The original group consisted of Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (A.P.; 1891-1960), his wife, Sara Dougherty Carter (autoharp and guitar; 1898-1979), and Maybelle Addington Carter (guitar; 1909-1978). Maybelle Carter (later popularly known as Mother Maybelle Carter) was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing. Maybelle Carter's distinctive and innovative guitar playing style quickly became a hallmark of the group.
The Carters got their start on July 31, 1927 when A.P. convinced Sara and Maybelle (pregnant at the time) to make the journey from Maces Springs, Virginia to Bristol, Tennessee to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.
In the Fall of 1927 the Victor recording company released a double-sided 78 rpm record of the group performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". In 1928 another record was released with "The Storms Are on the Ocean" and "Single Girl, Married Girl". This one proved very popular.
They stopped touring and recording in 1943.
In 1987, the three daughters of Maybelle Carter - June Carter (also known as June Carter Cash, following marriage to Johnny Cash), Helen Carter and Anita Carter, along with June Carter's daughter Carlene Carter, appeared as the Carter Family and were featured on a 1987 television episode of Austin City Limits along with Johnny Cash.
The Carters were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and were given the nickname "The First Family of Country Music". In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received its Award for the song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring A.P., Sara, and Maybelle. In 2001, the group was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 2005, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Carter Family III carries on the tradition. The group consists of A.P. Carter and Sarah Carter’s grandson Dale Jett, Maybelle Carter’s grandson John Carter Cash and his wife Laura Cash.
For more details, see the Carter Family biography at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carterfamily/peopleevents/p_carters.html
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The Carter Family Lyrics
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The wind it did whistle and the waters did roar
I heard a fair damsel make a pitiful sound
It sounded so lonesome in the waters around
I never will marry or be no man's wife
I expect to live single all the days of my life
The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
She plunged her fair body in the ocean so deep
She closed her blue eyes in the waters to sleep
My love's gone and left me, the one I adore
She's gone where I never will see her any more
I never will marry or be no man's wife
I expect to live single all the days of my life
The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
The fish in deep water swim over my head
The Carter Family's "I Never Will Marry" is a haunting and melancholy ballad about a fair damsel who has made the decision to never marry. The song opens with the singer wandering down the seashore, where she hears a woman making a pitiful sound. The woman is lamenting her decision to remain single, and she says that she will never marry or be any man's wife. Instead, she has chosen the ocean and its creatures to be her companions in life and death.
The woman, it seems, is in anguish over the loss of her lover, whom she refers to as "the one I adore". She has plunged into the ocean and closed her eyes to sleep, leaving behind the pain and heartache of the world. The imagery of the shells in the ocean being her deathbed and the fish swimming over her head adds to the overall sense of sadness and hopelessness in the song.
Line by Line Meaning
One morning as I rambled all down the seashore
While strolling along the shore in the morning,
The wind it did whistle and the waters did roar
I heard the whistling wind and the roaring waves,
I heard a fair damsel make a pitiful sound
I heard a sad and mournful cry from a young woman,
It sounded so lonesome in the waters around
Her voice carried across the lonely waters,
I never will marry or be no man's wife
I have no desire to wed or become a wife,
I expect to live single all the days of my life
I plan to live the rest of my life without a partner,
The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
When I die, the ocean shells will be my resting place,
The fish in deep water swim over my head
The fish in the deep waters will swim above me,
She plunged her fair body in the ocean so deep
The young woman threw herself into the deep ocean waters,
She closed her blue eyes in the waters to sleep
She closed her eyes and peacefully drifted to sleep in the water,
My love's gone and left me, the one I adore
The person I loved and cherished is no longer with me,
She's gone where I never will see her any more
She has left this world and I will never see her again,
I never will marry or be no man's wife
I will remain unmarried and without a partner,
I expect to live single all the days of my life
I intend to live the rest of my life alone,
The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
When I die, my final resting place will be in the ocean,
The fish in deep water swim over my head
The fish in the deep waters will swim above me.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: A.P. CARTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Les Incentive
Kids are a blessing Cmr but don’t worry mon you soon get your son lol😂🤣I’m so excited for Tami and Wayne having their little princess soon.
Jacquline Dew
Wow!! I thought the same thing. After watching the Mitchell’s I told my husband that the Carter’s can try for the boy now😀😀😀
Day in the life of a Super mom!!
@Patricia Anderson last time I checked scientifically, a man has the xy chromosomes and a woman has xx. If the y from a man don’t swim up fast enough, then the x wins lol so before you say a woman is the one who can decide what she will have lol think again
Jacquline Dew
@Kerry Upsetta 🤣🤣🤣
Jen Lew
Its the man tell the father in heaven Boy tm want yes or no
Kerry Upsetta
Yes CMR same thing mi seh 🤣🤣 Crissy saddle up fi next year 💯🤣🤣
Patricia Anderson
Men don't make boy's that's a big lie, woman makes boy's if they would get Off there backs and put it to work more ride ride it and enjoy lol Lol know joke
Michele Lemmon
The man determines the sex of the child. Men DNA consists of Y And X chromosomes because XY is male and XX is female. Therefore, the woman can only provide theX chromosome the other chromosome comes from the father - some sperms are X and some are Y - it depends on which sperm connects with the egg. The egg is always X - therefore it’s down to the man to determine the sex of the child. I think the Carter’s should go again though.
Pauline Perry
Only god can determine that
kareen Rankine
Him have boy but him too strong 💪 lol when crissy come at you for sex when you not in the mood take it 🤣 and there goes the boy....but when both of you strongly connected then there goes the girl 🙃 good luck if you go again 😉