Crawford first polished her craft at club gigs from Cincinnati to St. Tropez, but made her name in mid 1970s in New York, where she sang with jazzmen George Benson on his album "Big Man" 1975) and Cannonball Adderley.
She then led Jazz veterans The Crusaders on the transatlantic big hit "Street Life" (1979). Her follow up solo efforts included "'One Day I'll Fly Away" (1980, Grand Prize for Tokyo International Music Festival); "'You Might Need Somebody" (1981); and "'Rainy Night In Georgia" (1981); which all became soul standards. Secret Combination (1981) stayed on the Billboard album chart for 60 weeks, after which her profile dipped, despite a return to the Top 10 with "Almaz" in (1986).
Naked And True (1995) brought Crawford back to her roots: it included Benson's "Give Me The Night", and confirmed her soul heritage by featuring Funkadelicists Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and The Fred Wesley Horns. But she enjoyed her highest profile of the decade when rising starlet Shola Ama had a worldwide hit with a cover of " You Might Need Somebody" in 1997.
She still continues to make great R&B hits and performs on various Jazz Festivals around the world.
Street Life
Randy Crawford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hear the lonely sound of music in the night
Nights are always bright
That's all that's left for me, yeah
I play the street life
Because there's no place I can go
Street life, it's the only way I know
Street life
And there's a thousand cards to play
Until you play your life away
You dress and walk and talk
You're who you think you are
Street life, you can run away from time
Street life, for a nickel, for a dime
Street life, but you better not get old
Or you're gonna feel the cold
There's always love for sale
A grown up fairy tale
Prince charming always smiles
Behind a silver spoon
And if you keep t young
Your song is always sung
Your love will pay your way beneath the silver moon
Street life, street life, street life, oh street life
The lyrics to Randy Crawford's song "Street Life" describe a feeling of isolation and longing, set against the backdrop of the city at night. The singer is neither lost nor found, but instead exists in a kind of limbo, with only the music of the streets to keep them company. The nights are bright, and the only thing that remains for this character is to play the street life, to exist within the borders of this world that they know so well.
Line by Line Meaning
I still hang around neither lost nor found
I am still lingering, not quite lost or found
Hear the lonely sound of music in the night
I hear the forlorn melody playing in the night
Nights are always bright
Evenings are consistently radiant
That's all that's left for me, yeah
That's the only thing I have left, yes
I play the street life
I am living the life of the streets
Because there's no place I can go
Since there is nowhere for me to go
Street life, it's the only way I know
The street life is the only way of life that I am familiar with
Street life
The street life
And there's a thousand cards to play
There are many tactics to use
Until you play your life away
Until you wager and deplete your lifespan
You dress and walk and talk
You outfit and stride and converse
You're who you think you are
You are whom you perceive yourself to be
Street life, you can run away from time
The street life allows you to elude time
Street life, for a nickel, for a dime
The street life is worth a small fee
Street life, but you better not get old
The street life is unsuitable for the elderly
Or you're gonna feel the cold
Otherwise, you will sense the chill
There's always love for sale
Love is always available for purchase
A grown up fairy tale
A matured storybook fantasy
Prince charming always smiles
Prince Charming is always grinning
Behind a silver spoon
Behind a life of luxury
And if you keep t young
And if you keep it young
Your song is always sung
Your melody will always be heard
Your love will pay your way beneath the silver moon
Your affection will finance your path under the moonlight
Street life, street life, street life, oh street life
The street life, repeating four times
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Joe Sample, Will Jennings
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind