The Everly Brothers were an American country-influenced rock and roll duo, … Read Full Bio ↴The Everly Brothers were an American country-influenced rock and roll duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014), the duo was raised in a musical family, first appearing on radio singing along with their father Ike Everly and mother Margaret Everly as "The Everly Family" in the 1940s. When the brothers were still in high school, they gained the attention of prominent Nashville musicians like Chet Atkins, who began to promote them for national attention.

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

More Than I Can Handle
The Everly Brothers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

More than I can handle
More than I can handle
More than I can handle
She’s a little too much for me

My baby, she’s a ball of fire
She’s got everything that my heart desires
But she’s always driving in the fast lane

And I don’t know if I can do that again

(Well)
I love her and there ain’t no doubt
But her love is ‘bout to wear me out

It’s more, more than I can handle
More than I can handle
More than I can handle
She’s a little too much for me

My baby stole my heart and soul
The way she moves makes me lose control
Just to hear her voice and my knees go weak
And it leaves me breathless I can hardly speak

(Well)
This affair is just too intense
That kind of lovin’ don’t make no sense

It’s more, more than I can handle
More than I can handle
More than I can handle
She’s a little too much for me

I’m grateful for her sweet love
It’s the only thing that I’m certain of
Friends say, I’m such a lucky man
But my only wish is that she’d understand

More than I can handle
More than I can handle
More than I can handle
She’s a little too much for me

More than I can handle
More than I can handle
More than I can handle
She’s a little too much for me

More than I can handle

More than I can handle
More than I can handle

Overall Meaning

The Everly Brothers’ song “More Than I Can Handle” is about a man who is overwhelmed by his passionate relationship with his partner. He describes her as a “ball of fire” who has everything he desires, but her intensity is wearing him out. He loves her but her love is just too much for him to handle. He describes how he loses control due to the way she moves and speaks, leaving him breathless and weak in the knees. He’s grateful for her love, but he wishes that she could understand that he can’t keep up with her level of intensity.

The lyrics reveal the challenges of passionate relationships, where the intensity can be too much to handle. While the singer loves his partner, he realizes that it’s difficult to keep up with her fast-paced life. He’s grateful for her love, but he’s honest about his limitations.

Overall, “More Than I Can Handle” is a heartfelt ballad that captures the complexities of relationships. It’s a song that many people can relate to, as it speaks to the joys and challenges of love.

Line by Line Meaning

More than I can handle
The situation with his girlfriend is overwhelming him and he feels like it's too much to handle.

More than I can handle
He repeats this line to emphasize how much pressure he's under with his girlfriend.

More than I can handle
Once again, he acknowledges that the intensity of the relationship is too much for him to handle.

She's a little too much for me
He admits that his girlfriend's personality and actions are too intense for him to handle.

My baby, she’s a ball of fire
His girlfriend is full of energy and personality, which he finds exciting.

She’s got everything that my heart desires
His girlfriend has all the qualities he looks for in a partner.

But she’s always driving in the fast lane
She's always pushing the boundaries, taking risks, and living life to the fullest.

And I don’t know if I can do that again
He's been hurt before and he's not sure if he can handle the intense nature of their relationship.

I love her and there ain’t no doubt
Despite his reservations, he still loves his girlfriend deeply.

But her love is ‘bout to wear me out
The intensity of their relationship is taking a toll on him both physically and emotionally.

This affair is just too intense
Their relationship is overwhelming and he's not sure if he can keep up with it.

That kind of lovin’ don’t make no sense
He's starting to question whether their intense relationship is sustainable and healthy.

My baby stole my heart and soul
His love for his girlfriend is all-consuming and has taken over his life.

The way she moves makes me lose control
His girlfriend's actions and personality make him feel like he doesn't have control over his own emotions.

Just to hear her voice and my knees go weak
Even just hearing his girlfriend's voice has a physical effect on him, showing how deep his feelings run.

And it leaves me breathless I can hardly speak
He's so overwhelmed by his emotions for his girlfriend that he has trouble expressing himself.

I’m grateful for her sweet love
Despite the difficulties, he's still thankful for the love his girlfriend gives him.

It’s the only thing that I’m certain of
His relationship with his girlfriend might be overwhelming, but he knows that he loves her deeply.

Friends say, I’m such a lucky man
His friends envy the love he has with his girlfriend.

But my only wish is that she’d understand
He wishes that his girlfriend could understand how he feels and how difficult their relationship is for him.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL WILLIAM HUGH VERNON, WILLIAM P. WINGFIELD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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