Roe was raised in Atlanta, Georgia where he attended Brown High School and was part of band. Greatly influenced by the sounds of the late Buddy Holly, Tommy Roe developed a unique style that, combined with his All-American clean-cut image, made him a popular musical performer throughout the 1960s. In April of 1961 he became a father to daughter Cynthia; he has 3 grandchildren.
Roe had a Billboard No.1 hit record hit in the United States and in Australia in 1962 with the song, "Sheila" and the following year scored two Top 10 hits with "Everybody" and the critically acclaimed "The Folk Singer" written by Merle Kilgore. Following the enormously successful tour of the United Kingdom by friend Roy Orbison, Tommy Roe toured there and then moved to England where he lived for several years. In 1965, he and Jerry Lee Lewis combined with Orbison to create an LP for the Pickwick International label. During the 1960s, he had several more top forty hits. In 1969, his song "Dizzy" went to No.1 on the UK Singles Chart as well as to Billboard's No.1 in the USA. His final Top 40 single was "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" in 1970.
A resident of Beverly Hills, California, Roe is married to Josette Banzet, an actress from France who won a Golden Globe Award for best supporting for her performance in the 1976 television mini-series, Rich Man, Poor Man. His daughter Cynthia still resides in Georgia with her family.
In 1986, Tommy Roe was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Although his style of music declined in popularity with the 1970s mass market, Tommy Roe maintained a following and continued to perform at a variety of concert venues, sometimes with sixties nostalgia rock and rollers such as Freddy Cannon and Bobby Vee.
Partial discography (singles)
* "Sheila" (1962)
* "Everybody" (1963)
* "The Folk Singer" (1963)
* "Sweet Pea" (1966)
* "Hooray for Hazel" (1966)
* "Dizzy" (1969)
* "Jack And Jill" (1969)
* "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" (1970)
The Folk Singer
Tommy Roe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The above lyrics entice a story of a folk singer who initially sang his romantic songs to his beloved Sara Jane, captivating the mountains with love. However, as the singer's fame grew, he became more and more engrossed in his success, causing his relationship with Sara Jane to diminish. Despite his newfound fortune, the singer lost his voice, leaving him unable to continue with his passion. In light of his situation, Sara Jane recognizes the man she fell in love with and now no longer sees him as the self-absorbed person he had become, but rather as the man she originally fell in love with. Hence, she reignites their love, and he regains his voice with the power of love.
Tommy Roe's song is an indication of how fame can change people's perceptions and relationships. In the beginning, the folk singer was a loving person who sang of love to his sweetheart. However, as he grew more famous, he became egocentric and sees that he no longer needed Sara Jane in his life. The lyrics present Sara Jane's character as an individual who can recognize the inner beauty of someone rather than focusing on their outer appearance. She acknowledges that love is what brings happiness, and by focusing on that aspect of the folk singer, he regains his voice and joy.
Line by Line Meaning
He used to sing his songs to his Sara Jane,
The folk singer used to sing his songs to his beloved named Sara Jane with great passion and enthusiasm.
The folk singer,
Refers to the singer of the song, who is a famous singer known for singing folk songs.
His songs filled with love made the mountains ring,
The folk singer's songs, which were full of love and passion, were so powerful that they echoed throughout the mountains.
To the folk singer,
This line emphasizes how famous and appreciated the folk singer was for his work.
At first Sara Jane was to be his bride,
Initially, Sara Jane was supposed to be married to the folk singer.
But as his fame grew she was pushed aside,
As the folk singer became more famous, he started to ignore and neglect Sara Jane.
So the mountain girl would say good-bye,
Sara Jane, who belonged to the mountains, eventually had to say goodbye to the folk singer.
To the folk singer,
This line again emphasizes the importance and popularity of the folk singer.
He let his hair grow long and he dressed in style,
As the folk singer became more successful, he started to adopt a new style by growing his hair and dressing in fashionable clothes.
The folk singer,
Reiterates the identity of the artist who is a famous folk singer.
His voice was pure and the fans went wild,
The folk singer had a pure and enchanting voice which drove his fans crazy with excitement and admiration.
For the folk singer,
This line emphasizes how much the fans loved and idolized the folk singer.
He said Sara Jane was much too plain,
The folk singer commented that Sara Jane was not attractive enough for him.
So he left her alone as he grew more fame,
As the folk singer became even more famous, he abandoned Sara Jane and moved on to bigger and better things.
But sorrow will come like a mountain rain,
This line foreshadows that the folk singer will experience a setback or tragedy in the future.
To the folk singer,
Emphasizes the identity of the artist, who is facing some misfortune.
Lavished in glory, fortune at his feet,
The folk singer was extremely successful and rich, with everyone idolizing him and his work.
The folk singer,
Reiterates that the singer is the folk singer who is facing some sort of crisis.
Awoke one morning and he couldn't speak,
One day, the folk singer suddenly lost his ability to speak and sing due to some unfortunate circumstance.
The folk singer,
Again emphasizes the artist and his dire situation.
The doctor said his singing days were through,
The doctor confirmed that the folk singer won't be able to sing again in the future.
Thousands wept, Sara Jane did too,
Many people were devastated and cried over the folk singer's loss, including Sara Jane who still loved him.
He could not sing now, his friends were few,
As the folk singer could no longer sing, he lost many of his friends and followers who were only interested in his music.
The folk singer,
Again emphasizes the identity of the artist, who is facing isolation and despair.
Sick at heart in the mountains again,
The folk singer, feeling heartbroken and lost, returned to the mountains where he was born and raised.
The folk singer,
Reiterates the identity of the singer.
Now Sara Jane didn't look so plain,
The folk singer, who had abandoned Sara Jane earlier due to her looks, now found her to be beautiful and attractive.
To the folk singer,
Emphasizes the shifting perspective of the artist towards Sara Jane.
Oh the power of love can do strange things,
This line signifies how love can drastically change someone's view, as it did for the folk singer regarding Sara Jane.
Cause love has made him sing again,
The power of love motivated the folk singer to start singing again.
Only now he sings for his Sara Jane,
The folk singer now sings for Sara Jane, his long-lost love, in order to express his love for her.
The folk singer,
Emphasizes how the artist's identity has changed over the course of the song.
And once again the mountains ring,
The folk singer's melodious voice echoes throughout the mountains once again just like before.
To the folk singer,
Emphasizes how popular and loved the folk singer has become once again due to his music.
The folk singer,
Reiterates the identity of the singer.
Lyrics Β© RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: M. KILGORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thomas Duff McGready
Still as brilliant as it was the first time it was out many years back.
The Folk Singer.
Always forever a true real talent classic without any fail or doubt guaranteed. It's now the year 2021 and look at the date this was released way on back.
All real true talent classic songs always forever will go on.
Because they don't brain wash and cause serious damage to the ears and mind of many children like
RAP Crap. Still today many parents ignore and show there children's ears and mind means nothing when there small very young children of Boys and Girls sing R, A, P.
Look at the adverts on TV with very young children rap crap singing.
And the parents say they don't want to hurt there child's feelings.
Believe me much more than there child's feelings will definitely be hurt with singing and always listening to rap trash rubbish garbage that makes no clear plain sense.
It's a true known fact and still many ignore it.
Those who say and think.
I don't want to hurt my child's feelings because he likes rap and head banging screaming boom base blasting music.
RAP, Very Loud Noise Music Blasting and head banging screaming curse swear songs and only all of those.
The outcome is serious damage destruction to the heart, mind, body, spirit and soul.
So much more than just hurting feelings.
All of those always guaranteed without any fail or doubt send many on the wrong roads and paths in life.
The Folk Singer like many other quiet peaceful easy listen calm relaxing take it easy songs.
There's no damage or destruction.
There's peace.
Those who don't understand peace..
They damage and destroy with being out of control antisocial.
Heading into a life of crime.
Noice disturbing is what it is.
Henry Byrd
Saw Tommy sing this in London in1963. One of the support acts was an upcoming group called The Beatles. I took my latest girlfriend to the show. I stayed with this girl and we have been married for 55 years.
Mike Hagan
Beautiful song. One of my all time faves.
philip norris
And one of mine too.
TheVideoGamer64
One of the best Tommy Roe songs ever made! Great video of one of my favorite 60s singers of all time! :)
Rosemaria Coakley
When I was 10 back in 67 at primary school. One of the teachers made a play out of this song. Just using Tommy Rowe songs. It was brilliant.
Adrian Cooke
One of my favourite songs when I was a kid
David Walsh
Simply beautiful music by a fantastic singer
Vels Vivard
I like your channel so much. Don't stop posting, keep them coming.
Alan Rabjohns
I fully concurβ€β€β€ππππ π ππππ
mandy stinson
Love this song