Wanda Jackson (born Wanda Lavonne Jackson, October 20, 1937 in Maud, Oklaho… Read Full Bio ↴Wanda Jackson (born Wanda Lavonne Jackson, October 20, 1937 in Maud, Oklahoma) is an American rock and roll singer. Having made her debut recordings at the age of nineteen, she became one of the first popular female rock and roll singers in history and as a result, a pioneering and influential figure in female musicianship. She is known as the "Queen (or First Lady) of Rockabilly."

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.

Sparklin Brown Eyes
Wanda Jackson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's a ramshackle shack down in old Caroline
Keeps a callin' me back to theat man of mine
Oh if I had the wings of a beautiful dove
Yeah don't you know I'd fly to the man I love

Those two brown eyes that sparkle with love shinin' down on me from up above
Yeah if I had the wings of a beautiful dove yeah I'd fly to the man I love
There's a ramshackle shack...

[ guitar ]

Those two brown eyes...

Overall Meaning

The song "Sparkling Brown Eyes" by Wanda Jackson tells the story of a woman who is longing to be with her lover again. She talks about a shack in old Caroline that keeps calling her back to her man. She expresses her desire to have the wings of a beautiful dove so that she can fly to her lover. The lyrics suggest that the woman is far away from her lover and the distance is preventing them from being together.

The line "Those two brown eyes that sparkle with love shining down on me from up above" suggests that the woman is not only talking about a physical distance but also an emotional one. She is reminiscing about the love and affection she received from her lover and how much she misses it now. The repetition of the line "if I had the wings of a beautiful dove, I'd fly to the man I love" emphasizes the longing and desperation she feels.

Overall, the song captures the emotions of a woman who is deeply in love and wants nothing more than to be reunited with her lover.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a ramshackle shack down in old Caroline
There is a rundown house in Old Caroline that keeps tempting me to go back to my man.

Keeps a callin' me back to that man of mine
The house keeps calling to me to go back to my man.

Oh if I had the wings of a beautiful dove
If only I had wings like a dove,

Yeah don't you know I'd fly to the man I love
I would fly to be with the man I love.

Those two brown eyes that sparkle with love shinin' down on me from up above
I see his eyes shining down on me from above filled with love.

Yeah if I had the wings of a beautiful dove yeah I'd fly to the man I love
I would fly to be with the man I love if only I had wings like a dove.

There's a ramshackle shack...
The song goes back to the start about the rundown house in Old Caroline tempting the singer to go back to her man.

[ guitar ]
Instrumental piece.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WINFIELD SCOTT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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