As the son of a vicar, he had his first singing experiences in a church choir. He attended Ripon College, where he also sang non-professionally with a group called the Indigos, and graduated in 1962. He went on to earn a master's degree in Vocational Rehabilitation from the University of Iowa, and worked as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco before joining a small jazz club trio headed by George Duke and deciding that he would make professional singing his life in 1968
He appeared in such Los Angeles hot spots as Dino's, the Troubador and Bitter End West. Television exposure came from Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and David Frost, while he expanded his nightclub appearances to include performing at the Improv between the acts of such rising-star comics as Bette Midler, Jimmie Walker, and John Belushi, among others.
He was spotted by Warner Bros. in 1975 and soon thereafter released his critically acclaimed debut album, We Got By, which catapulted him into international fame and garnered him a German Grammy Award. A second German Grammy would follow with the release of his second album, Glow.
One of Jarreau's most commercially and artistically successful albums is Breakin' Away (1981), which includes the hit song "We're in This Love Together." He wrote and performed the Grammy-nominated theme to the 1980s American television show Moonlighting. Among other things, he is well-known for his scat singing and the ability to perfectly imitate conventional guitar, bass and percussive instrumentation. He was also a featured vocalist on USA for Africa's "We are the World" and sang the line, "...and so we all must lend a helping hand."
He has toured and performed with such greats as Joe Sample, Kathleen Battle, Miles Davis, David Sanborn and Rick Braun. He also performed the role of the Teen Angel in a 1996 Broadway production of Grease. On March 6, 2001 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.
Never Too Late
Al Jarreau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What I expected
And if I don't belong
Who would have guessed it?
I will not leave alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like it's not too late
It's never too late
Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it all around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late
No one will ever see
This side reflected
And if there's something wrong
Who would have guessed it?
And I have left alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like
It's not too late
It's never too late
Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it all around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late
The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get it back
The life we had
Won't be ours again
This world will never be
What I expected
And if I don't belong
Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it all around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late
Maybe we'll turn it all around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late (It's never too late)
It's not too late
It's never too late
The lyrics of Al Jarreau's song "Never too late" may be interpreted as a message of hope, perseverance, and empathy. The singer acknowledges that the world isn't always what we expect it to be, so it's natural to feel lost or like we don't belong. However, he decides to keep going and not to leave alone everything that he owns. The repetition of the phrase "it's not too late" in the chorus reinforces the idea that there's always a chance to turn things around, even when we feel like giving up. Furthermore, the lyrics show how the singer empathizes with someone who may be struggling, and he encourages the person to hold on and just stay alive because maybe, together, they can turn things around.
The song was written by David Foster, Lynne Kinder, and Tom Keane and was released in 1985 as part of Jarreau's album "High Crime." The song became a hit and reached number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Line by Line Meaning
This world will never be
What I expected
The world is not what I hoped it would be.
And if I don't belong
Who would have guessed it?
If I don't fit in, it shouldn't be a surprise.
I will not leave alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like it's not too late
It's never too late
I won't abandon everything I have to show that there's always hope.
Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Even if I try to reassure you, you still feel overwhelmed and hopeless.
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it all around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late
Sometimes all we can do is survive, but things can still change for the better.
No one will ever see
This side reflected
And if there's something wrong
Who would have guessed it?
Nobody else can understand what I'm going through, even if something feels off.
The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get it back
The life we had
Won't be ours again
We can't go back to the way things were - we have to accept the present and the changes that have happened.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GAVIN BROWN, NEIL SANDERSON, ADAM GONTIER, BRAD WALST, NAOMI BREWER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind