James was only 18-years old when he captured the attention of guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, who marveled at this prodigious guitar talent, and immediately decided to take him on the road through the Canadian prairies, and later the United States. It wasn't long after that the young musician began opening for the likes of John Lee Hooker, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood and Keith Richards, Colin's 1988 self-titled debut Colin James was the fastest-selling album in Canadian music history featuring the smash hits "Why'd You Lie?”, “Voodoo Thing” and “Five Long Years". It featured a team of three top producers, including Tom Dowd (Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers), Danny Kortchmar (Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young) and Bob Rock (Jann Arden, Michael Bublé, Bush, The Cult, Loverboy, Sarah McLachlan, Metallica).
James followed up his record-breaking debut with a strong 1990 release, Sudden Stop, which was produced by Joe Hardy (.38 Special, Steve Earle, The Jeff Healey Band, ZZ Top ). This release has two top forty radio hits: "Just Came Back" and, "Keep On Loving Me Baby", and features Bonnie Raitt singing backing vocals on "Give It Up". This sophomore album further helped established Colin's integrity as an artist to lookout for.
James formed The Little Big Band in early 1990's and would eventually release a trilogy of CDs fronting this 1930's-50's style punchy horn section band, playing classics and originals featuring his stellar guitar fills and confident vocals. The first Colin James and The Little Big Band was released in 1993, and it was produced by Chris Kinsley (The Cult, Duran Duran, Psychedelic Furs, The Rolling Stones). The second Colin James and The Little Big Band II was released in 1998 on Warner Music, while the third, Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 was distributed on Maple Music in Canada and Universal Music Group globally in 2006, and he would eventually do a fourth with the band, a holiday album Colin James & The Little Big Band Christmas.
In 2008 he took home three Maple Blues Awards (Toronto Blues Society), which included Entertainer of the Year, while his release Limelight also went gold in Canada.
James released his twelfth album Rooftops and Satellites on October 6th, 2009, and it was a return to his guitar Blues-Rock roots. The album was primarily co-written by Tom Wilson (Junkhouse, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, Lee Harvey Osmond) and Thomas "Tawgs" Salter, co-writer and producer of Lights' debut and Josh Groban's Awake, and it has generated four Canadian radio singles, “Man’s Gotta Be A Stone”, “Lost Again”, “Wavelength” and “Johnny Coolman.”
2011's 'Take It From The Top: The Best Of’ pays tribute to James's career's first 23 years and serves as a celebration of Colin’s return back where he started his recordings, Virgin/EMI. This Greatest Hits collection also features two newly recorded tracks, “It’s Gonna Be Alright“ as well as an innovative cover of the Buddy Miles' classic “Them Changes”, that were recorded in Vancouver with veteran producer Bob Rock (Michael Bublé, Metallica), reuniting the two after almost twenty years.
On June 12th, 2012, James released his fifteenth album, appropriately entitled Fifteen, which was produced by Joe Hardy (ZZ Top, Brooks & Dunn, Jeff Healey, Steve Earle), who had handled three of Colin's previous album productions including his successful sophomore release. Colin co-writes with Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, Grady) on the opener “Sweets Gone Sour” and the rocker “I Need You Bad.” Colin also re-teamed with Tom Wilson and Thomas “Tawgs” Salter on four high-octane tracks, including the bluesy “No Time to Get There” and the driving “Stone Faith,” the album’s first single.
Fifteen also features two beautiful co-writes with Ron Sexsmith that reveal Colin’s seductive side: “Finally Wrote a Song for You”, a soulful love ballad; and “Shoulder to Cry On,” a moving acoustic number that highlights his vocal range, while closing the album. The disc also features some inspiring covers, including John Lennon's "Jealous Guy", Peter Green's (Fleetwood Mac) "Oh Well", [artis]Foy Vance’s gospel-tinged “Shed A Little Light,” and Allen Toussaint's funky "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley", which has perhaps become best known by Robert Palmer's cover.
On February 3, 2015, James released Hearts On Fire which was produced by Colin Linden at House of Blues Studios in Nashville, and this twelve track collection is distributed by Universal Music. The title track and all but two of the songs were written or co-written by Colin.
In 2016, James was named an inductee into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame presented by FACTOR (The Canadian Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings). In addition to this honour, Colin headlined the Western Canadian Music Awards Show at Casino Regina on October 13th, 2016, kicking off BreakOut West’s 14th year of celebrating Western Canada’s talent.
James's studio album Blue Highways features thirteen Classic Blues covers from guitar-hero greats like Blind Willie McTell, Freddie King, Peter Green, and Robert Johnson. The CD was released on October 16th, 2016. Recording and Production was primarily handled in Vancouver by Colin James and Dave Meszaros, with recording and mixing assistance from Eric Mosher, Chris Stringer and Jason Jaknunas. Blue Highways is being distributed by True North Records, and iTunes.
Over his illustrious career, James has earned 16 Maple Blues Awards, and he has worked and toured with the 'who’s who' in the international music scene (in alphabetical order): Luther Allison, Jann Arden, The Chieftains, Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Tom Dowd, Buddy Guy, Johnny Hallyday, John Hammond Jr., Gordie Johnson, Albert King, Bobby King and Terry Evans, Danny Kortchmar, Lenny Kravitz, Little Feat, The Memphis Horns, Craig Northey, Bill Payne, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Bob Rock, The Rolling Stones, Roomful Of Blues, Carlos Santana, Mavis Staples, Roebuck "Pops" Staples, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tom Wilson, Betty Wright and ZZ Top. In addition to writing most of his own material, his music has been covered by artists like Maria Muldaur, Johnny Halliday and Lucinda Williams.
Heartbreak Road
Colin James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At the end of Heartbreak Road
I Hope that she'll be tender
Someone I can know.
Heartaches just don't last forever
But it's a lonely road
A road we all must travel
Once before we go.
When you're in it
And even if it don't work out
You ain't gone never understand it
'Til you're all down in it
And find out what it's all about
But that's all right because
Heartaches just don't last forever
But it's a lonely road
A road we all must travel
Once before we go.
I believe that love's a good teacher
When you're in it
And even if it don't work out
You ain't gone never understand it
'Til you're all down in it
And find out what it's all about
But that's all right because
Heartaches just don't last forever
But it's a lonely road
A road we all must travel
Once before we go.
I believe, I believe, I believe alone
The lyrics to Colin James's song Heartbreak Road speak to the universal experience of heartbreak and the road to healing. The singer is wondering who will be waiting for them at the end of Heartbreak Road and they hope for someone who will be tender and understanding, someone they can get to know. The singer acknowledges that heartaches don't last forever, but that the road to recovery can be a lonely one that everyone must travel at least once. The song suggests that love is a good teacher and even if it doesn't work out, going through it is the only way to truly understand it.
Through this song, Colin James captures the raw vulnerability and emotional turmoil that comes with heartbreak. The lyrics touch on themes of hope, healing, and resilience while recognizing the painful reality of heartache. The repetition of the line "heartaches just don't last forever" emphasizes the message of hope, while the reference to love as a good teacher acknowledges the valuable lessons we can learn from our experiences. The song ends with the repeated line "I believe, I believe, I believe alone," suggesting that even though heartbreak can be a lonely road, it is a road that we must all travel on our own.
Line by Line Meaning
Wonder who is waiting for me
I wonder who is waiting for me at the end of Heartbreak Road.
At the end of Heartbreak Road
The end of Heartbreak Road is where I hope to find a companion who will be soft and kind that I can get to know.
I hope that she'll be tender
I hope that the companion at the end of Heartbreak Road will be someone I can get to know.
Someone I can know
I hope that the companion at the end of Heartbreak Road will be someone I can get to know.
Heartaches just don't last forever
Although heartaches may be rough, they do not last forever.
But it's a lonely road
Heartbreak Road can be a lonely journey.
A road we all must travel
Everyone must travel Heartbreak Road at some point in their life.
Once before we go
We must travel down Heartbreak Road at least once before we depart from this world.
I believe that love's a good teacher
I believe that love is a great educator when you encounter it.
When you're in it
When you experience love personally.
And even if it don't work out
Even if your love story does not have a happy ending, there is still something valuable you can learn.
You ain't gone never understand it
You can't fully comprehend love until you've fully immersed yourself in it.
Til you're all down in it
Until you have allowed yourself to be lost in love passionately.
And find out what it's all about
You will only find out what love is really about when you have given yourself over to it entirely.
But that's all right because
However, this is okay because...
I believe, I believe, I believe alone
It is my personal belief.
Writer(s): BILL WITHERS
Contributed by Lily R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.