Since the 2006 release of her debut album, Cat, on Harmonia Mundi's World Village label, Catherine Russell has been making fans and friends and grabbing listeners by the ear. “She is a fresh and original voice. The most exciting debut album I’ve heard in a long time.” writes New York Sun critic and Sinatra biographer, Will Friedwald, who picked Cat among his top 10 cds of the year. “It’s a delight to hear the real thing in Catherine Russell.”, writes Nat Hentoff in The Wall Street Journal.
Ms. Russell has been a hit on major events like Chicago Blues Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Bern International Jazz Festival, JVC-New York Jazz Festival, Detroit International Jazz Festival, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Lotus Festival, and at premier venues like The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Sculler's in Boston, The Dakota in Minneapolis, and The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. She has appeared on the nationally syndicated shows Mountain Stage, JazzSet on NPR, Studio 360, and The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS-TV. Reviews and profiles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Living Blues, Blues Review, Downbeat, Goldmine, No Depression, Boston Herald, Newark Star Ledger, JazzTimes, Chicago Sun Times, and many more.
Cat spent weeks on JazzWeek magazine's chart for national airplay, while Back O Town Blues was a top 10 download on I-Tunes Jazz Chart. National Public Radio's top 5 jazz cd's of 2006 included Cat, as chosen by WBGO dj's for NPR's year end "Best Of" List.
Catherine Russell's 2nd album on World Village, Sentimental Streak, hit the streets on February 12, 2008, to universal acclaim, becoming a world-wide favorite of critics and fans alike.
Can't We Be Friends
Catherine Russell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't excuse it on the grounds of youth,
I was no babe in the wild, wild wood.
She didn't mean it,
I should have seen it,
But now it's too late.
I thought I'd found the girl of my dreams,
This is how the story ends:
She's gonna turn me down and say,
"Can't we be friends?"
I thought for once it couldn't go wrong,
Not for long,
I can see the way this ends:
She's gonna turn me down and say,
"Can't we be friends?"
Why should I care though she gave me the air,
Why should I cry,
Heave a sigh,
And wonder why,
And wonder why?
I thought I found the gal I could trust,
What a bust, this is how the story ends:
She's gonna turn me down and say,
"Can't we be just friends?"
In Catherine Russell's song "Can't We Be Friends," the singer laments the end of a relationship and the unrequited love that she feels. The lyrics describe how the singer was innocent and naive, and how she believed everything her partner said to be the truth. She admits that she cannot blame her youth for her behavior, indicating that she should have known better. The song then transitions to the singer's remembrance of a time when she thought she had found the love of her life, only to be rejected and told that they could not even be friends. She questions why she should care or cry, but her sadness is palpable in her words, "Heave a sigh, and wonder why, and wonder why?" The song ends with the realization that the singer had been wrong about the person she loved, and their relationship ends with a bitter taste, as they could not be anything more than friends.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the pain of unrequited love, the difficulty of moving on, and the challenges of navigating relationships. The lyrics reveal the pain and disappointment of a relationship that has ended in disappointment and show that the singer is struggling to come to terms with the reality of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Took each word she said as gospel truth the way a silly little child would.
I was quite naive and took everything she said seriously like a child who believes everything someone tells them.
I can't excuse it on the grounds of youth,
I can't blame my actions on being young and inexperienced.
I was no babe in the wild, wild wood.
Despite not having much life experience, I was not completely clueless.
She didn't mean it,
I now realize that she didn't actually mean what she said.
I should have seen it,
In retrospect, I should have been able to recognize that she didn't mean what she said.
But now it's too late.
Unfortunately, I'm now aware of this fact but it's too late for me to do anything about it.
I thought I'd found the girl of my dreams,
I believed that I had finally found the perfect woman for me.
Now it seems,
However, it has become clear that this was not the case.
This is how the story ends:
This is the unfortunate conclusion to this relationship.
She's gonna turn me down and say,
She is going to reject me and suggest that we just be friends.
Can't we be friends?
She will be polite about it but ultimately, she doesn't see me as a romantic partner and wants us to just be friends.
I thought for once it couldn't go wrong,
I really thought this relationship was going to work out perfectly.
Not for long,
Unfortunately, things didn't go well for very long.
I can see the way this ends:
It's clear to me how this relationship is going to end now.
Why should I care though she gave me the air,
Even though she broke up with me, why should I still care about her?
Why should I cry,
Why should I shed tears over someone who doesn't care for me the same way?
Heave a sigh,
Although I'm not crying, I'm still very disappointed and let down by this relationship ending.
And wonder why,
I'm questioning why this didn't work out and what went wrong.
And wonder why?
I don't understand why things didn't work out between us.
I thought I found the gal I could trust,
I had high hopes that I had found someone who would be honest and truthful with me.
What a bust, this is how the story ends:
Unfortunately, that hope was in vain, as this relationship ends in disappointment.
She's gonna turn me down and say,
The woman I trusted is going to reject me and suggest a friendship instead of a romantic relationship.
Can't we be just friends?
She will politely ask me to be friends, but it's clear we won't have a romantic relationship.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KAY SWIFT, PAUL JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind