Slim Whitman (January 20, 1923 in Tampa, Florida - June 19, 2013, Orange Pa… Read Full Bio ↴Slim Whitman (January 20, 1923 in Tampa, Florida - June 19, 2013, Orange Park, Florida) was an American country music singer and songwriter.

Self-taught on the guitar, Otis Whitman worked at a shipyard in Tampa while developing a musical career, eventually performing with a band known as the "Variety Rhythm Boys". Whitman's first big break came when agent Colonel Tom Parker heard him singing on the radio and offered to represent him. Signed with RCA Records, he was billed as the cowboy singer, "Slim Whitman" and released his first 45rpm single in 1948. He toured and sang at a variety of venues including on the popular radio show, the Louisiana Hayride.

He only became a full time musician in the early 1950s after he recorded a version of the Bob Nolan hit Love Song of the Waterfall that made it into the country music Top 10 chart. His next single, Indian Love Call, was even more successful, going to the No.2 position (and actually saving the world in the 1996 movie Mars Attacks! where it proves fatal to the invading Martians). A yodeler, Whitman avoided the "down on yer luck-buried in booze" songs, preferring instead to sing laid-back romantic melodies about simple life and love.

In 1955, in the United Kingdom, he had a No.1 hit on the pop music charts with Rose Marie. With eleven weeks at the top of the charts, the song set a record that lasted for thirty-six years. Soon after recording this big hit Whitman was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry and in 1957, along with other musical stars, he appeared in the film musical, Jamboree. Despite this type of exposure, he never achieved the level of stardom in the United States that he did in Britain where he had a number of hits during the 1950s and 60s. Throughout the early 1970s, he continued to record and was a guest on Wolfman Jack's musical television show, The Midnight Special. At the time, Whitman's recording efforts were yielding only minor hits and in 1974 he stopped making new records.

Nobody's Darlin' But Mine
Slim Whitman Lyrics

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Come sit by my side little darlin'
Come lay your cool hand on my brow
And promise me that you will
Never be nobody's darlin' but mine

Be nobody's darlin' but mine
Love be honest be faithful be kind
And promise me that you will

Never be nobody's darlin' but mine

You're as sweet as the flowers of springtime
You're as pure as the dew from the rose
I had rather be somebody's darlin'
Than a poor boy that nobody knows

Be nobody's darlin' but mine love

Overall Meaning

The song Nobody's Darlin' But Mine is a romantic ballad that expresses a deep sense of possessiveness over the singer's love interest. The opening lines of the song, "Come sit by my side little darling, come lay your cool hand on my brow," are an invitation to the loved one to come closer and offer comfort. The singer then implores the love interest to make a promise to never become anyone else’s love interest, but remains committed solely to them, singing "Promise me that you will never be nobody's darlin' but mine."

The repeated refrain, "Be nobody's darlin' but mine, love be honest be faithful be kind," underlines the singer's desire for a devoted and loyal partner. The lyrics also suggest that the singer sees his love interest as a "pure" and "sweet" entity, likening them to the "flowers of springtime" and the "dew from the rose." Finally, he contrasts the idea of being his love interest's "darling" with being "a poor boy that nobody knows," further emphasising the importance of having exclusive ownership of his lover.

Overall, Slim Whitman's song Nobody's Darlin' But Mine explores themes of love, possessiveness, and loyalty. Its melancholic melody and yearning lyrics offer a glimpse into the complex emotions that can come along with intense romantic feelings.

Nobody's Darlin' But MineSlim Whitman Lyrics

Ruth Boykin

Nobody's Darlin' But Mine
Slim Whitman Lyrics