Born in Bristol, Tennessee, to Clarence Thomas Ford and Maud Long, Ford began his radio career as an announcer at station WOPI in Bristol, leaving in 1939 to study classical music and voice at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. 1st Lieut. Ford served in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying missions over Japan. After the war, Ford worked at radio stations in San Bernardino and Pasadena, Calif. In San Bernardino, hired as a radio announcer, Ernest J. Ford did the news and general announcing. He was assigned the job of hosting an early morning country music disc jockey programme titled "Bar Nothin' Ranch." To differentiate himself, he created the personality of "Tennessee Ernie," a wild, madcap exaggerated hillbilly. He became popular in the area and was soon hired away by Pasadena's KXLA radio.
At KXLA he continued doing the same show and also joined the cast of Cliffie Stone's popular live KXLA country show "Dinner Bell Roundup" as a vocalist while still doing the early morning broadcast. Stone, a part-time talent scout for Capitol Records, brought him to the attention of the label. In 1949, while still doing his morning show, he signed a contract with Capitol. He also became a local television star as the star of Stone's popular Southern California "Hometown Jamboree" television show. He released almost fifty country singles through the early 1950s, several of which made the charts. Many of his early records, including "The Shot Gun Boogie", "Blackberry Boogie", and so on were exciting, driving boogie-woogie records featuring exciting accompaniment by the Hometown Jamboree band which included Jimmy Bryant on lead guitar and pioneer pedal steel guitarist Speedy West. "I'll Never Be Free", a duet pairing Ford with Capitol Records pop singer Kay Starr, became a huge country and pop crossover hit in 1950.
Ford eventually ended his KXLA morning show and in the early 1950s, moved on from Hometown Jamboree. He took over from bandleader Kay Kyser as host of the television version of the NBC quiz show "College of Musical Knowledge" when it returned briefly in 1954 after a four-year break. He also portrayed the country bumpkin Cousin Ernie on I Love Lucy.
Ford scored an unexpected hit on the pop charts in 1955 with his rendition of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons", a sparsely arranged coal-miner's lament that Travis wrote in 1946, based on his own family's experience in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. With a unique clarinet-driven pop arrangement by Ford's Musical Director, Jack Fascinato, "Sixteen Tons" spent ten weeks at number one on the country charts and eight weeks at number one on the pop charts, and made Ford a crossover star. It became Ford's signature song.
Ford subsequently helmed his own primetime variety programme, The Ford Show, which ran on NBC from 1956 to 1961. Ford's programme was notable for the inclusion of a religious song at the end of every show; Ford insisted on this despite objections from network officials who feared it might provoke controversy. It quickly became the most popular segment of the show. He earned the nickname "The Ol' Pea-Picker" becafter his catch-phrase, "Bless your pea-pickin' heart!"
In 1956 he released Hymns, his first gospel album, which remained on Billboard's "Top Album" charts for a remarkable 277 consecutive weeks; his album Great Gospel Songs won a Grammy Award in 1964. After the NBC show ended, Ford moved his family to Northern California and from 1962 to 1965, hosted a daytime talk show The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show from San Francisco, broadcast over the ABC TV network.
Over the years, Ford has been awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for radio, records, and television. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1990.
Ford, who offstage contended with a serious alcohol problem that never affected his professional work, began suffering increasing liver problems in the 1980s that worsened in 1990, the year he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He fell ill in 1991 after leaving a state dinner at the White House hosted by President George Bush, and died in a Virginia hospital on 17th October, exactly thirty-six years after "Sixteen Tons" was released and one day shy of the first anniversary of his induction into the Hall of Fame.
Ford was posthumously recognized for his gospel music contributions by being added to the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1994.
In the Garden
Tennessee Ernie Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me and
He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.
He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody That He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
And He walks with me and He talks
With me, And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.
I stay in the garden with Him
All the darkness around us is falling
But He bids me go through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling
And He walks with me and He talks
With me, And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known;
None other has ever known.
The lyrics of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “In the Garden” describe a personal and intimate spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ in a garden. The opening line encapsulates the feeling of the song- the singer is alone in the garden, while the dew is still on the roses. The act of coming to this garden and experiencing the early morning beauty and serenity is likened to the presence of Jesus himself. The singer then goes on to mention the sound of the voice of Jesus, which is so sweet that it stops birds from singing. The melody that Jesus gives the singer rings in their heart, emphasizing the literal and figurative connection between the presence of Christ and music.
The chorus emphasizes the closeness of the singer to Jesus as they describe how he walks and talks with them, and how they share a unique joy that no one else knows. The second verse adds a slightly darker tone, as the singer mentions the surrounding darkness but still feels compelled to stay with Jesus through His call. The final repetition of the chorus reinforces this joyful and personal relationship the singer has with Jesus in the garden.
Interestingly, this song was inspired by the story of Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus in the garden after his resurrection. The song has been covered by many artists over the years and remains a popular hymn. It has also been played at numerous funerals, reflecting its comforting and uplifting nature. Some noteworthy versions include Elvis Presley's rendition, which was featured in his documentary "This Is Elvis" in 1981, and Johnny Cash's cover, which was included on his album "My Mother's Hymn Book" in 2004. The song has also been used in various movies and TV shows, such as "The Waltons" and "Six Feet Under."
Line by Line Meaning
I come to the garden alone,
I come to a peaceful place alone, where the dew is still fresh on the flowers.
While the dew is still on the roses;
While the dew is still fresh on the flowers.
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
I hear the voice of the Son of God revealing Himself to me.
And He walks with me and
He talks with me,
The Son of God walks and talks with me.
And He tells me I am His own;
He tells me that I belong to Him.
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.
The joy we share in His presence is unmatched.
He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
The sound of His voice is so sweet that the birds stop singing.
And the melody That He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
The melody that He gave me is ringing in my heart.
I stay in the garden with Him
All the darkness around us is falling
I stay in the garden with Him, even as darkness falls.
But He bids me go through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling
Even as He calls me through the voice of struggle and sorrow, His voice is still calling me.
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known;
The joy we share in His presence is unmatched.
None other has ever known.
No one else has experienced this joy in His presence like I have.
Contributed by Aria O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.