As country music swung back toward traditional styles in the 1980s, an inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard rose to the top of the business and notched hit after barroom hit. Sometimes he was known simply as "the Voice." Born in Woodland, AL, Vern Gosdin idolized the Louvin Brothers and the Blue Sky Boys as a young man and sang in a gospel quartet called the Gosdin Brothers.
When he was in his late teens, his family moved to Birmingham and began hosting The Gosdin Family Gospel Show on a local radio station. Gosdin and his brother, Rex, moved to Long Beach, CA, in 1961.
They began performing bluegrass music in the milieu that gave birth to country-rock, joining a group called the Golden State Boys which evolved into The Blue Diamond Boys in 1962 when future Byrds member Chris Hillman joined them on the mandoline. Shorty after they would rename again to The Hillmen which disbanded in the summer of 1964, when Chris Hillman left to join the BYRDS. During this time the group recorded an album, which was released by Together Records in 1970 as "Don Parmley And The Five String Banjo". Vern and Rex teamed up to sing country music as the Gosdin Brothers once again, had a Top 40 country hit in 1967 with "Hangin' On," and opened for the Byrds on occasion.
Gosdin moved to Atlanta in 1972, raising a family and running a retail shop. But he never gave up on music completely. He performed at local clubs and began to gravitate toward Nashville, where Emmylou Harris, a friend of Gosdin's from his California days, was laying the foundation for a neo-traditionalist style of country music. Around 1976 Gosdin and Harris cut a demo single consisting of "Hangin' On" backed with a newly written song, "Yesterday's Gone." The demo got Gosdin signed to the Elektra label, and both songs cracked the country Top 20. In the late '70s he notched several major hits, including "Till the End" (with Janie Fricke), "Mother Country Music," and a remake of the Association's "Never My Love."
In 1980, after the demise of Elektra's country division, Gosdin quickly moved through several contracts and landed with the independent Nashville label Compleat. He made the Top Ten consistently in the early '80s, really hitting his stride when he teamed with Max D. Barnes as a songwriting collaborator. The pair specialized in songs of cheating and barroom romance, often delivering an over-the-top emotionalism that got Gosdin compared to the ultimate legend of honky tonk vocals, George Jones. In 1983, Gosdin had two Top Five hits — "If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong (Do It Right)" and "Way Down Deep." The following year he had his first number one single with "I Can Tell by the Way You Dance (You're Gonna Love Me Tonight)" and had two additional Top Ten hits. His career hit a lull in the mid-'80s, but in 1987, with the new traditionalist movement in full swing and Warner Bros. artist Randy Travis roosting at the top of the charts, he was tapped by the Columbia label. He bounced back into the Top Ten that year with the tortured "Do You Believe Me Now," and in 1988 he hit number one once again with the perennially popular Ernest Tubb tribute "Set 'Em Up Joe." Gosdin's "Chiseled in Stone," co-written with Barnes, won the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1989. His 1989 album Alone was a rarity: a concept album in a traditional country style. It chronicled the dissolution of Gosdin's marriage. Vern's popularity is again on the rise as 2008 sees the release of his life's works on a 101 song Box Set titled 40 Years of The Voice. This living legend continues to represent pure traditional country.
Time Stood Still
Vern Gosdin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But now its upside down
Time stood still
When you said goodbye.
You made my heart complete
Then broke it at my feet
Time stood still
And now the seasons dont change
The days have no names today is like yesterday
I lean on the wine but your memories
Like time, baby, won't stay away.
To get you off my mind
Just takes a little time
But time stood still
When you said goodbye...
Vern Gosdin's song "Time Stood Still" tells a story of heartbreak and the way it can completely disrupt someone's life. The song starts with the singer reflecting on their past relationship and how their partner made their life complete. However, everything changed once their partner said goodbye, and now the singer's world feels like it's upside down. The imagery of time standing still is used to show how difficult it is for the singer to move on from their heartbreak.
As the chorus repeats, the singer acknowledges that getting over their ex will take time, but the pain of the breakup has made it feel like time has stopped entirely. The mention of seasons not changing and days having no names further emphasizes this feeling of being stuck in time. And even though the singer tries to drink away their memories, they can't escape the pain of their lost love.
Overall, "Time Stood Still" is a powerful depiction of how heartbreak can leave someone feeling lost and hopeless. The use of time as a metaphor enhances the sense of being trapped in this feeling, and the chorus repeating the song's title drives home the emotional impact of the song's message.
Line by Line Meaning
You made my world go round
You were the center of my universe and my reason for living.
But now its upside down
But now my life is in complete disarray and everything I once knew has been uprooted.
Time stood still
The world stopped moving when you left, as if time ceased to exist without you.
When you said goodbye.
Your departure was such a traumatic event that I feel like I'm frozen in that moment forever.
You made my heart complete
You were the missing piece that made my heart whole, and I felt like I could conquer the world with you by my side.
Then broke it at my feet
But now you've shattered my heart into a million pieces, and I feel like I'll never recover.
And now the seasons dont change
Since you've been gone, everything has felt stagnant and unchanging, like time itself stopped moving forward.
The days have no names today is like yesterday
Every day feels like a never-ending cycle of sameness, and it's hard to differentiate between one day and the next.
I lean on the wine but your memories
I turn to alcohol to try and dull the pain of your absence, but your memories keep flooding back and reminding me of what I've lost.
Like time, baby, won't stay away.
Just like time, no matter how hard I try to ignore my feelings and move on, the memories of you remain and continue to haunt me.
To get you off my mind
I thought that with enough time and distraction, I could forget about you and move on with my life.
Just takes a little time
But the reality is that it's going to take a lot longer than I thought, and even the smallest reminders of you send me spiraling back into my grief.
But time stood still
And it all goes back to that painful moment when you said goodbye, a moment that will continue to haunt me for a long time to come.
When you said goodbye...
A moment when my whole world was turned upside down, and when time itself seemed to stop moving forward.
Writer(s): Robert John Jones Copyright: Blue Lake Music A Div. Of Rio Nuevo Ent. LLC
Contributed by Hunter S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John Cochran
These singers sure knew how to put the words into a song that really tried how we feel or have felt at one point in life. I wish they still made country music like this.
james hogue
They broke the mold,when they made Vern Gosdin. Miss him Dearly.
Love me like use to Darling
Yes I wish they still
TEXASGUNFIGHTER
The "Voice" probably has the angels in heaven weeping when he sings this song. I can't wait to get there so I can hear him sing every day on that big stage in the sky!
Judith Cooper
It's 15 mos . and I still hurt for my husband. I still can't believe he's gone. We had over 50 yrs. together. This song says it all.
nemesisgenius
This ballad speaks to the heart. Country radio must have been deaf not to play this gem enough. Only hit #51 when this should have hit #1 back in 1986. Beautifully crafted song and perfectly sung and written by the voice himself. Vern Gosdin.
Double D
What can you say! Such a voice! Such a song with so much meaning! Vern, we love you man. RIP
Youggle-It ....... if-n ya can't fix-it.
one of my many favorite Vern's songs, wow! still holds up 40 years later.
Amy Waldron
Great song! I can't believe it didn't make it any higher on the charts. I've loved Vern for as long as I can remember. Thanks for posting this. :)
MrJNFan
This song literally gives me chills. I am sitting here in 90 degree weather and I have goosebumps. Maybe it hits a little closer to home because I am going through a major heartache. Man is this good.