His first musical success was as a 14-year-old guitarist in the Royal Teens, best known for their novelty blues riff, "Short Shorts". In 1960, he joined the song-writing team of Bob Brass and Irwin Levine, who wrote the hit, "This Diamond Ring", for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. When he was 21, he moved to Greenwich Village.
He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965 and in the studio in 1965 and 1966, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the (in)famous Newport Folk Festival of 1965. He worked extensively with Mike Bloomfield for a number of years after the two met as studio musicians on Dylan's legendary Highway 61 Revisited album.
In 1965, he co-formed The Blues Project and played their most famous gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in the same year, leaving after the group's first album, Child is Father to the Man, in 1968.
Kooper played on hundreds of records, including The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, The Who and Cream. On occasion, he has even overdubbed on his own efforts, as on The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper album, as Roosevelt Gook. He discovered the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced their first three albums, including the single Sweet Home Alabama. Kooper also wrote the score for the TV series, Crime Story, and has also written music for several made-for-television movies. Kooper also produced a now rare album by a group called Appaloosa.
Al Kooper has published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life In The Sixties (1977), now available in revised form as Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor 2007
Kooper currently teaches songwriting and production at Berklee College of Music in Boston and plays weekend concerts with his band Jimmy Vivino and The ReKooperators.
Song And Dance For The Unborn Frightened Child
Al Kooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Once I was someone looking for someone with nothing inside
Something I faced now the whole thing’s erased
It’s an old game I tried
Through a crowd of people staring
Not a face in fifty caring now
And yet I still continue to flow through a world I dont know
Lips softly stalling the infant is calling let nobody hear
Checking my face to select the right places
For wrinkles of fear
We see the Christ child gently sleeping
Mad Madonna softly weeping now
And yet I still continue to flow through a world I don't know
I look at you and you look back at me
And we stare at each other in complete apathy
I’m so sad
Evening is poor but the morning’s allright
If you stay pressed to me while the sun touches night
I’ll be glad
Something of noone’s inherent in slow ones
The deft matricide
You flee to the East on the wings of the Beast
For a new place to hide
Life is only matter crumbling
Souls & moral conscience tumbling
Down
And yet I still continue to flow through a world I dont know
I hear the music of my life
The lyrics of "Song and Dance for the Unborn Frightened Child" by Al Kooper are enigmatic and open-ended, with a wealth of potential interpretations. At its core, the song seems to be a meditation on the complexity and uncertainty of life, and the challenge of finding meaning and direction in a world that often feels souring and indifferent. In the opening verse, Kooper describes a sense of emptiness and aimlessness, as he searches for some deeper connection or purpose. He finds himself standing in a crowd of people, but no one seems to care or acknowledge him. Despite this, he continues on, searching for a guiding melody amidst the chaos.
The second verse of the song takes a darker turn, with Kooper describing the fear and confusion that can come with new beginnings. He speaks of a crying infant, struggling to find its footing in a world that can be brutally indifferent or cruel. The tension here is heightened by the image of Mary and Joseph, keeping watch over the newborn Jesus, a symbol of innocence and hope amidst the harshness of life. In this way, Kooper seems to be reflecting on the paradox of existence - the fact that even in the face of tragedy, there is still beauty and goodness to be found.
The final verse of the song is perhaps the most abstract and enigmatic, with Kooper delving into themes of death and rebirth, and the complex relationship between the physical and the spiritual. He speaks of fleeing to the East on the wings of the Beast, a reference that could be interpreted in a variety of ways - some might see it as a nod to Eastern philosophy and spirituality, while others might view it as a more metaphorical flight from danger or change. The overall impression of the song is one of deep introspection and contemplation, a testament to Kooper's poetic skill and his ability to capture complex emotions in his music.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I was someone looking for someone with nothing inside
I used to search for a person who had nothing, as I too had nothing inside of me.
Something I faced now the whole thing’s erased
Whatever challenge I had faced has now been wiped away completely.
It’s an old game I tried
This is a game that I have played before.
Through a crowd of people staring
I am walking through a group of people who are watching me closely.
Not a face in fifty caring now
None of the fifty people around me care about me anymore.
And yet I still continue to flow through a world I dont know
Despite this, I continue to move forward through a world that is unfamiliar to me.
I hear the music of my life
I can hear the sound of the music that represents my life.
Lips softly stalling the infant is calling let nobody hear
I try to keep my lips quiet, as the crying of the helpless infant should not be heard by anyone else.
Checking my face to select the right places For wrinkles of fear
I look at my face to identify where the wrinkles of fear would appear.
We see the Christ child gently sleeping Mad Madonna softly weeping now
We observe a peaceful baby Jesus sleeping with his mother Mary crying softly beside him.
And yet I still continue to flow through a world I don't know
Even after this experience, I will still move on through this unfamiliar world.
I look at you and you look back at me
I gaze at you and you gaze back at me.
And we stare at each other in complete apathy
However, we show no emotional response towards each other.
I’m so sad
I feel very depressed and sorrowful.
Evening is poor but the morning’s allright
The evening feels difficult, but I anticipate that morning will be better.
If you stay pressed to me while the sun touches night
If you stay close to me as the sun sets and night falls,
I’ll be glad
It would make me very happy.
Something of noone’s inherent in slow ones
A part of something that belongs to nobody is present in those who move at a slow pace.
The deft matricide
Killing one's own mother with skill and ease.
You flee to the East on the wings of the Beast
You run away to the East on the mythical wings of a dangerous creature.
For a new place to hide
In search of a new place where you can conceal yourself.
Life is only matter crumbling
Life is just the physical world around us falling apart.
Souls & moral conscience tumbling Down
Our emotions and values are crumbling as well.
And yet I still continue to flow through a world I dont know
Even among all of this, I will continue to move forward through this unfamiliar world.
I hear the music of my life
I can still hear the sound of the music that represents my life.
Contributed by Olivia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.