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
My Dixie Darling
The Carter Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Queen
Way down below the Mason-Dixie line
Down where the honeysuckles are entwined
There's where the southern winds are blowing
The girls of the north in the gay finery
Whirling around in society
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
Where I long to be
My Dixie darlin', listen to the song I sing
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Queen
Goin' down South to have a big time
To see my girl in old Caroline
I'll drink my booze and do as I please
For all those girls I long to squeeze
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
There's where I long to be goin'
Down where the jellyroll's rolling
With my Dixie Queen
My Dixie darlin', listen to the song I sing
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Queen
The Carter Family's "My Dixie Darling" is a classic love song about the singer's unyielding devotion to his Dixie Queen. The singer sits under a silver moon, strumming his banjo as he croons about his unwavering love for her. The vivid imagery in the lyrics draws listeners to the South, where honeysuckles grow, and the southern winds blow. The singer yearns to be with his Dixie Darling, where he can enjoy the simpler things in life, like drinking booze and dancing the jellyroll, with no one else but his beloved.
The song's themes are rooted in nostalgia for a simpler, more straightforward way of life in the South, free from the complexities of life in the North. It is an ode to the singer's love and loyalty to his Dixie Queen.
"My Dixie Darling" was first recorded by the Carter Family in 1929 and has since been covered by numerous artists, including Elvis Presley, Joan Baez, and Levon Helm.
Line by Line Meaning
My Dixie darlin', listen to the song I sing
Hey my beloved Southerner, listen to my sweet melody that I'm singing just for you
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
Under the shining moon, while my banjo strings resonate perfectly, I'm here to express the depths of my affections
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My feelings for you are pure and genuine, I have no love for anyone else
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Queen
You, my dear, are the queen of my heart and soul, my Southern beloved
Way down below the Mason-Dixie line
I'm going further down towards the South, beneath the Mason-Dixie line
Down where the honeysuckles are entwined
Where the honeysuckle flowers are intertwined, I'm going there
There's where the southern winds are blowing
The place where the southern winds are blowing, I'm heading towards that direction
There's where the daisies growing
Where the daisies are blossoming, that’s exactly where I desire to go to
The girls of the north in the gay finery
I'm leaving behind the fashionable girls of the north, all decked out in their ballroom gowns
Whirling around in society
They dance and spin in the high society circles
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
But they can’t sing the sweet love song I have for my Southern beloved
Where I long to be
For it's my Dixie darlin' who's captured my heart and soul, and that's where I long to be
Goin' down South to have a big time
I'm headed down South to have the time of my life
To see my girl in old Caroline
I'm headed to Caroline to reunite with my darling Southern queen
I'll drink my booze and do as I please
I'll have my drinks and do whatever my heart desires
For all those girls I long to squeeze
Despite the other girls that I'm attracted to, you're the only one I want to be with
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
I'll keep singing the song of my Dixie darlin' wherever I go
There's where I long to be goin'
That's where I'm endlessly longing to be
Down where the jellyroll's rolling
Where the amazing things happen, where mellifluous sound of music fills the air
With my Dixie Queen
To share all those things with my beloved Dixie Queen is what I crave for the most
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: A.P. CARTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bismarckrock007
0:35
Way down below the Mason-Dixie line
Down where the honeysuckles are entwined
There's where the southern winds are blowing
There's where the daisies growing
The girls of the north in the gay finery
Whirling around in society
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
Where I long to be.
1:31
Goin' down South to have a big time
To see my boy in old Caroline
I'll drink my booze and do as I please
For all those girls I long to squeeze
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
There's where I long to be goin'
Down where the jellyroll's rolling
With my Dixie Dream.
👍🏻🎸✌🏻
@bismarckrock007
“My Dixie Darlin”
My Dixie darlin', listen to the song I sing
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Dream
Way down below the Mason-Dixie line
Down where the honeysuckles are entwined
There's where the southern winds are blowing
There's where the daisies growing
The girls of the north in the gay finery
Whirling around in society
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
Where I long to be
My Dixie darlin', listen to the song I sing
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Dream
<<<SOLO>>>
Goin' down South to have a big time
To see my boy in old Caroline
I'll drink my booze and do as I please
For all those girls I long to squeeze
Singin' the song of Dixie darlin'
There's where I long to be goin'
Down where the jellyroll's rolling
With my Dixie Dream
My Dixie darlin', listen to the song I sing
Beneath the silver moon, with my banjo right in tune
My heart is ever true, I love no one but you
My Dixie darlin', my Dixie Dream.
👍🏻🎸✌🏻
@urbanhillbilly5619
Boy they just blew the doors off with that fabulous version of a wonderful song - just doesn't get better than that
@ajo3085
It's criminal these ladies didn't release more music. If it wasn't for youtube we'd have practically nothing available to be reminded what an astonishing group of voices they had... and Anita... well just wow!
@3fitzgrld
I agree. I did not know Anita co wrote ring of fire with merl Kilgore. I absolutely love her voice and her version of it.
@ajo3085
@@3fitzgrld Anita didn't actually co-write Ring of Fire, June Carter did. Anita was the first to record the song but "legend" has it Johnny Cash dreamed of a version of the song with the mariachi horns in it and told Anita if it didn't become a big hit for her, he'd cut his own version. I still love Anita's beautiful original take, but I do find it difficult to listen to it without having JC's version wanting to start up in my head. 😊
@3fitzgrld
@@ajo3085 you're right! I just watched a video of merl kilgore on the writing of it. Yeah. I like her version.. and she can sing! But yeah I can't help thinking of Johnny's version as well.
@chuckschillingvideos
They toured incessantly. I think that's what gave them the most joy - performing for audiences. Obviously, they understood the need to record as needs required, but I don't think any of them loved the recording process all that much. Obviously this does not apply nearly to much to Carlene's career as her mother's and aunts' careers.
@jimhaynes8736
Lmolmokomkomkmkmkmkmkmkmkmokmkokokmok
@alexanderh9878
That Carlene is really good.
@stationmanager9325
The guitars, songs, and records , of the Carters, did one thing for us folk living in the Australian bush.It polished the lens of one's soul..
@jerrywatson7176
First family of country and FIRST CLASS people.