The War interrupted any thoughts of a musical career, and it was not until both brothers returned from the service that they were able to make their own mark in music -- ultimately ending up on WCYB Bristol, Tennessee, where they would remain for over ten years as stalwarts of the famed "Farm and Fun Time" radio show. Their music initially followed a more old time style favored by Mainer's Mountaineers, with Ralph playing the banjo in the old two-finger style, interspersed with old time clawhammer playing, before taking a stab at the new three-finger style popularised by Earl Scruggs.
They formed The Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. They were perhaps the first band to adopt the new music style created by Bill Monroe in the mid-1940s that later became known as bluegrass. Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the greatest singers in the history of country music. The brothers also wrote many of their own songs and Carter had a particular knack for writing deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. The Stanley's style can best be described as a traditional "mountain soul" sound that remained close to the Primitive Baptist vocal stylings they learned from their parents and others near their southwestern Virginia home.
The early Stanley Brothers recordings on Rich-R-Tone (of Johnson City, Tennessee) included Pee Wee Lambert on mandolin. They later added an innovative touch to their traditional sound with the guitar solos of George Shuffler who often used a crosspicking style.
Carter performed briefly with Bill Monroe while Ralph was recovering from injuries received in an automobile accident in 1951. As bluegrass music grew less popular in the late 1950s, the Stanley Brothers moved to Live Oak, Florida to headline the weekly Suwannee River Jamboree radio show on WNER. The three-hour show was also syndicated across the Southeast. Otherwise the brothers performed together until 1966 (from 1961 on as a duo). After Carter's death Ralph revived the Clinch Mountain Boys and is still performing in 2006. Among the musicians who have played in the revived Clinch Mountain Boys are Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, Curly Ray Cline, Jack Cooke, and Ralph Stanley II. Ralph's career received a big boost with his prominent role on the phenomenally successful soundtrack recording of the 2000 film, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?." The Stanley Brothers were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1992.
Among the Stanley Brothers' best known recordings are:
* I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow (1950, Columbia)
* Rank Stranger
* Angel Band
* How Mountain Girls Can Love
* How Far to Little Rock? (novelty)
* Still trying to get to Little Rock (novelty)
* Ridin' That Midnite Train
* Clinch Mountain Backstep
* She's More To Be Pitied
* The Memory of Your Smile
* Love Me Darlin' Just Tonight
Clinch Mountain Boys Members
* Carter Stanley (guitar)
* Ralph Stanley (banjo)
* Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert (mandolin)
* Jim Williams (mandolin)
* Curly Lambert (mandolin)
* Leslie Keith (fiddle)
* Robert "Bobby" Sumner (fiddle)
* Les Woodie (fiddle)
* Ralph Mayo (fiddle, guitar)
* Chubby Anthony (fiddle)
* Art Stamper (fiddle)
* Joe Meadows (fiddle)
* Red Stanley (fiddle)
* Don Miller (fiddle)
* Vernon Derrick (fiddle)
* James "Jay" Hughes (bass)
* Ernie Newton (bass)
* Chick Stripling (bass)
* Mike Seeger (bass)
* Bill Napier (guitar, mandolin)
* George Shuffler (guitar, bass)
* Larry Sparks (guitar)
External links
* Ralph Stanley Discography
* Recording of "We Are Going to Paint the Town" from a 1958 Florida radio show (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
* Podcast (mp3) of one of the Stanley Brothers' Suwannee River Jamboree raido show from 1958 (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
Stone Walls and Steel Bars
The Stanley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a three time loser I'm long gone this time
Jealousy has took my young life
All for the love of another man's wife
But I've had it coming I've known all the time
No more stone walls and steel bars and you on my mind
Guards all around me leading my way
But I've had it coming at the end of the line
No more stone walls and steel bars and you on my mind
The Stanley Brothers' song Stone Walls and Steel Bars depicts the repercussions of engaging in an affair. The lyrics express the singer's feelings of regret and despair as he faces the consequences of his actions. He is imprisoned, separated from the woman he loves, and forced to endure the agony of living in a cell surrounded by stone walls and steel bars.
The phrase "stone walls and steel bars" is used throughout the song to convey the singer's sense of entrapment and confinement. He is not only incarcerated physically, but his mind is also consumed by thoughts of the woman he was involved with. He acknowledges that he was aware of the risks and dangers of his affair, but jealousy blinded him, ultimately leading to his downfall.
The song's somber tone and mournful melody highlight the heartbreaking reality of the singer's situation. The Gray-haired warden and guards represent the harshness and unforgiving nature of the system that the singer finds himself trapped in. In the end, he accepts his fate with a sense of resignation, wishing only for the freedom and release that comes with leaving behind his love for the other man's wife.
Line by Line Meaning
Stone walls and steel bars a love on my mind
My love for someone is being suffocated by my imprisonment in a jail with stone walls and steel bars.
I'm a three time loser I'm long gone this time
I have been caught by the law and failed three times before, and now I know that I won't be coming out of prison any time soon.
Jealousy has took my young life
My obsession with someone else's spouse has ruined my life because of my intense jealousy and desire for them.
All for the love of another man's wife
I am in prison for pursuing a married woman and doing something illegal or morally wrong in order to be with her.
But I've had it coming I've known all the time
I have always been aware of the consequences of my actions, and I'm not surprised that I ended up in prison because of my choices.
No more stone walls and steel bars and you on my mind
I am determined to move on from my obsession with this person, and I am looking forward to a future where I am no longer surrounded by prison walls and thoughts of them.
Gray-haired warden deep Frisco Bay
I am facing the consequences of my actions in a Federal prison located in the infamous and notorious San Francisco Bay area, and many of my captors are older and experienced prison officials.
Guards all around me leading my way
I am constantly being monitored by prison guards who are guiding me and watching over me, and I have no freedom to do what I want anymore.
But I've had it coming at the end of the line
I knew that my choices would lead me to this point, and I am now at the end of the line, with no more chances or opportunities to escape my fate.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ray Pennington, Roy Eugene Marcum
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheGreyGhost_of43rd
If this ain't playing at my funeral i aint goin
@stevepickford3894
Great comment. 😁
@countrychess
👍 🤭
@mike21302
my cousin and I got drunk and arrested one night while in the back of the cruiser header to south western regional jail my cousin and I sang this song to the top of our lungs all the way to the jail...the cop hated us ..R.I.P. Beagle
@mike21302
And while im thinking of it fuck you Trooper Schoolcraft !!
@donniehicks3214
I worked with a boy knickname beagle.over here n Floyd county ky
@goforbroke4428
@@donniehicks3214 you familiar with Wayland? My grandfather was born there.
@larrymcmichael8035
Salute brother. As a country boy I am with ya. Fuck Barney fife and the law. Keep the tune humming. I am singing it with ya
@coinslotsandjoysticks2572
Thank God I live in ky where I grew up and I still hear this on the radio every day, along with others from its time,
@mrgoogan
Texas plays nothing like this 😞