Isaak's music can be described as a blend of country, blues, rock'n'roll, pop and surf rock.
He signed a contract to Warner Brothers Records in 1984 for his first album "Silvertone". Isaak's contract was renewed in 1988 when Warner moved him to their Reprise Records label.
His best-known song is "Wicked Game". Though released on the 1989 album "Heart Shaped World", an instrumental version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film 'Wild at Heart' (and also years later in the 2000 film The Family Man). An Atlanta radio station DJ began playing the full version and it quickly became a nation-wide top ten hit. The music video for the song was directed by Herb Ritts and was a big MTV and VH1 hit; shot in black and white, it starred Isaak and model Helena Christensen rolling on the beach, embracing and whispering in each others' ears.
In 1999, Isaak's "Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing" was featured in Stanley Kubrick's final film 'Eyes Wide Shut', starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
In 2001, Chris Isaak starred in his own television show, 'The Chris Isaak Show'. It aired from March 2001 to March 2004 in the United States on the cable television network Showtime. This adult comedy show featured Chris Isaak and his band playing themselves with the episode plots based on fictional accounts of the backstage world of Chris Isaak - the rock star next door.
In 2004, his track "Life Will Go On" was featured on the 'Chasing Liberty' soundtrack, which starred Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.
He hosted a talk show on the Biography cable channel in the United States in 2009 that offered a unique twist - each guest was a musical artist, and both Chris and the artist performed various songs throughout each show. Eight episodes aired in early 2009, featuring guests Trisha Yearwood, Stevie Nicks, Glen Campbell, Michael Buble, Chicago, The Smashing Pumpkins, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), and Jewel.
Isaak has also appeared in numerous films, mostly playing minor cameo roles, though he starred with Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda in the 1993 Bernardo Bertolucci-directed 'Little Buddha', and also played a major role in David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' (1992). Other motion pictures include 'Married to the Mob' (1988), 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991), 'That Thing You Do!' (1996), and 'A Dirty Shame' (2004). He also guest-starred on the Super Bowl Sunday (1996) edition of the television sitcom Friends and on the HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon (HBO).
Chris is also an amateur boxer, avid surfer and a former Golden Gloves champion.
Forever Blue
Chris Isaak Lyrics
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Or tells you what to do
She walks away
You're left to stay
Alone forever blue
The stars have all stopped shining
The sun just won't break through
More clouds more rain
You're left forever blue
Forever blue 'cause you love her
But she doesn't love you
You did your best, life did the rest
You're left forever blue
No reason left for living
Still there's a lot to do
Old songs to sing
New tears to cry
And feel forever blue
And be forever
Blue
The lyrics to Chris Isaak's song Forever Blue delve into an emotional and poignant subject matter of heartbreak and loneliness. The singer speaks of how nobody prepares one for the pain of heartbreak and the feeling of getting left behind when someone walks away. The words 'she walks away and you're left to stay alone forever blue' indicate how the singer's love interest has left him in a state of despair and hopelessness. The further lyrics describe the struggling mental state of the singer, where the stars have stopped shining, and the sun does not break through, signifying how life has now lost its meaning for him. Each day seems to be the same, and the only thing left for him is to be stuck in his sorrow and pain 'forever blue.'
When the singer laments, 'forever blue 'cause you love her, but she doesn't love you,' it indicates the core of his problem, which is unrequited love. The words 'you did your best, life did the rest' describe his efforts in trying to make his relationship work, but it did not end up as he had hoped. As he looks at his life, he finds no purpose or reason to live, but still acknowledges that there are old songs to sing, new tears to cry, and more sorrow to feel, which will leave him feeling 'forever blue.'
Line by Line Meaning
Nobody ever warns you
No one tells you how to handle the pain of heartbreak
Or tells you what to do
No one guides you on how to move on after a breakup
She walks away
The woman he loves left him
You're left to stay
He's alone and heartbroken
Alone forever blue
He's stuck in his sadness and loneliness
The stars have all stopped shining
The world is no longer beautiful to him
The sun just won't break through
He can't see any light in his future
Each day's the same
He feels stuck in his sadness
More clouds more rain
Things just keep getting worse for him emotionally
You're left forever blue
He's resigned to the fact that he may never get over his heartbreak
Forever blue 'cause you love her
He can't move on because he still loves the woman who left him
But she doesn't love you
However, she doesn't love him back
You did your best, life did the rest
He did everything he could to make the relationship work, but life had other plans
No reason left for living
He feels hopeless and purposeless without his love
Still there's a lot to do
Despite his sadness, he knows there are still things he needs to do to keep going
Old songs to sing
He can find solace in the music of others who have gone through similar experiences
New tears to cry
He still has a lot of sadness and pain to work through
And feel forever blue
He knows that he'll carry this sadness with him for a long time
And be forever
He's accepted that he may never fully recover from this heartbreak
Blue
He's trapped in his sadness, unable to move on
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS ISAAK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind