About The Song
“Open Up Your Heart” was one of the key hits that kept Buck Owens and the Buckaroos on top of the country world in the mid-1960s. Written by Owens himself, the song was released as a single on Capitol Records on August 15, 1966, and later used as the title track of his studio album Open Up Your Heart. Clocking in at just about two and a half minutes, it delivered everything the Bakersfield Sound promised: bright Telecaster twang, a driving beat and a hook so simple and welcoming that listeners could sing along before the first play was over.
The sessions for the song took place at Capitol Studios in Hollywood between April and August 1966, with longtime producer Ken Nelson behind the board and the Buckaroos in peak form. Owens was riding a remarkable streak by this point, knocking out hit after hit in an almost assembly-line run of singles and albums. When the full LP Open Up Your Heart arrived on December 27, 1966, it shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, one more confirmation that the West Coast alternative to the Nashville Sound had become a commercial powerhouse in its own right.
On the singles chart, “Open Up Your Heart” performed exactly like a classic Buck Owens record. The song climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles survey in the fall of 1966 and stayed there for four weeks, spending a total of twenty weeks on the country chart. Contemporary radio and trade reports describe it as one of the most-played records of the season, and later discographies point to it as part of the run of mid-’60s singles that made Owens almost unbeatable on country radio. Decades on, reissue labels and box sets still highlight the track as one of the core hits of his golden era.
Even without chart statistics, you can hear why it connected. The lyric is built around a simple invitation: if you open up your heart and let love in, the sun will start shining again. The narrator is speaking to someone who has been hurt and shut down, promising that the world will look different if they give him — and love itself — another chance. There is nothing complicated or literary in the phrasing; instead, Owens leans on everyday language and a conversational tone, making the song feel like a friendly neighbor talking across the fence rather than a preacher lecturing from the pulpit.
Musically, the record is classic Bakersfield Sound, with a few subtle twists. Owens sings lead in his clear, ringing tenor while the Buckaroos stack harmonies around him, and the rhythm section keeps a firm, lightly swinging backbeat underneath. Electric guitars snap and “chicken pick” against the groove, a sound that later CD notes credit in part to guest virtuoso James Burton adding extra Telecaster sparkle. The arrangement stays tight and uncluttered; there are no strings, no choirs, just a hard country band playing with the confidence of musicians who know they are shaping a new style.
Within the context of the album, “Open Up Your Heart” sits alongside other major hits like “Sam’s Place” and “Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line,” making the record feel almost like a greatest-hits collection recorded in real time. Critics looking back have noted that the album edges slightly closer to pop in spots, with lighter, sometimes sillier material appearing alongside the hardcore honky-tonk. Even so, the title track anchors everything in the sharp, uptempo Bakersfield sound that first made Owens famous, and it shows him at a moment when his artistic instincts and commercial success were perfectly aligned.
Today, “Open Up Your Heart” remains a staple on Buck Owens compilations and streaming playlists, including multi-disc retrospectives and deluxe box sets that cover his 1965–1968 recordings. It may not be as instantly famous outside country circles as “Act Naturally” or “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail,” but for fans of the Bakersfield Sound it captures exactly what made Owens special: emotional directness, irresistible rhythm and a kind of sunlit optimism that still feels fresh decades after the original 45 stopped spinning off jukeboxes.
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Lyric
Open up your heart and let my love come in
Open up your heart and let my life begin
The sun’s gonna shine, there’ll be blue skies again
When you open up your heart and let my love come in
I know you’ve been hurt by an old love affair
But darling, don’t blame me, I wasn’t even there
Your long lonely nights I will bring to an end
When you open up your heart and let my love come in
Open up your heart and let my love come in
Open up your heart and let my life begin
The sun’s gonna shine, there’ll be blue skies again
When you open up your heart and let my love come in
Someone before me has treated you like dirt
Someone before me has made your heart hurt
Your long lonely nights I will bring to an end
When you open up your heart and let my love come in
Open up your heart and let my love come in
Open up your heart and let my life begin
The sun’s gonna shine, there’ll be blue skies again
When you open up your heart and let my love come in
When you open up your heart and let my love come in