Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
You Pay Your Money And You Take Your Chance
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"No chuckie, no, please don't"
Another girl comes, they run along St. Andrew
Turn south on Kensington
Meanwhile, Chuckie beats it down the alley
By the chicken packer's
By the time I reach the corner they've all vanished
Just a deaf kid talking like Popeye
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
Down the alley past the fire escape
A woman is talking on the telephone
Kitchen light spills out
Laughter riding on it's beam
In the maze of moebius streets
We're trying to amuse ourselves to death
Under the deep sky
That's squatting so close over us tonight
You'd think it was trying to hatch us
The numb and confused
The battered and bruised
The counters of cost
And the star-crossed
Well, you pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
Confused and solo in the spawning ground
I watch the confusion of friends all numb with love
Moving like stray dogs
To the anthem of night-long conversations
Of pulsing rhythms and random voltage voices
In spite of themselves, graceful as these raindrops
Creeping spermlike across the car window
Stay or leave, give or withold
Hesitate or leap
Each step splashing sparks of red pain in every direction
And through it all, somehow
This willingness that asks no questions
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
The lyrics of Bruce Cockburn's "You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance" depict a chaotic scene of a man fleeing from a woman who is crying and pleading with him to stay. The singer follows the chase, but by the time he arrives, they have vanished. This is juxtaposed with the image of a group of friends lost in the "maze of moebius streets," trying to "amuse [themselves] to death" under a sky that seems to be trying to "hatch" them. The song's refrain echoes the idea that when it comes to love and romance, one must accept the risks and uncertainties that come with it.
One interpretation of this song is that it explores the idea that love and relationships are never straightforward or easy. They involve risks and uncertainties, and sometimes people get hurt. The scene of the woman crying and chasing after Chuckie suggests a situation of unrequited love or a dysfunctional relationship that is on the brink of falling apart. The image of the friends lost in the maze of streets suggests that they too are struggling to find their way in their relationships and are trying to distract themselves from the pain and confusion that comes with it.
Overall, "You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance" is a song that captures the complexities of love and relationships. It acknowledges that there are no guarantees and that the risks involved are high, but ultimately suggests that it is worth taking a chance on love, even if it means risking pain and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Woman cry, chase man down street, crying
"No chuckie, no, please don't"
A woman is seen running after a man down the street, crying and begging him not to leave.
Another girl comes, they run along St. Andrew
Turn south on Kensington
A second woman joins the first and they both run towards St. Andrew and turn south on Kensington.
Meanwhile, Chuckie beats it down the alley
By the chicken packer's
By the time I reach the corner they've all vanished
Just a deaf kid talking like Popeye
To a large fleshy laughing man in a blue shirt
While the women run after Chuckie, he runs down the alley past the chicken packer's. Upon my arrival, the women and Chuckie were nowhere in sight except for a deaf kid who was talking to a laughing man.
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
Love and romance are two unpredictable entities and regardless of the amount of money one invests, there's always the possibility of losing it all.
Down the alley past the fire escape
A woman is talking on the telephone
Kitchen light spills out
Laughter riding on it's beam
Further down the alley, a woman is talking on the phone and the light from the kitchen is shining bright with laughter.
In the maze of moebius streets
We're trying to amuse ourselves to death
Under the deep sky
That's squatting so close over us tonight
You'd think it was trying to hatch us
The numb and confused
The battered and bruised
The counters of cost
And the star-crossed
In the bewildering and endless streets, we're seeking entertainment to divert ourselves to our own doom under the immense sky. It feels as though the sky is trying to hatch us, the frustrated, the defeated, the practical and the romantically cursed.
Well, you pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
Life is a game, and love and romance are the two cards that you deal yourself. One can play their cards and hope that things work out, but sometimes it doesn't matter how much you put in, and you can still take the loss.
Confused and solo in the spawning ground
I watch the confusion of friends all numb with love
Moving like stray dogs
To the anthem of night-long conversations
Of pulsing rhythms and random voltage voices
I am lost in the crowd and witness my friends dazed by love, wandering like strays while there's a melody of electrical conversations intensifying.
In spite of themselves, graceful as these raindrops
Creeping spermlike across the car window
Stay or leave, give or withold
Hesitate or leap
Each step splashing sparks of red pain in every direction
And through it all, somehow
This willingness that asks no questions
Despite themselves, these droplets gracefully and sperm-like run along car windows, hesitating or jumping; each step brings up a myriad of painful sparks in any direction. Through everything, there's still a willingness without questions asked.
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
You pay your money and you take your chance
When you're dealing with love and romance
Love and romance are two unpredictable entities and regardless of the amount of money one invests, there's always the possibility of losing it all.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bruce Cockburn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
heygringo7
Great song alright....jazzy, evocative, poignant slice of urban Toronto life. The musicianship is so tight on this....the sax and violin in the break are mind-blowing. Bruce at his urban best....
Robert Davidson
Bruce Autographed this album for me!Love this album as a young teen still do when Bruce first went electric!
George Mathie
Inner city front is one of Bruce's most forgotten albums of his long and storied career but certainly one of his most warm and angriest post political albums this album has some new wave, Punk but also his traditional folk with some brilliant modern touches this is my personal favorite album
Shane K
Great song!
Ed Green
The energy he had! Love that sax reminds me of dick perry of pink floyd fame.
Robert Hunter
I wish Bruce had stuck around the chicken factory a little longer...seems to have inspired his best musical output
jon simmering
luv this
Erik Lacroix
That chicken place on St. Andrew still exists in Kensington Market, that must have been what he was talking about!
William Cross
(C) 1981 Maxell Records Inc. A Universal Music Group. All rights reserved.
Shred Tele Man
Shades of Phil Lynott! Cool.