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.
Mule Train
Tennessee Ernie Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Giddyup, pah, giddahh)
(Heah)
Mule train
(Yee-ha)
Clippity-cloppin' over hill and plain
Seems as how they never stop
Clippity-clippity, clippity-clippity
Clippity-cloppin' along
Mule train
(Eee, heahy-ah)
Mule train
(Weuh)
Clippity-cloppin' on the mountain chain
Soon they're gonna reach the top
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop
Clippity-clippity, clippity-clippity
Clippity-cloppin' along
There's a plug o' chaw tebaccer for the miner in Corona
A guitar for a cowboy way out in Arizona
A dress o' calico for the pretty Navajo
Get along, mule, get along
Mule train
(Gidda-ah)
Mule train
(Yeuh)
Clippity-cloppin' through the wind and rain
A-keep 'em goin' till they drop
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop
Clippity-clippity, clippity-clippity
Clippity-cloppin' along
There's cotton thread 'n' needles for the folks way out yonder
A shovel for a miner who left his home to wander
Some rheumatism pills for the settlers in the hills
Get along, mule, get along
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop
Clippity-clippity, clippity-clippity
Clippity-cloppin' along
Mule train
(I'll skin you, yeah)
Mule train
The song "Mule Train" by Tennessee Ernie Ford is a classic country song that is about a train of mules carrying supplies across the country. It starts with the sound of mules braying and then the lyrics describe how the mules are clippity-cloppin' over hill and plain, through the wind and rain. The song describes how the mules are carrying supplies to different parts of the country, such as a plug of chaw tobacco for the miner in Corona, a guitar for a cowboy in Arizona or cotton thread and needles for folks way out yonder. The song celebrates the hard work and perseverance of the mules who are getting the job done, no matter the obstacles they face.
The lyrics of the song are a metaphor for life, where we all have to keep moving forward, no matter how hard the journey may be. It is about the work ethic and resilience that is needed to keep going in life. The song is also a tribute to the pioneers and settlers who helped to build America, and the role that mules played in their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Clippity-cloppin' over hill and plain
The mule train is moving on its journey through various terrains, from hills to plains
Seems as how they never stop
The mule train seems to have boundless energy and never stops moving
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop
The sound of the mules' hooves hitting the ground in a rhythmic manner
Clippity-clippity, clippity-clippity
A variation of the sound of the mules' hooves striking the ground
Clippity-cloppin' along
Continuing on their journey with their distinct sound
Clippity-cloppin' on the mountain chain
The mule train is traveling over a mountain range
Soon they're gonna reach the top
The train of mules is steadily trudging up the mountain and will soon reach its peak
There's a plug o' chaw tebaccer for the miner in Corona
The mule train is carrying supplies for people in various locations, including tobacco for a miner in Corona
A guitar for a cowboy way out in Arizona
The mule train is carrying supplies such as a guitar for a cowboy in Arizona
A dress o' calico for the pretty Navajo
The mule train is carrying supplies such as a dress made of calico for a pretty Navajo
Clippity-cloppin' through the wind and rain
The train of mules is continuing to move forward through difficult weather conditions
A-keep 'em goin' till they drop
The mules are being urged to keep going despite the difficulty they face, until they can no longer continue
There's cotton thread 'n' needles for the folks way out yonder
The mule train is carrying supplies such as cotton thread and needles for the folks in far-off places
A shovel for a miner who left his home to wander
The mule train is carrying supplies such as a shovel for a miner who left home to go on a journey
Some rheumatism pills for the settlers in the hills
The mule train has supplies such as rheumatism pills for settlers living in hilly regions
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop
A repetition of the rhythmic sound of the mules' hooves on the ground
Mule train
The overall theme of the song, which talks about a train of mules
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fred Glickman, Hy Heath, Johnny Lange
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind