The brothers adopted the name Louvin Brothers in the 1940s as they began their career in gospel music. Their first foray into secular music was the minor hit "The Get Acquainted Waltz", recorded with Chet Atkins. Other hits included "Cash on the Barrelhead" and "When I Stop Dreaming". They joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and stayed there until breaking up in 1963.
Their songs were heavily influenced by their Baptist faith and warned against sin. Ira Louvin was notorious for his drinking, womanizing, and short temper. He was married four times; his third wife Faye shot him four times in the chest and twice in the hand after he allegedly beat her. Although seriously injured, he survived. When performing and drinking, Ira would sometimes become angry enough on stage to smash his mandolin; otherwise his style was heavily influenced by Bill Monroe.
As of 1963, Charlie was making enough money that he was able to start a solo career, and Ira also went on his own.
Ira died on June 20, 1965, at the age of 41. He and his fourth wife, Anne Young, were on the way home from a performance in Kansas City when they came to a section of construction on Highway 70 outside of Williamsburg, Missouri where traffic had been reduced down to one lane. A drunken driver struck their car head-on, and both Ira and Anne were killed instantaneously.[4] At the time, a warrant for Ira's arrest had been issued on a DUI charge.
Country-rock band The Byrds recorded the Louvin-penned "The Christian Life" for their 1968 release Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
In 2001, the Louvin brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The tribute CD Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers, produced by Carl Jackson and Kathy Louvin and released in 2003, won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Country Album.
Although the brothers are still remembered today for their musical talent, they are also remembered for the unusual cover used for their 1959 album, Satan Is Real. Designed by Ira Louvin, the cover features the brothers standing in a rock quarry in front of a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) plywood rendition of the Devil as several hidden tires soaked in kerosene burn behind them as fire and brimstone. While some reviewers count this as being one of the "greatest iconic album covers of all time", the cover can also be found today on several Web sites celebrating unusual or bizarre album covers. The cover has also become an Internet meme on a number of Web sites such as Fark.com, where it has been posted in discussion threads as an example of religious views of the era.
The opening bars of the album's title track "Satan is Real" can be heard at the beginning of Hank Williams III's "Medley: Straight to Hell / Satan is Real", on his Straight to Hell album of 2006. It is also excerpted in Will Ferrell's 2009 one-man Broadway show, You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush.
My Baby Is Gone
The Louvin Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hold back the rushing minutes
Make the wind lie still
Don't let the moonlight shine
Across the lonely hill
Dry all the raindrops
And hold back the sun
My world has ended
The milkman whistles softly
As he comes up to my door
The mailman brings the letters by
Just like he did before
They seem so busy all day long
As though there's nothing wrong
Don't they know the world has ended
My baby's gone
[Chorus]
I wake up sometimes in the night
And realize you're gone
And then I toss upon my bed
And wait for day to come
I try to tell my lonely heart
It must go on alone
But it cries the world has ended
My baby's gone
The Louvin Brothers’ song Track My Baby’s Gone is a poignant account of the pain of losing a loved one. In the song, the singer speaks of how the world seems to keep moving despite the fact that his world has essentially come to a halt. He implores for time to stand still and for everything to stop moving. The chorus is a cry for the world to fit in with his sorrow, for the rushing minutes to be held back, the wind to lie still, the moonlight not to shine, the raindrops to be dried, and the sun to be held back.
The verse speaks of the mundane activities that continue despite his personal loss. The milkman whistles as he comes to the door with the milk bottles, and the mailman brings the letters, all as they did before the loss. The singer wonders how they can keep going when his world has shattered. He laments that he wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night and realizes his loved one is gone, and he tosses and turns on his bed, waiting for daylight. He tries to console his heart, to tell it to move on alone, but it cries that the world has ended because his baby is gone.
All in all, Track My Baby’s Gone is a moving song that speaks of the despair that comes with losing someone dear. The lyrics are simple yet powerful, and the beautiful harmony of the Louvin Brothers adds to the emotional impact of the song. It is a beautiful expression of grief and despair, and it is a tribute to the enduring power of love and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold back the rushing minutes
Slow down time and don't let the minutes fly by so quickly
Make the wind lie still
Stop the wind from blowing so hard and stirring up emotions
Don't let the moonlight shine across the lonely hill
Stop the moon from shining so brightly and reminding me of my loneliness
Dry all the raindrops
Stop the rain from falling and adding to the sadness and gloominess that I feel
And hold back the sun
Stop the sun from shining and bringing light to a world that feels so dark
My world has ended
The departure of my loved one has left my world in shambles
My baby's gone
My loved one has left me and is no longer with me
The milkman whistles softly
Life goes on as usual for everyone else, although my world has come to a halt
As he comes up to my door
The milkman continues his routine of delivering milk to my doorstep
The mailman brings the letters by
The mailman continues delivering letters to me, despite my heartache
Just like he did before
My daily routine hasn't changed, but my loved one is no longer a part of it
They seem so busy all day long
Everyone else continues to move on with their lives, while I am stuck in the past
As though there's nothing wrong
No one else seems to notice or care about my heartache and pain
I wake up sometimes in the night
My grief and sadness follows me even into my sleep
And realize you're gone
I come to the painful realization that my loved one is no longer with me
And then I toss upon my bed
I become restless and unable to find comfort or peace despite being in my own bed
And wait for day to come
I long for the night to end and to start a new day without my loved one
I try to tell my lonely heart
I make an attempt to comfort myself and move on
It must go on alone
My heart must learn to cope with the absence of my loved one
But it cries the world has ended
My heart aches and longs for my loved one, and I cannot fathom life without them
My baby's gone
My loved one is no longer here, and I am left with a world that feels empty and meaningless
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HAZEL MARIE HOUSER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind