The year was 1962, a time of significant change and upheaval in America as the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War began taking hold. Amidst all this, country music star Skeeter Davis released a song that would become one of the biggest hits of the year and one of her most enduring songs – “The End of the World.”
Davis had already established herself as a major star in the country music field, having achieved solo success after starting as part of the Davis Sisters in the late 1940s. But “The End of the World” would take her to even greater heights, as it became a crossover hit, charting high on both the country and pop charts and the easy listening chart.
The song’s success was a testament to Davis’ talent as a singer and songwriter and her ability to convey emotion and connect with her audience. As one commenter on YouTube put it, “This song perfectly describes what one feels when one loses a love. It’s so touching. Skeeter was such a sensitive poet.”
But despite the song’s popularity, a sense of sadness pervades it, a sense that something is ending and nothing can be done about it. As Davis sings, “Why does my heart go on beating? / Why do these eyes of mine cry? / Don’t they know it’s the end of the world? / It ended when you said goodbye.”
Yet even in the face of this sadness, there is a glimmer of hope, a sense that life will go on despite the pain of loss. Another YouTube commenter noted, “I have always loved this song for its bittersweet beauty. It captures the heartbreak and the feeling that life goes on, even when we feel it can’t.”
And indeed, life did go on for Skeeter Davis after the success of “The End of the World.” She had several other hits in the country-pop crossover genre, including “I Can’t Stay Mad at You,” which also charted high on the pop charts.
But “The End of the World” remains her most enduring song, a testament to her talent and the enduring power of music to connect us and to the deepest parts of ourselves.
If you haven’t heard “The End of the World” before, I encourage you to check out the performance from 1962 on YouTube. And if you have heard it before, I encourage you to listen to it again, to rediscover the beauty, sadness and hope it contains.
Watch this video and share it with your friends because this song is a timeless classic that speaks to the heart of what it means to love and to lose. It is a reminder that even amid the most challenging times, there is always hope and the promise of a new beginning.
