what you can get away with
What am I gonna do with you, hey baby.
Do you know how bad I feel
When you treat me the way you do
I don't think you'd like it too much
If I did the same thing to you.
Do you know how bad I feel
If I'd done the smart thing I know
I would have left you long ago
But even knowing what I know about you
I still don't want to live without you
What am I gonna do with you, hey baby.
Oh, what am I gonna do with you, baby...
In Skeeter Davis's song "What Am I Gonna Do With You", the singer is expressing her frustration towards her cheating partner. She mentions that a friend had told her about her partner's infidelity, and although he claimed to have changed his ways, his actions continue to prove otherwise. The singer feels trapped in this situation because she loves him, yet he continues to hurt her. She questions herself on what she's going to do with him because she knows that he's wrong for her, but she can't seem to let him go.
Additionally, she mentions that she knows how bad she feels when he treats her the way he does, and she questions if he would feel the same way if she had cheated on him. She also acknowledges that she should have left him long ago, but she still can't bring herself to do it because she doesn't want to live without him.
Overall, the lyrics convey the complex emotions and inner turmoil that the character faces when trying to navigate a relationship with a partner who continues to betray her trust.
Line by Line Meaning
Someone who said she is my friend
A person who claims to be my friend told me something about you
Told me you've been untrue again
This person told me that you have been disloyal to me once more
Oh oh you still haven't learned it's wrong
Despite previous warnings, you have not realized that your actions are unacceptable
To hurt the girl that you belong to
It is not okay for you to cause harm to the woman that you are supposed to belong to
What am I gonna do with you, hey baby.
I am at a loss for what to do with you, my love
You said you'd stop running around
You made promises to me that you would stop cheating
And once again you've let me down
But once more, you have broken those promises
Oh oh I guess I'm just a girl you stay with
I am starting to think that you are only with me for your own benefit
To see what you can get away with
You are testing boundaries to see what actions you can get away with
Do you know how bad I feel
Can you understand the extent of my emotional pain?
When you treat me the way you do
As a result of the way you treat me
I don't think you'd like it too much
You would likely not enjoy being treated the same way
If I did the same thing to you.
If I acted in a similar manner towards you
Do you know how bad I feel
Once again, can you understand my emotional pain?
If I'd done the smart thing I know
I recognize that the wise decision would have been to leave you long ago
I would have left you long ago
I should have ended our relationship a while back
But even knowing what I know about you
Despite my knowledge of your infidelity and lack of commitment
I still don't want to live without you
I am still not ready to let go of our relationship
What am I gonna do with you, hey baby.
What can I possibly do with you, my love?
Oh, what am I gonna do with you, baby...
I am at a complete loss for what my next move should be
Contributed by Jordyn V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
thereareotherworlds
This beautiful version, along with many in Skeeter's repertoire, that taught me how to harmonize when I was a young boy.
Music Rocks!
Should have been a number one hit for Skeeter. She taught me how to harmonize!
lesgore54
Skeeter's version is similar in arrangement and feel to the Fleetwoods' version (on Dolton BLP 2030 c.1964). The Chiffons (c.1964) and Lesley Gore (1965) are great, too as well as The Inspirations version from 1967. It's a great song!
robbk1
Every song I've heard with Russ Titleman's name on it as a writer has been excellent. Of Course Jerry Goffin was no slouch as a writer, either. I like The Chiffons; version best. But it's a super song. It would sound great, even with Mrs. Miller or Dora Hall singing it.
czar14617
GREAT GREAT TUNE ---LOVE IT
shmuli9
This version is rather timeless. The other versions (including Lesley's Gore's hit) are excellent, but they do sound very 1960s.
charles randolph
BEAUTIFUL AND TIMELESS!
anonyarena
These lyrics are devastating. What an expression of heartbreak.
hifrom mike
Agreed. Heartbreaking.
Petr Slivinski
Good slow version.