"Rocky" is a song written by Ronald Johnson (aka Woody P. Snow) and performed by American country music artist Dickey Lee. It was released in July 1975 as the fifth single and title track from the album Rocky. On the country chart, "Rocky" was Lee's most successful single, and his only number one. It spent fourteen weeks on the chart, including one week at number one.[1]
In a paradoxically upbeat melody in a major key, Rocky, the title protagonist, tells the tragic story of his young wife in first person. He first recalls the day four years earlier where, as an 18-year-old college student, he met his wife-to-be (unnamed in the song) and recalls how well they hit it off. She accepts Rocky's marriage proposal, and they spend the next several months fixing up an old house to make their home. The two soon learn they are expecting their first child, a girl.
Although the family has its usual problems, the happy memories outweigh the bad. One example is a particularly rambunctious first birthday party for the couple's daughter. With things going well and the family settling in on a content life, Rocky soon gets devastating news: his wife has been diagnosed with an apparently inoperable illness — the specific illness is unidentified in the song — and that she has only a short time to live.
All of this is told in flashback, as in the final verse, his young wife has died. Rocky is now a widower and raising his daughter alone. He feels a sense of sadness every time he looks at his daughter, who strongly resembles her mother, and now doing the same things alone that he once did with his wife. However, he feels a sense of hope, with his wife looking down on him and the couple's daughter and reassures that his love for her will always remain safe.
Each of the first three verses — telling one of the chapters in the couple's life — ends with the woman having a sense of fear of the unknown, expressed through the refrain's statement, "Rocky, I've never…," followed by the appropriate follow-up ("been in love before," "had a baby before," "had to die before") and the unassured, "Don't know if I can do it." However, both he and she realize that the strength they have in each other can help them meet each challenge head on. At the end, Rocky says that "if the world would end, your love is safe with me." The fourth refrain has Rocky envisioning hearing his deceased wife reassure, "Rocky, you know that you've been alone before, you know that you can do it," and that in her own way, she can still advise him in his time of need.
Also, in 1975, Austin Roberts recorded a version which reached number 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in Canada in 1975.[3] The track reached #22 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1975; Roberts' only chart appearance in the UK.[4]
^Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 202.
^"Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN0-89820-142-X.
^"Top 20 Hit Singles of 1976". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
January 01, 1970
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For other songs with this title see Rocky disambiguation Music Rocky is a song written by Ronald Johnson aka Woody P Snow and performed by American country music artist Dickey Lee It was released in July 1975 as the fifth single and title track from the album Rocky On the country chart Rocky was Lee s most successful single and his only number one It spent fourteen weeks on the chart including one week at number one 1 Rocky Single by Dickey Leefrom the album RockyB side The Closest Thing To You ReleasedAugust 1975RecordedJuly 11 1975GenreCountryLength3 40LabelRCASongwriter s Ronald JohnsonProducer s Roy Dea Dickey LeeDickey Lee singles chronology The Door is Always Open 1975 Rocky 1975 Angels Roses and Rain 1976 Rocky Single by Austin Robertsfrom the album RockyB side You Got the Power ReleasedJuly 1975GenrePopLabelPrivate Stock RecordsSongwriter s Ronald JohnsonProducer s Bob MontgomeryAustin Roberts singles chronology Keep on Singing 1973 Rocky 1975 Children of the Rain 1975 Contents 1 Content 2 Chart performance 2 1 Dickey Lee version 3 Austin Roberts recording 3 1 Austin Roberts version 3 2 Weekly charts 3 3 Year end charts 4 Cover versions 5 ReferencesContent editIn a paradoxically upbeat melody in a major key Rocky the title protagonist tells the tragic story of his young wife in first person He first recalls the day four years earlier where as an 18 year old college student he met his wife to be unnamed in the song and recalls how well they hit it off She accepts Rocky s marriage proposal and they spend the next several months fixing up an old house to make their home The two soon learn they are expecting their first child a girl Although the family has its usual problems the happy memories outweigh the bad One example is a particularly rambunctious first birthday party for the couple s daughter With things going well and the family settling in on a content life Rocky soon gets devastating news his wife has been diagnosed with an apparently inoperable illness the specific illness is unidentified in the song and that she has only a short time to live All of this is told in flashback as in the final verse his young wife has died Rocky is now a widower and raising his daughter alone He feels a sense of sadness every time he looks at his daughter who strongly resembles her mother and now doing the same things alone that he once did with his wife However he feels a sense of hope with his wife looking down on him and the couple s daughter and reassures that his love for her will always remain safe Each of the first three verses telling one of the chapters in the couple s life ends with the woman having a sense of fear of the unknown expressed through the refrain s statement Rocky I ve never followed by the appropriate follow up been in love before had a baby before had to die before and the unassured Don t know if I can do it However both he and she realize that the strength they have in each other can help them meet each challenge head on At the end Rocky says that if the world would end your love is safe with me The fourth refrain has Rocky envisioning hearing his deceased wife reassure Rocky you know that you ve been alone before you know that you can do it and that in her own way she can still advise him in his time of need Chart performance editDickey Lee version edit Chart 1975 Peakposition US Hot Country Songs Billboard 2 1 Canadian RPM Country Tracks 9Austin Roberts recording editAlso in 1975 Austin Roberts recorded a version which reached number 9 on the U S Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in Canada in 1975 3 The track reached 22 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1975 Roberts only chart appearance in the UK 4 Austin Roberts version edit Weekly charts edit Chart 1975 Peakposition Australia Kent Music Report 5 25 Canada RPM Top Singles 10 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 6 20 Germany 1 Ireland IRMA 7 13 New Zealand 8 38 South Africa Springbok 9 1 UK Singles Chart 10 22 US Billboard Hot 100 11 9 US Billboard Easy Listening 12 22 US Cash Box Top 100 11 Year end charts edit Chart 1975 Rank Australia 5 190 Canada 13 93 U S Joel Whitburn s Pop Annual 14 100 Chart 1976 Rank South Africa 15 16Cover versions editin 1979 Jimmy Orion Ellis recorded his version The song had been translated into Dutch Don Mercedes hit 1 in June 1976 in the Nederlandse Top 40 A German version had been recorded by Frank Farian hitting the German 1 for four weeks and Dutch Top 10s References edit Whitburn Joel 2004 The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits 1944 2006 Second edition Record Research p 198 Dickey Lee Chart History Hot Country Songs Billboard Allmusic Austin Roberts Charts amp Awards Billboard Singles Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 465 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 a b Australian Chart Book Austchartbook com au Retrieved 2016 10 10 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca 1975 10 25 Retrieved 2018 09 05 The Irish Charts Search Results Rocky Irish Singles Chart Retrieved September 2 2018 NZ Top 40 Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart Nztop40 co nz 1975 09 15 Retrieved 2016 10 10 SA Charts 1965 March 1989 Retrieved 1 September 2018 Top 100 1975 top source info Retrieved 17 June 2016 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Whitburn Joel 1993 Top Adult Contemporary 1961 1993 Record Research p 202 Image RPM Weekly Library and Archives Canada Bac lac gc ca 17 July 2013 Retrieved 2016 10 10 Whitburn Joel 1999 Pop Annual Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Record Research Inc ISBN 0 89820 142 X Top 20 Hit Singles of 1976 Retrieved 2 September 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rocky song amp oldid 1163005257, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
