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.
The Rovin' Gambler
Tennessee Ernie Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've gambled all around
Wherever I meet with a deck of cards
I lay my money down
I've gambled down in Washington
I've gambled over in Spain
I'm on my way to Georgia
Knock down my last game
Knock down my last game
I had not been in Washington
Many more weeks than three
'Til I fell I love with a pretty little girl
She fell in love with me
She took me in her parlor
She cooled me with her fan
She whispered low in her mother's ear
I love this gamblin' man
Love this gamblin' man
Love this gamblin' man
Oh daugther, oh dear daughter
How could you treat me so
To leave your dear old mother
And with the gambler go
Oh mother, dear mother
You know I love you well
But the love I hold for the gamblin' man
No human tongue can tell
No human tongue can tell
No human tongue can tell
I wouldn't marry a railroad man
This is the reason why
I never seen a railroad man
That wouldn't tell his wife a lie
Oh mother, oh dear mother
I'll tell you if I can
I'll be with the gamblin' man
I am the rovin' gambler
I've gambled all around
Wherever I meet with a deck of cards
I lay my money down
Lay my money down
Lay my money down
The lyrics of Tennessee Ernie Ford's "The Rovin' Gambler" tell the story of a man who leads a life of constant gambling and traveling. He wagers wherever he goes and knows how to play his cards right. He's been to Washington, Spain, and now he's on his way to Georgia to play his last game. Eventually, he falls in love with a beautiful girl in Washington who reciprocates his love. They both whisper about their love to each other's mothers, but his lover's mother disapproves, saying that the gambler will never make a good husband. Even though the girl loves her mother, she declares that her love for the gambler is greater than words can explain, and they leave together. Finally, the gambler announces his love for gambling and that he will continue his journey with a deck of cards in his hand.
The song's story of the gambler's love for gambling could also be interpreted metaphorically, with the cards representing the unpredictable nature of life. The gambler could be seen as someone who takes risks and trusts his intuition to lead him through life, no matter the outcome.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a rovin' gambler
I'm a gambler who likes to travel around to different places.
I've gambled all around
I've played cards in many different locations.
Wherever I meet with a deck of cards
Whenever I come across a set of playing cards,
I lay my money down
I place my bets using my own money.
I've gambled down in Washington
I've played cards in Washington.
I've gambled over in Spain
I've played cards in Spain.
I'm on my way to Georgia
I'm heading to Georgia to gamble there.
To knock down my last game
To play my final game before I stop gambling.
I had not been in Washington
I had only been in Washington for a few weeks.
Many more weeks than three
Less than a month.
'Til I fell I love with a pretty little girl
Until I fell in love with a beautiful girl.
She fell in love with me
She reciprocated my feelings for her.
She took me in her parlor
She invited me into her living room.
She cooled me with her fan
She used a fan to cool me down.
She whispered low in her mother's ear
She spoke softly to her mother so I wouldn't hear.
I love this gamblin' man
She told her mother that she loved me despite being a gambler.
Oh daugther, oh dear daughter
The mother was calling out to her daughter.
How could you treat me so
The mother was upset with her daughter's decision.
To leave your dear old mother
To abandon her mother.
And with the gambler go
To go with a gambler, which is upsetting for her mother.
Oh mother, dear mother
The daughter was responding to her mother's distress.
You know I love you well
The daughter reassured her mother that she loved her.
But the love I hold for the gamblin' man
The daughter couldn't help being in love with me, despite my gambling.
No human tongue can tell
There are no words to describe the depth of her feelings for me.
I wouldn't marry a railroad man
She would never consider marrying a railroad worker.
This is the reason why
The explanation for her distrust of railroad workers is coming up.
I never seen a railroad man
She has never met a railroad worker.
That wouldn't tell his wife a lie
She assumes that all railroad workers are untrustworthy, based on hearsay.
I'll tell you if I can
She is trying to be truthful with her mother.
I'll be with the gamblin' man
She plans on being with me, even though her mother disapproves.
Lay my money down
Same meaning as before: betting with my own money.
Contributed by Isaiah W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Velvetblubonee
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@RayBenson45
Everly brothers version is way better