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.
My Mind Is on Vacation
Colin James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Right in my face,
I guess I'm goin to have to put you in your place
If silence was golden,
You couldn't raise a dime,
Because your mind is on vacation
And you mouth is workin' overtime
You're quotin' figures,
And droppin' names,
You're tellin' stories,
About the days,
You're over laughin',
When things ain't funny,
You're tryin' to sound like the big, big money
If talk was criminal,
You'd lead a life of crime,
Because you mind is on vacation,
And your mouth is workin' overtime
Your life is short,
And talk is cheap,
Don't be makin' promises,
That you can't keep,
Don't like my song,
Just grin and bear,
All I can say is, if the shoe fits, won't you wear it,
And if you must keep talkin',
Please try to make it a rhythm
Because your mind is on vacation,
And your mouth is workin' overtime
Your mind is on vacation,
Yeah, your mind is on vacation,
I said your mind is on vacation,
Well, your mind is on vacation
Because your mind is on vacation,
And your mouth if workin' overtime
The song “My Mind Is on Vacation” by Colin James is a commentary on people who talk constantly, even when they have nothing useful to say. The lyrics suggest that the person the singer is addressing is speaking for the sake of speaking, without actually having anything intelligent or meaningful to say. The singer implies that this person’s inability to stay silent indicates that they have no internal monologue or thoughts worth sharing, and that their mind is empty, or “on vacation,” while their mouth is working overtime.
The song is full of irony, with the singer suggesting that if silence or talking too much were measures of worth, this person would fall on the wrong side of the line. He points out that this person is quoting figures and dropping names, trying to sound important and influential, but the singer sees through these attempts at grandiosity and realizes that they are empty gestures. The song suggests that talking too much is both unattractive and unproductive, and that in order to truly connect with others, we must know how to listen and when to speak.
In summary, “My Mind Is on Vacation” is a reflection on the dangers of being caught up in our own voices and failing to engage with the world around us. The song encourages us to pay attention to what we say and to choose our words carefully, rather than just talking for the sake of talking.
Line by Line Meaning
You're sittin' there yackin',
Right in my face,
I guess I'm goin to have to put you in your place
You're talking too much and being disrespectful while doing so right in front of me, so I will have to show you your place.
If silence was golden,
You couldn't raise a dime,
Because your mind is on vacation
And you mouth is workin' overtime
If being quiet was valuable and profitable, you wouldn't be able to do it since you're constantly speaking without thinking and your brain isn't functioning properly.
You're quotin' figures,
And droppin' names,
You're tellin' stories,
About the days,
You're over laughin',
When things ain't funny,
You're tryin' to sound like the big, big money
You're trying too hard to impress others by mentioning statistics, references, and anecdotes that make you sound important and successful, but you're not even enjoying the moment and forcing yourself to act serious.
If talk was criminal,
You'd lead a life of crime,
Because you mind is on vacation,
And your mouth is workin' overtime
If talking too much was illegal, you would be the most wanted criminal since your mind is not functioning normally and your mouth won't stop running even when it's not necessary.
Your life is short,
And talk is cheap,
Don't be makin' promises,
That you can't keep,
Don't like my song,
Just grin and bear,
All I can say is, if the shoe fits, won't you wear it,
And if you must keep talkin',
Please try to make it a rhythm
Your existence on this earth is temporary and easily wasted, so don't make commitments that you know you can't fulfill just to impress others, and if you don't like what I'm saying, just deal with it. If you are going to continue talking, try to make it more pleasant to listen to by using a tempo or melody.
Because your mind is on vacation,
And your mouth is workin' overtime
Once again, you are in a state of mindlessness, and your mouth is producing too much speech out of control.
Your mind is on vacation,
Yeah, your mind is on vacation,
I said your mind is on vacation,
Well, your mind is on vacation
I'm emphasizing the fact that your brain is not here or fully functioning right now, and it seems like you're not thinking or processing information properly, just like when one goes on a vacation.
Because your mind is on vacation,
And you mouth if workin' overtime
To conclude, the reason why you're talking too much and not making sense is that your mind is absent and your mouth is doing all the work, which is causing annoyance to others.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: MOSE ALLISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind