# The End of the World (Skeeter Davis song)
**"The End of the World"** is a pop and country ballad written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee and recorded by the American country singer [Skeeter Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/skeeter-davis), released on RCA Victor in late 1962[1](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b3b0060d-94b7-30b6-bedb-e56f325c28b1) • [2](https://schmusa.de/skeeter-davis-mit-end-of-the-world-in-den-song-geschichten-376/). In early 1963 it became one of the era's most successful crossover records, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top five of three other [Billboard charts](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-charts), and it became Davis's signature song[3](https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/sunday-morning-country-classic-spotlight-to-feature-skeeter-davis-2/) • [4](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Songwriters | Composer Arthur Kent, lyricist Sylvia Dee[1](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b3b0060d-94b7-30b6-bedb-e56f325c28b1) |
| Recording | June 8, 1962, RCA Studios, Nashville; produced by Chet Atkins, with Floyd Cramer on piano[5](https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/skeeter-davis-chet-atkins/) |
| Single | RCA Victor 47-8098, paired with "Somebody Loves You"; released December 1962[6](https://www.45cat.com/record/478098) • [2](https://schmusa.de/skeeter-davis-mit-end-of-the-world-in-den-song-geschichten-376/) |
| Billboard peaks | No. 2 Hot 100, No. 2 Hot Country Singles, No. 1 Easy Listening, No. 4 Hot R&B Singles[3](https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/sunday-morning-country-classic-spotlight-to-feature-skeeter-davis-2/) |
| UK chart | Peak No. 18, first chart date 20 March 1963, 13 weeks on the Official Singles Chart[7](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/skeeter-davis-end-of-the-world/) |
| Sales | Over one million copies sold, awarded a gold disc[4](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/) |
| Distinction | The first, and to date the only, time a song cracked the Top 10 on all four major Billboard singles charts[3](https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/sunday-morning-country-classic-spotlight-to-feature-skeeter-davis-2/) |
## Writing and meaning
The song was written by the songwriting pair of Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee[1](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b3b0060d-94b7-30b6-bedb-e56f325c28b1). Dee, the lyricist, was inspired to write it by the death of her father, although the lyrics keep the loss general enough that it can be heard as the end of a love affair[8](https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-and-meaning-behind-the-end-of-the-world-an-all-time-weeper-from-country-legend-skeeter-davis/).
The lyric asks why the everyday world continues after a personal catastrophe. The opening lines lay out the premise, as the narrator wonders, "Why does the sun go on shining? / Why does the sea rush to shore?" In the bridge she explains her predicament: "I can't understand, no, I can't understand / How life goes on the way it does." In the final verse her own existence is called into question: "Why does my heart go on beating? / Why do these eyes of mine cry?"[8](https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-and-meaning-behind-the-end-of-the-world-an-all-time-weeper-from-country-legend-skeeter-davis/)
## Recording
On June 8, 1962, Skeeter Davis cut the song at RCA's Nashville studios, with [Chet Atkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/chet-atkins) producing and Floyd Cramer playing piano[5](https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/skeeter-davis-chet-atkins/). Atkins had Davis double-track her vocals, a nod to when she sang as part of a duo act[8](https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-and-meaning-behind-the-end-of-the-world-an-all-time-weeper-from-country-legend-skeeter-davis/). Billboard's obituary of Davis later described the record as one of the first multiformat hits spawned by the more polished, string-laden arrangements known as the Nashville Sound[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-10-02.pdf).
The single appeared on RCA Victor 47-8098, paired with "Somebody Loves You"[6](https://www.45cat.com/record/478098), and was released in December 1962[2](https://schmusa.de/skeeter-davis-mit-end-of-the-world-in-den-song-geschichten-376/). By December 1962 Davis was touring to promote it, winding up a promo tour in Chicago where she visited deejays to talk up "her new Victor release"[10](https://electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Magazine/C/Cash%20Box%20US/60s/1962/CB-1962-12-01.pdf).
## Chart performance
The song took off when New York deejays began playing it regularly, and it carried out of country music into the pop, R&B, and easy listening charts[8](https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-and-meaning-behind-the-end-of-the-world-an-all-time-weeper-from-country-legend-skeeter-davis/). In March 1963 it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, No. 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart, and No. 4 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart[3](https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/sunday-morning-country-classic-spotlight-to-feature-skeeter-davis-2/). Billboard reported that the country chart position held for three weeks[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-10-02.pdf).
This crossover reach is what made the record historic: it was the first, and to date the only, time a song cracked the Top 10 on all four Billboard charts[3](https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/sunday-morning-country-classic-spotlight-to-feature-skeeter-davis-2/). The song's popularity and chart history earned it the No. 3 place on Billboard's list of the year's 20 biggest hits[11](https://odiesmusic.com/skeeter-davis-the-end-of-the-world). In the United Kingdom it entered the Official Singles Chart on 20 March 1963, reached a peak of No. 18 on 1 May 1963, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks; the label was RCA, catalog number 1328[7](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/skeeter-davis-end-of-the-world/).
The single sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc[4](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/). In 1969, during a European concert tour, Davis was presented with a silver record for sales of "The End of the World" in Norway[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Record-World/60s/69/Record-World-1969-11-29.pdf). The recording has kept a long life in the marketplace: in February 2021 it re-entered the UK Official Singles Sales Chart at a peak of No. 32 and the Official Singles Downloads Chart at a peak of No. 31[13](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/skeeter-davis-the-end-of-the-world/).
## Skeeter Davis and the song's place in her career
Davis, born Mary Frances Penick on December 30, 1931, in Dry Ridge, Kentucky, had been recording for nearly a decade when the song broke through[4](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/). She began as one half of the Davis Sisters with her schoolfriend Betty Jack Davis; their 1953 single "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the country charts, but Betty Jack was fatally injured in a car accident shortly after the single began climbing the charts[4](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/). Davis kept the surname from her partner, and she said she found a connection to the song because of Betty Jack's death[14](https://parade.com/entertainment/1962-hit-ballad-with-30-year-old-skeeter-davis-is-still-heartbreaking-64-years-later).
"The End of the World" became Davis's biggest country pop crossover hit and her signature song[4](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/) • [15](https://kentuckymusicmuseum.com/assets/2013_skeeter_davis.pdf). Davis sang on the [Grand Ole Opry](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-ole-opry) radio show for more than 40 years and remained a member until her death on September 19, 2004[16](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-21-me-davis21-story.html). The song itself was played at the funeral of Chet Atkins, the producer of the original recording, in 2001[17](https://trax5000.com/tracks/1963-0032).
## Covers and later versions
The song has attracted many cover versions. MusicBrainz lists a 1965 cover by [Herman's Hermits](https://www.edgepedia.org/hermans-hermits) and a live 1974 recording by the Carpenters from Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan, among its recorded versions[1](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b3b0060d-94b7-30b6-bedb-e56f325c28b1). It has also been translated into other languages, with later versions including "Fait pour durer", "Het einde van de wereld", "Maailmain", "Vår eneste jord", "冬戀", and "后会无期", and a recomposed arrangement by [Joe Hisaishi](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-hisaishi) is registered as an adaptation of the work[1](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b3b0060d-94b7-30b6-bedb-e56f325c28b1). A Sylvia Dee sheet-music collection at Boston University Libraries lists nine published versions of the song, including one by Herman's Hermits and three copies of Davis's RCA Victor recording[18](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Dee-Sylvia-451.pdf).
The original single is preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History as a 1962 RCA Victor sound recording paired with "Somebody Loves You"[19](https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1190097).
## References
1. [Song "The End of the World", MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b3b0060d-94b7-30b6-bedb-e56f325c28b1)
2. [Skeeter Davis mit "End Of The World" in den Song-Geschichten 376, schmusa.de](https://schmusa.de/skeeter-davis-mit-end-of-the-world-in-den-song-geschichten-376/)
3. [Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight To Feature Skeeter Davis, Minnesota's New Country](https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/sunday-morning-country-classic-spotlight-to-feature-skeeter-davis-2/)
4. [Skeeter Davis, Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum](https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/skeeter-davis/)
5. [Skeeter Davis Chet Atkins, The Pop History Dig](https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/skeeter-davis-chet-atkins/)
6. [Skeeter Davis - The End Of The World / Somebody Loves You, RCA Victor 47-8098, 45cat](https://www.45cat.com/record/478098)
7. [END OF THE WORLD - SKEETER DAVIS, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/skeeter-davis-end-of-the-world/)
8. [The Story and Meaning Behind "The End of the World," American Songwriter](https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-and-meaning-behind-the-end-of-the-world-an-all-time-weeper-from-country-legend-skeeter-davis/)
9. [Skeeter Davis, 72, Dies, Billboard (October 2, 2004), via WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-10-02.pdf)
10. [COUNTRY TOP 50, Cash Box (December 1, 1962), via Electronics and Books](https://electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Magazine/C/Cash%20Box%20US/60s/1962/CB-1962-12-01.pdf)
11. [Skeeter Davis - The End Of The World, Odies Music](https://odiesmusic.com/skeeter-davis-the-end-of-the-world)
12. [Record World, November 29, 1969, via WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Record-World/60s/69/Record-World-1969-11-29.pdf)
13. [THE END OF THE WORLD - SKEETER DAVIS, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/skeeter-davis-the-end-of-the-world/)
14. [1962 Hit Ballad, With 30-Year-Old Skeeter Davis, Is Still Heartbreaking 64 Years Later, Parade](https://parade.com/entertainment/1962-hit-ballad-with-30-year-old-skeeter-davis-is-still-heartbreaking-64-years-later)
15. [Skeeter Davis, Kentucky Music Museum (2013)](https://kentuckymusicmuseum.com/assets/2013_skeeter_davis.pdf)
16. [Skeeter Davis, 72; Singer of Pop Hit 'End of the World', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-21-me-davis21-story.html)
17. [The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis (1962), trax5000.com](https://trax5000.com/tracks/1963-0032)
18. [Dee, Sylvia finding aid, Boston University Libraries](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Dee-Sylvia-451.pdf)
19. [End Of the World, The; Somebody Loves You, National Museum of American History](https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1190097)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Country songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license