The brothers were born in Hardy, Arkansas. They first attracted attention as child performers, beginning in 1937, in an act called The Wilburn Children;[1] Roy Acuff discovered them and brought them to the Grand Ole Opry in 1940.[2] Due to federal child labor laws, the Wilburns were forced to leave the Opry after six months.
After growing up, they continued to travel and were regulars on the similar Louisiana Hayride program in Shreveport from 1948[3] until 1951. After the family act disbanded, and the brothers served stints in the US Army during the Korean War, they continued in 1953 as The Wilburn Brothers touring with Faron Young and Webb Pierce.[4] They signed with Decca Records in May 1954[5] and had their first hit record the same year titled "Sparkling Brown Eyes." Other notable hits include "Go Away With Me" (1956), "Which One Is To Blame" (1959), "Trouble's Back In Town" (1962), "It's Another World" (1965), and "Hurt Her Once For Me" (1967).
In 1956, the Wilburns were offered the chance to record "Heartbreak Hotel" before Elvis Presley. After hearing the song they decided against recording it, describing it as "strange and almost morbid".
In addition to being successful artists, the Wilburns formed the Wil-helm Talent Agency (with Don Helms) in the early 1960s as well as the Surefire Music Publishing Company in 1963. They were instrumental in launching the careers of many country music legends, most notably Loretta Lynn, whom they signed to their music publishing company. Lynn was the "girl singer" of the Wilburns' touring show between 1960 and 1968[9] and she made weekly appearances on their syndicated television show from 1963 to 1971.[8] The brothers also discovered Patty Loveless in the early 1970s.
The Wilburn Brothers had a syndicated television program, The Wilburn Brothers Show, that ran from 1963 to 1974, with 354 half-hour episodes produced. Reruns can still be seen on the cable network RFD-TV and in the UK on Rural TV. They were Opry members from 1953 until the time of Doyle's death from cancer in 1982 (at age 52). Teddy continued with the Opry as a solo artist until his death in 2003, six days before his 72nd birthday.
They are both buried in the Nashville National Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.
Burning Bridges
The Wilburn Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now they're gone I'd burned them to ashes don't want nothing to remind me of you
Burning bridges behind me it's too late to turn back now
Burning bridges behind me all I want is to forget you somehow
I sold the house that we once planned together
I said goodbye to all the friends that we knew
Then I moved to a faraway city tryin' so hard to forget about you
The Wilburn Brothers' song Burning Bridges is about a man who is trying to move on from a failed relationship. He's found some letters his former partner wrote him, which reminded him of their love, but he's chosen to burn them to ashes. The act of burning the letters for him means he's closing the door on that relationship permanently. He's trying to create distance between himself and his past by selling their planned house and saying goodbye to their mutual friends. Now living in a faraway city, he's trying hard to forget about his former partner.
The song reflects the pain and heartache of a broken love tale. The longing for one's lover, wanting to forget them, to move on, and start anew. The lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, and it's not uncommon to relate to them from different experiences in our lives. It is a powerful song that has resonated with many people over the years since its release.
Line by Line Meaning
Found some letters you wrote me this morning and they told of the love we once knew
I received some letters you wrote me today that reminded me of the love we had in the past.
Now they're gone I'd burned them to ashes don't want nothing to remind me of you
I couldn't bear the memories the letters brought back, so I burned them to ashes to forget you and our past together.
Burning bridges behind me it's too late to turn back now
I know I can't go back to the past and rekindle our relationship, so I'm moving on and cutting all ties with you.
Burning bridges behind me all I want is to forget you somehow
My only desire is to let go of you and our past, so I'm burning all bridges between us and starting anew.
I sold the house that we once planned together
I got rid of the house we had hoped to spend our future in because it only reminds me of you.
I said goodbye to all the friends that we knew
I had to let go of our mutual friends since they were a constant reminder of our past relationship.
Then I moved to a faraway city tryin' so hard to forget about you
I relocated to a distant place to start afresh and leave behind all memories of you.
Contributed by David Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.