Jackson was still in high school when country singer Hank Thompson heard her sing on an Oklahoma City radio show and asked her to record with his band in 1954. She dated Elvis Presley, who encouraged her to step away from the country-tinged gospel she had been performing since childhood and try her hand at rock and roll. She developed her own distinctive voice and performed in a variety of styles, from folksy traditional tunes to country twang and high yodels to throaty, suggestive ballads. She was a prolific singer of songs with wry lyrics such as "Fujiyama Mama," which contained many references to the World War II bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; ironically, it became a #1 hit in Japan. Her biggest hit was 1959's "Let's Have a Party."
Jackson achieved great and continuing success throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia, but has never found the same level of fame in her native United States. She toured with rock and roll pioneers such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. She has been nominated for two Grammys, and has been awarded the Oklahoma Native Daughter Award. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the International Hall of Fame, the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, and the German Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 2009 was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence.
A born-again Christian, Jackson and her husband/manager Wendell Goodman abandoned rock and roll in 1971 and spent the next 25 years performing gospel in churches.
In 1996, Jackson was invited by alt-country singer Rosie Flores to duet with her on an upcoming album. The two were so pleased with the results that Jackson joined Flores on a handful of promotional club dates which were soon extended into a five-week North American tour. Jackson, plesantly surprised to discover that she and her songs were known by a generation of rockabilly fans her grandchildren's age, soon assembled her own band and returned to clubs and festivals, where she continues to perform.
In recent years Jackson has recorded with such artists as The Cramps, Lee Rocker, Dave Alvin, and Elvis Costello. 2006 saw the release of a new Jackson album, I Remember Elvis.
In 2009, it was announced that Jackson would start work on new recordings with Jack White. The resulting album, The Party Ain't Over, was released on January 25, 2011. It included a cover of the Bob Dylan rockabilly song, "Thunder on the Mountain" and the Amy Winehouse song "You Know I'm No Good". On January 20, 2011, she performed with Jack White on The Late Show With David Letterman and again on January 25, 2011, on Conan.
It Happens Every Time
Wanda Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It tears me up, time and time again
Just when I think I got you of my mind
Oh, you break my heart, it happens every time
Every night I dream of only you
It's really all I ever seem to do
I think about the days when you were mine
Every time my friends tell me that soon I will forget
Or maybe, that day will come, but it hasn't happened yet
And I'm still here awaiting in that line
Oh, but you don't care, it happens every time
When I think of I'm finally over you
Forget about the things we used to do
Just when it seems I got it all behind
Oh, I break right down, it happens every time
Oh, I break right down, it happens every time
Oh, I break right down, it happens every time
The lyrics to Wanda Jackson's song "It Happens Every Time" describe the pain of unrequited love and the struggle to move on from a past relationship. The singer is torn up every time she sees the person she loves with her friend, and their presence still haunts her in her dreams. She keeps holding onto the hope that she will eventually forget, but she can't seem to let go. The chorus serves as a reminder that every time she thinks she's over them, something happens that brings all of the hurt back and causes her to break down.
The emotional rawness of the lyrics is accompanied by the twangy guitar and upbeat rhythm of a classic rock and roll song, creating a juxtaposition between the pain described in the words and the liveliness of the melody. The repetition of the phrase "it happens every time" drives home the fact that the singer's heartbreak is a recurring cycle, an experience that many listeners can relate to.
Overall, "It Happens Every Time" is a timeless classic that still resonates with people today because of its honest depiction of the bittersweet nature of love and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time I see you with my friend
Every time I catch you with my friend, it brings back painful memories.
It tears me up, time and time again
It hurts me deeply and regularly.
Just when I think I got you off my mind
Just when I thought I had moved on from you,
Oh, you break my heart, it happens every time
you break my heart again, every time.
Every night I dream of only you
Every night I only dream about you.
It's really all I ever seem to do
I can't seem to stop dreaming about you.
I think about the days when you were mine
I reminisce about the time we were together.
Oh, it hurts myself, it happens every time
It hurts me so much, it happens every time.
Every time my friends tell me that soon I will forget
Whenever my friends try to console me and say that I will soon forget about you,
Or maybe, that day will come, but it hasn't happened yet
or maybe the day will come when I'll forget, but it hasn't come yet.
And I'm still here awaiting in that line
I'm still waiting in line for that day to come.
Oh, but you don't care, it happens every time
But you don't care about how I feel, and this happens every time.
When I think of I'm finally over you
When I finally think I'm over you,
Forget about the things we used to do
I try to forget about the things we did together.
Just when it seems I got it all behind
Just when I think I've moved on from you completely,
Oh, I break right down, it happens every time
I break down and feel hurt all over again, and this happens every time.
Oh, I break right down, it happens every time
I break down and feel hurt all over again, and this happens every time.
Contributed by Vivian P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.