Brenda Lee Sings the Blues in “Johnny One Time”

Brenda Lee is one of the leading female artists of the ’50s and ’60s era. Her record sales and chart performances speak for itself and she was able to share the spotlight with some of the biggest names in the music industry like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Ray Charles.

Although she is a crossover artist, the legacy that she left in country music is as big as her heart.

Brenda Lee’s Legacy

Brenda Lee is known to perform all kinds of genres, like rockabilly, pop, and country music. The versatility in her voice was what made her loved by many fans and the music industry itself. Some of her major hits were “I’m Sorry” and 1958’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” which has become a Christmas standard.

With the height of 4 ft 9 inches tall (approximately 145 cm), she was dubbed as  “Little Miss Dynamite.” This may also be because of the song she wrote  at the age of 9 called “Dynamite.” Lee is also made history to be the only woman inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame.

Lyrics Breakdown

Oh, Did he tell you that your heart
Would soon become another trinket on his bracelet

You could tell that a song is great if the lyrics are cleverly written like this one. The track talks about Johnny who only knows how to break a girl’s heart and that the women should be wary of him. Another ‘trinket on his bracelet’ is a good metaphor for being another ‘one of his conquest of women.’ This should not be the case for men as they should treat their lovers as their Queen. Women are not like an object to be owned and discarded once you get bored of them.

The song teaches us that there are those men that do not know how to love and respect other people. These are the type of people that we should avoid if we don’t want our hearts broken.

Listen to Brenda Lee’s song here: