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
You Tell Me Your Dream
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All day today I was thinking of the time a long time ago
When I told you I had a dream and my dream you wanted to know
I couldn't tell you my secret so I laughed and just shook my head
You didn't give up that easy and I still hear the words that you said.
You had a dream dear I had one too
Come sweetheart tell me now is the time
You tell me your dream I'll tell you mine.
--- Instrumental ---
You said you dreamed I had promised that someday we would be wed
And that was exactly like my dream and I couldn't believe of what you said
But now we're both so happy everything turned out fine
You tell me your dream I'll tell you mine...
In Skeeter Davis's song "You Tell Me Your Dream," the singer reminisces about a time when they couldn't share their secrets with their partner but wanted to. The singer had a dream they were too scared to tell but their partner persisted until the singer relented. The partner shared their dream of being married someday, which aligned with the singer's own dream. The song celebrates the power of shared dreams and the satisfaction of seeing them come true.
The song captures the essence of love and trust in a relationship. It highlights the importance of communication and honesty in making a relationship work. It stresses the significance of sharing your dreams with your partner and working together towards fulfilling them. The song's lyrics signify the depth of love and bond two people share when they are in love. Moreover, Skeeter Davis's rendition of the lyrics is both soulful and winsome.
Line by Line Meaning
All day today I was thinking of the time a long time ago
I spent all day today reminiscing about a moment from the past
When I told you I had a dream and my dream you wanted to know
When I shared with you that I had a dream and you expressed interest in hearing about it
I couldn't tell you my secret so I laughed and just shook my head
I couldn't bring myself to share my dream with you, so I laughed it off instead
You didn't give up that easy and I still hear the words that you said.
You were persistent in wanting to know my dream, and I can still remember the words you used to encourage me
You had a dream dear I had one too
You had a dream, and so did I
My dream was the best cause it was of you
My dream was particularly wonderful because it featured you
Come sweetheart tell me now is the time
My darling, please share your dream with me now
You tell me your dream I'll tell you mine.
If you tell me about your dream, I'll share mine with you
--- Instrumental ---
No lyrics here, just let the music play
You said you dreamed I had promised that someday we would be wed
You shared with me that you dreamed I promised we would marry in the future
And that was exactly like my dream and I couldn't believe of what you said
I was astonished when you told me about your dream, as it matched exactly with mine
But now we're both so happy everything turned out fine
Fortunately, everything worked out for the best, and we are both extremely content now
You tell me your dream I'll tell you mine...
The song concludes with the same line that began the chorus, reinforcing the importance of sharing one's dreams with a loved one
Contributed by Josiah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.