The first known public appearance of the Osborne Brothers was in 1951. They joined the cast at WCYB Bristol, Virginia, to perform on a program called "Farm and Fun Time", along with other Bluegrass bands, such as, The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Carl Story and his Rambling Mountainers. Other members of "Farm and Fun Time" included, Jim & Jesse, Little Robert Van Winkle, Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers, and country recording artist Red Kirk. The live program aired five days a week, Monday through Friday from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm on WCYB Radio, and covered five states.
Upon their breakout into the bluegrass scene, the Osborne Brothers quickly became noted for their virtuosic instrumentation and tight, melodic vocal harmonies. Their first country chart appearance was "Once More", a 1958 trio with Red Allen, with a then-novel inverted stacked harmony: Bobby singing the lead line highest, then Sonny singing baritone, and finally the third singer (in this case Red Allen) singing the tenor as the lowest part. This placed Bobby's distinctive voice as the lead, and made the third voice a somewhat interchangeable part. As a result, the brothers could hire a series of guitarist/singers without changing their overall sound. This "high lead" vocal trio became their signature sound, used to great effect in the country market, with songs like "Blame Me", "Sweethearts Again", and a remake of the Carter Family's "Fair and Tender Ladies".
During their breakout period of the mid 1950s, Sonny's banjo and Bobby's mandolin styles became distinctive and easily-identifiable with their overall sound. The band was inducted as members of the Grand Ole Opry on August 8, 1964.
The Osborne Brothers have the distinction of having recorded two songs that would go on to be officially voted as "state songs." The first, "Rocky Top," was named a Tennessee state song in 1982. The other, "Kentucky," was named a state song for the brothers' home state of Kentucky.
In 1994, The Osborne Brothers were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Honor. The induction is considered bluegrass music's highest honor.
Rocky Top
The Osborne Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Down in the Tennessee hills
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
Half bear, other half cat
Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop
I still dream about that
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
Lookin' for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
Reckon they never will
Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top
Dirt's too rocky by far
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
I've had years of cramped-up city life
Trapped like a duck in a pen
All I know is it's a pity life
Can't be simple again
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
The Osborne Brothers's song, Rocky Top, is an ode to the beauty and simplicity of life on Rocky Top in Tennessee. The song opens with the singer expressing his longing to be on Rocky Top, nestled in the Tennessee hills, where there is no smog or pollution and no need to worry about phone bills. The singer’s draw to Rocky Top is so strong that he finds himself still dreaming about a girl he once knew who was wild as a mink but sweet as soda pop.
The second verse of Rocky Top shifts to two strangers who climbed Rocky Top looking for a moonshine still and have never come down. The lyrics note that the dirt on Rocky Top is too rocky for corn to grow, which is why the moonshiners get their corn from a jar. The chorus reinforces that, although Rocky Top may not be the easiest place to live, it will always be home sweet home to the singer.
The final verse of the song finds the singer reflecting on his “cramped-up city life,” which has left him feeling trapped like a duck in a pen. He longs for the simplicity of life on Rocky Top, where things are uncomplicated and life is good. Rocky Top captures the essence of the American dream, highlighting the beauty and allure of living in the countryside, free from the complexity of modern life.
Line by Line Meaning
Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top
I long to be back on the beautiful mountain known as Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Nestled away in the rolling hills of Tennessee
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
There's no pollution to be seen when looking at the stunning landscape of Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Life on Rocky Top is simple, and without the need for modern expenses like telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
In my earlier days, I had a lover who shared my experiences living in the beauty of Rocky Top
Half bear, other half cat
She was wild and untamed, yet had a mysterious quality that I found irresistible
Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop
Her personality was unlike any other; untamed like a wild animal, yet sweet and bubbly like a refreshing soda
I still dream about that
Though years have passed, I still reminisce about the love I once had on Rocky Top
Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
On one occasion, two people I did not know made their way up the mountain to search for moonshine
Lookin' for a moonshine still
They were seeking out a hidden spot where moonshine was being produced
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
The strangers never returned from their adventure on the mountain, likely lost to the beauty and mystery of Rocky Top
Reckon they never will
It's unlikely that they will ever return; Rocky Top has a way of holding onto those who venture up
Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top
The rocky terrain makes it difficult for crops to grow on Rocky Top, including corn
Dirt's too rocky by far
The soil composition is too rocky and unstable to support crops
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top
The community relies on moonshine as a source of sustenance and income, due to the difficulty of farming on the mountain
Get their corn from a jar
Instead of growing corn, the people of Rocky Top distill it into one of their most famous products: moonshine
I've had years of cramped-up city life
My more recent years have been spent living in a crowded, urban environment
Trapped like a duck in a pen
I feel confined and restricted, like an animal in captivity
All I know is it's a pity life
Living without the freedom and simplicity of Rocky Top feels like a waste of life
Can't be simple again
It's impossible to fully return to the uncomplicated existence of life on Rocky Top, but the memories will always be cherished
Rocky Top, you'll always be
No matter what I go through in life, Rocky Top will remain an important part of my identity
Home sweet home to me
Rocky Top is not just a place, but a feeling of safety and belonging
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top is steeped in tradition and valued by all who have experienced it
Rocky Top, Tennessee
A celebration of the great state of Tennessee and all the beauty it has to offer
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Rick James
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Wadiyatalkinabeet_
Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
Half bear, other half cat
Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop
I still dream about that
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
Lookin' for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
Reckon they never will
Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top
Dirt's too rocky by far
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
I've had years of cramped-up city life
Trapped like a duck in a pen
All I know is it's a pity life
Can't be simple again
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
@ninjadave1970
@@VintageMusicHub These are quite similar even, to the ones out in the Utah's Unita Basin, where Skinwalker ranch is. The government special select committee on intelligence, spent 22 million dollars of taxpayers money on a study of them, because of fears that Russia was gaining a technological advantage over us from their own study into Bigfoot and the Paranormal. What led into the secret Pentagon ATIP program, the investigation into what they termed was Unknown Aerial Phenomenon or UAP's including the UFO's and orbs which are also encounter with these creatures.
There's a University of Tennessee Anthropology student and volunteer at the Mcclung Museum of Early History named Kellie Kinder who made the remarkable achievement of decoding the petroglyphs types of writing from stick figure glyphs, that it's actually a ancient Celtic dialect language that the Bigfoot are speaking. The ones in East Tennessee speak English as well as having a Celtic or what sounds like an Irish accent.
Many of the early Welsh ,Scottish , and Irish people who came to settle in East Tennessee, called them Wildman or Wildmen in Tennessee from the ones back in the United Kingdom where they call them Green Man and Wildmen still to this day there. When we begin this study into the East Tennessee Wildman or Bigfoot, we learned many things about them from their Middle East origins from both DNA that included native Americans with a common European ancestor to many of types of people with European ancestry as well as from the Black Sea region of Mesopotamia and even fron Syria. It's from this region where the other hybrid came from, like the Cat People, who are from the ancient land of Syria called Moab. In the Bible in Second Samuel there's a mention of two "Lion like Men"...
This Man Bear, Cat like Bigfoot I'd seen has a mixture of features which makes him even more primitive than other Bigfoot people in East Tennessee who have language and written alphabet who's is as those from giants, or who appear more human looking but are still covered with body hair.
When we look back at the history of the Bronze Age, and the discovery of bronze artifacts in North American mound burials , there's even more connections to both the Welsh trade for tin, and the copper mines in Michigan that date as far back as 12500 to 9500 years ago some of them. Then there's the world's source of copper from the ancient land of Edom where Esau settled according to Jewish history.
Esau who's mentioned as being a "hairy man" in the Bible, was so hairy that his brother Jacob was covered in a animals skin to steal the blessing and inheritance from Esau who became a progenitor of these hair covered people known early on as Edomites.
As the Edomites became wealthy from the trade for copper for tin during the bronze age, and spread out around the Mediterranean region and into parts of Europe early on even established the city of Rome from its foundation, under the catacombs of Rome. We begin to start to see how during the time of the Phoenicians there was cross continent trade established, between Wales and Upper Michigan, up until Alexander the Great destroyed the Celtic fleet of ships, some 400 of them, while in harbor.
I believe its during this time many of the hairy people from the Middle East migration occurred as slaves ti work the mines. As the evidence even suggests the same open pit mining technology and technics were being used to mine Copper in Edom and Michigan. Over time the Bigfoot who were becoming more like Neanderthals having less and lesser hair, became breed into with the modern humans of today, as the Edomites can still be traced back to many of the people of Russia, who's name also mean Red, as the meaning of Edom is also Red. All the various types of creatures have their origins from this same region in the Middle East, and the study of those origins actually began with the hybridization of the mixing of DNA with Angels. What's even mentioned in the Bible as the "Sons of God " had relationships with the daughters of men, and it calls them" Men of Renown" these mighty men, and the Nephilim.
@Jesusofsuburbia27
Rest in peace, Bobby. Thanks for the music!
@roachmancam9012
My 84 yr old mom w dementia absolutely loves this song. Whenever shes feeling down this always brightens her mood and makes her smile and dance and play air banjo.
@gabegarrow8088
Point
@danielamiller4484
Blessings to your family ❤️
@jasonjackson6244
Love it , makes me happy too
@keileymynk9324
I love him & this song so much it's unreal
@hubbabubba1686
Blessings to your family
@beckr11
RIP to the great Bobby Osborne. Legend.
@sams9753
I live in gatlinburg, TN and my sweet 3 year old knows every word to this song 🎃 🎉
@VintageMusicHub
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