Shortly before his father's death in a 1973 plane crash, Croce's family moved west to San Diego, California, where his mother, Ingrid, raised him.
At the age of four, Croce was completely blinded, as the result of a brain tumor. Between the ages of four and ten, Croce gradually regained vision in his left eye. It was during this difficult time in Croce's life that he began to play the piano. "I learned to play music by listening and playing along to the radio and to records..." Croce says, "At some point I was given the music of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder as inspiration, which it was, and has been ever since."
Croce's first paying gig was at the age of 12, when he was paid $20 to perform at a Bat-Mitzvah party. By the age of 16, Croce was performing regularly at San Diego nightclubs, as a sideman and band leader. Croce reflects, "I was into every kind of music... you might say I was unfocused, but I consider an eclectic taste in music to be the foundation of versatility." Croce's house burned down when he was age 15.
Ron Goldstein and Peter Bauman of Private Music signed Croce to his first record deal at age 19. He recorded two CDs for Private Music: his self-titled debut, "A.J. Croce," produced by T-Bone Burnett and John Simon, and "That's Me In The Bar," produced by Jim Keltner, and featuring artists such as Ry Cooder, David Hidalgo, and Keltner himself.
Croce's third release, "Fit To Serve," was recorded in Memphis, and produced by Jim Gaines, who had previously produced Van Morrison, Santana, and The Steve Miller Band. Croce then took a musical turn with the release of his album Transit. He explained, "I had been playing blues-based music for a long time, and I was ready to try something new." Transit was compared by critics to the work of John Lennon, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, and Van Morrison. Glen Starkey of New Times labeled Croce "a song crafter of the first order."
A fifth CD, titled "Adrian James Croce" was released in the summer of 2004, and a sixth CD, Cantos, in 2006.
Croce has performed as an opening act for artists such as Carlos Santana, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, James Brown, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, Earth, Wind and Fire and Ray Charles. He has also performed on such national venues as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Austin City Limits.
I'm With You
A.J. Croce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Written by A.J. Croce
© 2006 Croce Publishing (ASCAP)
There's a parallel line in my parallel life
Got a parallel girl who's my parallel wife
She's so good I love her twice
Don't need a double entendre to break the ice
Any destination that you're going to
Anything you could want I could do
You never have to worry you'll make it through
Baby cause I'm with you
I can balance my life while I balance my time
I'm a balancing fool on a bottle of wine
I'm so even I'm two lines
In a parallel world I'm a parallel sign
Bridge
I'm with you
You never have to worry you'll make it through
Baby cause I'm with you
All About You
Written by A.J. Croce
© 2006 Croce Publishing (ASCAP)
Verse
What do you see when you're looking at me
I can't tell by the look in your eye
The devil inside has something to hide
It's in your mind but so hard to find
Chorus
All about you - I'll never know
All about you - so little you show
You could be mine – if only I knew
All about you
Verse
So little we learn so easy we burn
I'm lighting a fire to fan your desire
Maybe in time with reason or rhyme
You'll let me in how long has it been
Chorus
Bridge
I wish that I could figure out exactly what you wanted me to say
If I could get inside your head then I would know if I should go or stay
Chorus
The lyrics of "I'm With You" by A.J. Croce describe a parallel world in which the singer is balancing his life and time between his wife and another woman who is also his wife in that world. He loves her deeply, and feels like he doesn't need any special words or gestures to express his feelings, as he is always there for her. The chorus repeats the message that the singer is able to fulfill any need or want his partner may have, and she never has to worry about anything because he's always with her. The bridge repeats the chorus and reinforces the idea that the singer is with his partner no matter what, and that she can always rely on him.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a parallel line in my parallel life
There is another version of myself living a similar life alongside me
Got a parallel girl who's my parallel wife
I have a similar partner in my other life
She's so good I love her twice
I love her so much, I love her twice as much as a normal person would
Don't need a double entendre to break the ice
I don't need a cleverly-worded joke to start a conversation
Any destination that you're going to
I'm willing to go anywhere with you
Anything you could want I could do
I'm capable of doing anything you might want or need
You never have to worry you'll make it through
You don't have to worry about anything because I'm with you
Baby cause I'm with you
I'll always be by your side
I can balance my life while I balance my time
I can balance my responsibilities and my leisure time well
I'm a balancing fool on a bottle of wine
Even when drunk, I can still balance things well
I'm so even I'm two lines
I'm very balanced
In a parallel world I'm a parallel sign
In another life, I'm a sign of balance
What do you see when you're looking at me
I wonder what you're thinking when you're looking at me
I can't tell by the look in your eye
I can't discern your thoughts from your facial expression
The devil inside has something to hide
There's something sinister in your thoughts or intentions
It's in your mind but so hard to find
The sinister thing is hard to detect
All about you - I'll never know
I'll never fully understand you
All about you - so little you show
You reveal so little about yourself
You could be mine - if only I knew
We could be in a romantic relationship if I knew you better
So little we learn so easy we burn
We don't learn much about each other, and it's easy to hurt each other
I'm lighting a fire to fan your desire
I'm trying to spark your passion or interest in me
Maybe in time with reason or rhyme
Perhaps eventually, I'll understand you with logic or creativity
You'll let me in how long has it been
It's been a while since you've let someone get close to you
I wish that I could figure out exactly what you wanted me to say
I wish I knew how to communicate with you better
If I could get inside your head then I would know if I should go or stay
I would know what to do about our relationship if I knew you better
Contributed by Andrew Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@joekovach5789
Jim Croce needs to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
@vc27r
The fact that musicians like he and Warren Zevon among others are still not enshrined makes the RnR Hall of Fame lose a great deal of its credibility.
@raymondhoagland4976
Along with other great artists Johnny Rivers !
@sophieoshaughnessy9469
He’s not??!! He absolutely spilled out beautiful and memorable songs in short order!
@752brickie
Amen to that .
@birdsfan57
@@vc27r Don't worry...JayZ's in, Beyonce will be next...rappers and hip hop artists continue to be enshrined and will soon dominate the Hall. It's become too concerned with being "woke" and politically correct to be taken seriously anymore...
@paullandgraf4682
I’m 70 years old. My teen years were filled with Jim’s music. I still listen to his albums on vinyl! This was a great story that bright back great memories. Lost him way too soon.
@vilstef6988
Jim's music still moves me. I'm so happy AJ has embraced his Dad's music. So many great songs!
@timin770
It is difficult to overstate how popular Jim Croce was when I was in high school. You couldn't turn on the radio without hearing one of his beautiful songs
@cindyguillard216
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤