Chuck Berry remains an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who first began performing in 1953. Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers." John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of All Time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
Chuck Berry held a special place, in terms of sound development, in the formation of, Mersey-Beat at Liverpool.
The finest exponent of Chuck Berry, guitar, sound at Liverpool during 1959 to 1963, was Vincent Tow/Ismail, who in turn passed on many of the learned skills to Lennon & McCartney, his friends and colleagues during that period--1959 to 1962/3.
Chuck Berry also influenced many of the great rock 'n' roll bands that we know today including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Nadine
Chuck Berry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street
I shouted to the driver, "Hey, conductor, you must slow down
I think I see her please let me off this bus"
Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, is that you?Seems like every time I see you
Darling, you got something else to do
I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walkin' toward a coffee colored Cadillac
I was pushin' through the crowd to get to where she's at
And I was campaign shouting like a southern diplomat
Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, where are you?
Seems like every time I catch up with you
You are up to something new
Downtown searching for her, looking all around
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading up town
I caught a loaded taxi, paid up everybody's tab
Flipped a twenty dollar bill, told him, "Catch that yellow cab"
Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, is that you?
Seems like every time I catch up with you
You are up to something new
She move around like a wave of summer breezeGo, driver, go, go, catch her for me please
Moving through the traffic like a mounted cavalier
Leaning out the taxi window trying to make her hear
Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, is that you?
Seems like every time I see you
Darling, are up to something new?
Chuck Berry's song Nadine tells the humorous story of a man desperately trying to catch up with a woman named Nadine. The lyrics detail his various attempts to reach her as she moves around the city, always seeming to be up to something new. The song opens with the singer on a city bus, where he spots what he thinks is his future bride walking up the street. He begs the conductor to let him off the bus so he can attempt to catch up with her. The chorus repeats the rhetorical question of whether the woman he sees is Nadine.
The singer pursues Nadine through the streets, pushing through crowds and into taxi cabs in a desperate attempt to catch up with her. The lyrics describe her movements as elusive, like a "wave of summer breeze," and the singer pleads with the driver to "catch 'er for me please." Throughout the song, Nadine remains just out of reach, leading the singer to wonder if she is up to something new every time he catches up with her.
Line by Line Meaning
As I got on a city bus and found a vacant seat,
I boarded a city bus and found an empty place to sit.
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street,
I believed I recognized the woman who would be my future wife walking nearby.
I shouted to the driver hey conductor, you must slow down
I raised my voice and called out to the bus driver to reduce speed.
I think I see her please let me off this bus
I believed I spotted the woman I was looking for and asked the driver to let me off the bus.
Nadine, honey is that you?
The woman I believe I saw walking nearby, is her name Nadine?
Seems like every time I see you
Darling you got something else to do
Whenever I encounter you, it appears that you have something else on your mind and cannot stay put.
I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walkin' toward a coffee colored Cadillac
I caught a glimpse of her from afar as she walked back and headed towards a brownish coffee-colored Cadillac.
I was pushin' through the crowd to get to where she's at
And I was campaign shouting like a southern diplomat
I made my way through a sizable group of people to reach her location and yelled loudly, like a political figure trying to motivate voters.
Downtown searching for 'er, looking all around
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading up town
I continued to search for her in downtown area and finally spotted her entering a yellow taxi heading uptown.
I caught a loaded taxi, paid up everybody's tab
Flipped a twenty dollar bill, told him 'catch that yellow cab
I quickly grabbed a taxi cab that was available, paid the fare for everyone, and handed the driver $20 to chase after the yellow taxi Nadine had taken.
She move around like a wave of summer breeze,
Go, driver, go go, catch 'er for me please
Moving through the traffic like a mounted cavalier
Leaning out the taxi window trying to make her hear
She moved quickly like a gentle summer breeze, urging the taxi driver to go after her, and making her way skillfully through traffic, while I leaned out of the window trying to get her attention.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jack
on Little Marie (Alternate)
Yes, oh yes, Long Distance, I'll accept the charge, I'll pay
Which love one is calling me, I did not hear you say.
Both are deep within my hearth, her Mom and my Marie
It so good to hear your voice from Memphis, Tennessee
Oh, you mean so much to me, more than you'll ever know,
Surely, you have not forgot how much I love you so
If you would remember, Dear, and sometimes talk to me
Maybe that would reunite our home in Tennessee.
Last time I saw you, just before I had to leave
You did not want to see me off and promised not to grieve,
My hearth was tore apart as I looked back at my Marie
And there the peace is still remain with you in Tennessee.
I guess I should stop talking, after all you placed the call
But anyway that I can help, you know I'll help you all
Then she spoke and asked me to come back and see Marie
And live together in our home in Memphis, Tennessee.