<… Read Full Bio ↴Tracy Lawrence (born 27 January 1968) is an American country musician.
Tracy Lawrence was born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Ark., Lawrence played in his first band at the age of 16. He attended Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, where he was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity. In 1990 Lawrence left Arkansas and went to Nashville.
Lawrence took jobs as an ironworker and in phone sales while he tried to break into the Nashville music scene. He began participating in talent shows and earned enough money to live on. In 1991 he had a gig at the Bluebird Cafe and met Wayne Edwards who became his manager.
With Edwards assistance Lawrence signed with Atlantic Records and released his first album "Sticks and Stones." On 31 May 1991 Lawrence walked his former girlfriend to the door of her hotel room and was confronted by three armed men. The men robbed them and attempted to force Lawrence and his friend into her motel room. Lawrence resisted and was shot four times, allowing his friend to escape. Two of the wounds were major and necessitated surgery. One of the bullets remains imbedded in Lawrence's pelvis.
Lawrence's album shot up the charts to number one on the back of publicity from the shooting and spawned several Top 10 singles. Lawrence's second album Alibis went Platinum and generated three straight Number One singles.
Lawrence was Billboard's Top New Male Vocalist in 1992 and received the Academy of Country Music's Best New Artist and Top New Male Vocalist in 1993.
In 1994 Lawrence released his third album, I See It Now was also a Platinum album. Lawrence released a Live album in 1995 and another studio album entitled Time Marches On in 1996. In 1997 Lawrence released another album entitled Coast is Clear which he co-produced. All told, Lawrence generated 7 Number One singles by this time and every one of his albums at this point in his career had gone Platinum.
In 2005, he released the album "Then & Now: The Hits Collection" that had him singing new vocals on the majority of his hit songs, as well as two new songs, "Used to the Pain" and "If I Don't Make it Back." both of which charted on the Billboard Country Charts. The new recordings sounded very similar to the previous ones, although on some tracks, such as "I See It Now" and "If The World Had a Front Porch" Lawrence's maturity may have improved the vocals, giving them a little more depth. The main reason for re-recording the songs instead of just making a run of the mill greatest hits collection was that Lawrence had switched record labels and Universal Music Group, who he currently records for, does not hold the rights to the old recordings. The new album was very well received and is leaving fans wanting even more out of the unique country star.
In 2006, Lawrence launched Rocky Comfort Records (RCR), a partnership with his manager Laney Lawrence. The label will operate as a joint venture with CO5 Nashville (a division of CO5 Music). His new single "Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” will be released to radio August 21, 2006 with his first studio album on the RCR/CO5 Nashville imprint scheduled for release in early 2007.
Lawrence is known to have a wide range with sounds ranging from neotraditional country to songs with a definite southern rock feel.
Lawrence has visited US troops involved in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and annually participates in a golf tournament to raise funds for cystic fibrosis research. Lawrence has also purchased equipment for his hometown high school in Arkansas.
Lawrence has been inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.
Sticks And Stones
Tracy Lawrence Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keep the diamond ring 'cause that's how I meant it
Sticks and stones are all they ever were to me
This material life with all it's value
Don't mean a thing to me without you
The love that we once had is all I need
So take everything we have if it makes you happy
These sticks and stones ain't all that makes a home
They don't have arms to hold you when love goes wrong
Now you say we are through
Those sticks and stones may break me
But the words you said just tore my heart in two
Remember when we didn't have a dime between us
You took my hand and said we don't need much
Just as long as we're together we would be fine
Now we've acquired all I thought would please you
I gave everything you know that I could
And still you're telling me you're not satisfied
So take everything we have if it makes you happy
But darling let me say before I leave
These sticks and stones ain't all that makes a home
They don't have arms to hold you when love goes wrong
Now you say we are through
Those sticks and stones may break me
But the words you said just tore my heart in two
These sticks and stones may break me
But the words you said just tore my heart in two
Tracy Lawrence’s song ‘Sticks and Stones’ is a song about how the material possessions in life don't mean anything if love is not present. It's a story of a breakup that happened because the singer's partner was not satisfied with what they had and always wanted more. In the first verse, the singer tells his partner that they can take everything they have acquired since they started dating, including the house and the diamond ring, but that the love they once had is all he needs. He emphasizes that the things they have don't mean anything to him without his partner's love.
The chorus emphasizes the idea that love is what makes a home, not objects. ‘Sticks and stones may break me, but the words you said just tore my heart in two’ reflects how the singer's partner hurt him in ways that he can't physically see. In the second verse, the singer reflects on how they started with nothing and how his partner once said that they didn't need anything but each other. However, as they started accumulating wealth, his partner became dissatisfied, and the singer gave everything he could to make her happy. The breakup came as a result of his partner's desire for more.
Overall, the song encourages people to focus on the love they have for each other rather than material possessions. It's a reminder that money cannot buy happiness or love.
Line by Line Meaning
You can take the house and everything in it
You can have all the material possessions in the house that we shared
Keep the diamond ring 'cause that's how I meant it
You can keep the diamond ring that I gave you with love and affection
Sticks and stones are all they ever were to me
All the material things are just objects, and have no emotional value to me
This material life with all it's value
The luxurious life that we had lived so far
Don't mean a thing to me without you
But now all the material things have lost their significance as you are no longer with me
The love that we once had is all I need
All I need is the love that we shared while we were together
So take everything we have if it makes you happy
You can have everything we own if it makes you happy
But darling let me say before I leave
But before I go, let me tell you something
These sticks and stones ain't all that makes a home
Material possessions alone cannot make a home
They don't have arms to hold you when love goes wrong
Material things cannot provide emotional support when a relationship falls apart
Now you say we are through
Now that you have decided to break up with me
Those sticks and stones may break me
The physical pain caused by sticks and stones may hurt me
But the words you said just tore my heart in two
But the emotional pain caused by the words you said is far worse, and has broken my heart into pieces
Remember when we didn't have a dime between us
Recalling the times when we had no money
You took my hand and said we don't need much
You held my hand and said that we don't need many material things to be happy
Just as long as we're together we would be fine
Being together was enough to make us happy
Now we've acquired all I thought would please you
Now that we have all the material things I thought would make you happy
I gave everything you know that I could
I gave you everything I could, including material and emotional support
And still you're telling me you're not satisfied
But even after everything I gave, you are not happy with me
These sticks and stones may break me
The physical pain caused by sticks and stones may hurt me
But the words you said just tore my heart in two
But the emotional pain caused by the words you said is far worse, and has broken my heart into pieces
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES MILNE WALSH, SACHA SKARBEK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@steveng.willis618
To me, the 90's was the last of when country music sounded like country.
@karmella-rose5159
Soooo true!!!
@willburkett4612
Jamie Johnson is the only true country artis today
@rozedawgizaqt1959
True the country music nowadays are shitty
@theREALchubert76
AMEN.
@beausmith4764
Will Burkett well we also got Aaron Lewis, Chris Stapleton, Sturgil Simpson and Whiskey Myers
@TheMadStork83
This is such an overlooked country song. This is such a beautiful song, and Tracy Lawrence hits the notes so perfectly.
@lauriemouncey7636
My favorite TL song
@davebourque210
Seen him in concert a couple months ago and he walked off stage like it was over and came back on bc we were all screaming sticks and stones and he shut the place down everyone went nuts one of the greatest ever
@dinamariepope
Bring this kind of REAL COUNTRY MUSIC back!!