They began writing and recording their own music in 1956, and their first hit song came in 1957, with "Bye Bye Love", written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The song hit No. 1 in the spring of 1957, and additional hits would follow through 1958, many of them written by the Bryants, including "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", and "Problems". In 1960, they signed with the major label Warner Bros. Records and recorded "Cathy's Clown", written by the brothers themselves, which was their biggest selling single. The brothers enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1961, and their output dropped off, though additional hit singles continued through 1962, with "That's Old Fashioned (That's the Way Love Should Be)" being their last top-10 hit.
Long-simmering disputes with Wesley Rose, the CEO of Acuff-Rose Music, which managed the group, a growing drug usage in the 1960s, as well as changing tastes in popular music, led to the group's decline in popularity in its native U.S., though the brothers continued to release hit singles in the U.K. and Canada, and had many highly successful tours throughout the 1960s. In the early 1970s, the brothers began releasing solo recordings, and in 1973 they officially broke up. Starting in 1983, the brothers got back together, and would continue to perform periodically until Phil's death in 2014. Don died seven years later.
The group was highly influential on the music of the generation that followed it. Many of the top acts of the 1960s were heavily influenced by the close-harmony singing and acoustic guitar playing of the Everly Brothers, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, and Simon & Garfunkel. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked the Everly Brothers No. 1 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of 1986, and into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Don was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019, earning the organization's first Iconic Riff Award for his distinctive rhythm guitar intro to the Everlys' massive 1957 hit "Wake Up Little Susie".
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Everly_Brothers
Barbara Allen
The Everly Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When flowers were a-bloomin'
Sweet Willie on his deathbed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen
He sent his servant to the town
The town where she did dwell in
Saying "Master dear has sent me here
Then slowly slowly she got up
And slowly she went to him
And all she said when she got there
"Young man, I think you're dying"
"Oh don't you remember the other day
When we were in the tavern?
You drank your health to the ladies there
And you slighted Barbara Allen"
He turned his face unto the wall
He turned his back upon her
"Adieu! Adieu! To all my friends
Be kind to Barbara Allen"
She looked to the east, She looked to the west
She saw his corpse a-comin'
"Oh sit him down for me" she cried
"That I may gaze upon him"
The more she looked the more she grieved
She bursted out to cryin'
Sayin' "pick me up and carry me home
For I feel like I am dyin'"
They buried Willie in the old churchyard
And Barbara in the new one
From Willie's grave there grew a rose
From Barbara's a green briar
They grew and grew to the old church wall
And could not grow no higher
And there they died in a true love-knot
The rosebush and the briar
"Barbara Allen" is a traditional folk song that has been recorded by many artists over the years, including The Everly Brothers. The song tells the story of a young man named Willie who is on his deathbed because of his unrequited love for a woman named Barbara Allen. He sends his servant to fetch Barbara Allen, and when she arrives, he expresses regret for having slighted her in the past. However, she is unmoved by his sorrow and leaves him to die alone. After his death, Barbara Allen is filled with remorse and goes to see his body. She weeps over him and asks to be taken home, feeling as though she is dying as well. The song ends with the two lovers buried near each other, with their respective flowers growing together until they merge into a single knot.
The song has been popular in both England and North America for hundreds of years and has undergone numerous variations and adaptations. Some versions have additional verses or different arrangements of the melody. Despite its simplicity, the story told in "Barbara Allen" has resonated with listeners for generations. The central theme of unrequited love and regret is one that has been explored in countless works of literature and music.
Line by Line Meaning
Twas in the merry month of May
It was a cheerful month of May
When flowers were a-bloomin'
The flowers were in full bloom
Sweet Willie on his deathbed lay
Willie was lying on his deathbed
For the love of Barbara Allen
Because he loved Barbara Allen
He sent his servant to the town
He sent his servant to the town
The town where she did dwell in
Where Barbara Allen lived
Saying "Master dear has sent me here
He said, "My master has sent me here
It remained for Barbara Allen"
To see Willie before he died
Then slowly slowly she got up
She got up slowly
And slowly she went to him
She walked slowly to him
And all she said when she got there
When she got there, all she said was
"Young man, I think you're dying"
"I think you're dying, young man"
"Oh don't you remember the other day
"Do you not remember the day
When we were in the tavern?
We were at the tavern?"
You drank your health to the ladies there
You toasted the ladies and ignored me
And you slighted Barbara Allen"
Which hurt Barbara Allen's feelings
He turned his face unto the wall
Willie turned his face to the wall
He turned his back upon her
He turned his back to Barbara Allen
"Adieu! Adieu! To all my friends
"Farewell to all my friends
Be kind to Barbara Allen"
Be kind to Barbara Allen"
She looked to the east, She looked to the west
She looked east and west
She saw his corpse a-comin'
She saw Willie's corpse coming
"Oh sit him down for me" she cried
"Put him down so I can see him," she cried
"That I may gaze upon him"
"And look at him one more time"
The more she looked the more she grieved
The more she looked, the sadder she became
She bursted out to cryin'
She burst into tears
Sayin' "pick me up and carry me home
She said, "Please carry me home
For I feel like I am dyin'"
Because I feel like I am dying"
They buried Willie in the old churchyard
They buried Willie in the old churchyard
And Barbara in the new one
And Barbara in the new one
From Willie's grave there grew a rose
A rose grew from Willie's grave
From Barbara's a green briar
And a green briar from Barbara's grave
They grew and grew to the old church wall
They grew and grew up the old church wall
And could not grow no higher
And stopped growing
And there they died in a true love-knot
And there they died, intertwined with each other
The rose-bush and the briar
The rose-bush and the briar
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Written by: FRANCIS EDWARD TURNER, DP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Cabral
It’s been beguiling audiences for a half-millennium or so, perhaps longer than that. It’s been covered by artists ranging from the sublime (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Everly Brothers) to the slightly ridiculous (John Travolta and, in the 1951 Warner Brothers short “Robin Hood Daffy”, Porky Pig.) So what is it about “Barbara Allen” that makes it so enduring and affecting?
The first known reference to this mysteriously captivating folk ballad dates back to 1666, in an entry by the famed English diarist Samuel Pepys. Pepys called it a “Scotch song”, and it flourished throughout the United Kingdom in that era until it was brought to the U.S. by immigrants. As the population of America slowly spread westward, the song went with it, as noted by famed musicologist Alan Lomax in his book The Folk Songs Of North America. “This ballad, if no other, travelled west with every wagon,” Lomax wrote. “As someone remarked, they sang ‘Barbara Allen’ in Texas ‘before the pale faces were thick enough to make the Indians consider a massacre worthwhile.”
What transpires in “Barbara Allen” is simple enough on the surface. Yet since the lyrics provide little exposition or back story, the reasons for the behavior of the main participants are enigmatic. The song tells the story of young William who, as he lies on his deathbed, calls out for Barbara. She takes her time getting to his side, only to treat him coldly due to a social foul he committed against her at a tavern. On her journey home, she hears the “death bell knellin” and, knowing it tolls for William’s death, suddenly regrets her hardness and knows she will soon die of grief for him.
Harsh stuff, right? Maybe too harsh, even for audiences who were used to Shakespeare’s plays and their numerous deaths. As such, a variant on the song quickly arose that included a leavening epilogue whereby the lovers are buried side-by-side. From William’s grave grows a rose, from Barbara’s a briar, and the two flowers eventually intertwine, providing the deceased pair eternal unison.
It’s what left out of the song that keeps us coming back for answers. If all William did was drink a toast to the wrong ladies, surely he didn’t deserve treatment so nasty from a girl he truly loved. Or was this single incident indicative of his wayward behavior as a whole? And what changed in Barbara’s mind and heart from the time she left him to when she heard that bell? In that short journey, she transformed from hard-hearted to sympathetic without any middle ground spent in consideration of all that had transpired.
This sort of unexplainable behavior from characters was also emblematic of Shakespeare (think King Lear or Hamlet), so maybe the original writer had that kind of strangeness in mind. It makes the song more psychologically realistic, since we all tend to do things when guided by passion or spite that defy logic and reason.
The murkiness of the motives and the beauty of the melody is an irresistible combination. As such, many legendary contemporary artists have found the song irresistible. Dylan, for one, not only covered “Barbara Allen” at various times in his career, but he also used Barbara’s home base of “Scarlet Town” as a jumping-off point for an equally mysterious song on 2012’s Tempest.
While there have been many powerful and moving renditions of “Barbara Allen”, Art Garfunkel may have given the definitive modern reading on his 1973 solo album Angel Clare. Whatever lesson you take from the song, whether it’s that even a moment of taking the one you love for granted can come back to haunt you, or that life is too short for petty grievances, you’ll likely be mesmerized by the mercy Garfunkel’s ethereal vocal grants these two lovers. It’s just too bad they didn’t show each other that same kind of mercy until it was far too late.
Steve Cabral
It’s been beguiling audiences for a half-millennium or so, perhaps longer than that. It’s been covered by artists ranging from the sublime (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Everly Brothers) to the slightly ridiculous (John Travolta and, in the 1951 Warner Brothers short “Robin Hood Daffy”, Porky Pig.) So what is it about “Barbara Allen” that makes it so enduring and affecting?
The first known reference to this mysteriously captivating folk ballad dates back to 1666, in an entry by the famed English diarist Samuel Pepys. Pepys called it a “Scotch song”, and it flourished throughout the United Kingdom in that era until it was brought to the U.S. by immigrants. As the population of America slowly spread westward, the song went with it, as noted by famed musicologist Alan Lomax in his book The Folk Songs Of North America. “This ballad, if no other, travelled west with every wagon,” Lomax wrote. “As someone remarked, they sang ‘Barbara Allen’ in Texas ‘before the pale faces were thick enough to make the Indians consider a massacre worthwhile.”
What transpires in “Barbara Allen” is simple enough on the surface. Yet since the lyrics provide little exposition or back story, the reasons for the behavior of the main participants are enigmatic. The song tells the story of young William who, as he lies on his deathbed, calls out for Barbara. She takes her time getting to his side, only to treat him coldly due to a social foul he committed against her at a tavern. On her journey home, she hears the “death bell knellin” and, knowing it tolls for William’s death, suddenly regrets her hardness and knows she will soon die of grief for him.
Harsh stuff, right? Maybe too harsh, even for audiences who were used to Shakespeare’s plays and their numerous deaths. As such, a variant on the song quickly arose that included a leavening epilogue whereby the lovers are buried side-by-side. From William’s grave grows a rose, from Barbara’s a briar, and the two flowers eventually intertwine, providing the deceased pair eternal unison.
It’s what left out of the song that keeps us coming back for answers. If all William did was drink a toast to the wrong ladies, surely he didn’t deserve treatment so nasty from a girl he truly loved. Or was this single incident indicative of his wayward behavior as a whole? And what changed in Barbara’s mind and heart from the time she left him to when she heard that bell? In that short journey, she transformed from hard-hearted to sympathetic without any middle ground spent in consideration of all that had transpired.
This sort of unexplainable behavior from characters was also emblematic of Shakespeare (think King Lear or Hamlet), so maybe the original writer had that kind of strangeness in mind. It makes the song more psychologically realistic, since we all tend to do things when guided by passion or spite that defy logic and reason.
The murkiness of the motives and the beauty of the melody is an irresistible combination. As such, many legendary contemporary artists have found the song irresistible. Dylan, for one, not only covered “Barbara Allen” at various times in his career, but he also used Barbara’s home base of “Scarlet Town” as a jumping-off point for an equally mysterious song on 2012’s Tempest.
While there have been many powerful and moving renditions of “Barbara Allen”, Art Garfunkel may have given the definitive modern reading on his 1973 solo album Angel Clare. Whatever lesson you take from the song, whether it’s that even a moment of taking the one you love for granted can come back to haunt you, or that life is too short for petty grievances, you’ll likely be mesmerized by the mercy Garfunkel’s ethereal vocal grants these two lovers. It’s just too bad they didn’t show each other that same kind of mercy until it was far too late.
Roger Keck
I have a very old, and very long (lyrics only) version that tells the whole story. It's made clear that Barbara has treated William badly for the many years he courted and cajoled her, repeatedly denying his marriage proposals until they both grew old. It's clear she was cold and heartless to the end, to the point of dragging her feet to his deathbed and citing an imagined slight as good reason for her heartless behavior.
lejeune1945
A superb version !!
Myriam Bordes
Beautiful song 👍👍
Helga Alpers
Wonderful song of the Everly Brothers.
Will Drucker
Been listening to the Everly Brothers for decades...but never heard this song until only a few years ago....now it’s one of my favorites...well done boys
George Petty
From "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us," which bombed commercially (1957-1958, I think). Great album from these folk, rock, & folk-rock pioneers.
Lex Soft
One of least known song by Everly B, like "Take a Message to Marry".
Lex Soft
@111sienna I mean to most people. I heard this song 1st time in early 1980s from a cassette I borrowed from my friend. It consists of this song, Devoted to You, Take a Message to Marry, ...
Dimension X
Who the hell downvoted this?