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.
No Buts No Maybes
Colin James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby you've been driving me crazy
What did I do to you
Honey, I ain't got no more money
Lately you been acting funny
What did I do to you
This is all you talk about
Things you say and things you do
What is that calling me to do
Baby no buts and no maybes
Lately you've been driving me crazy
What have I done to you
Honey, I ain't got no more money
Lately you been acting funny
I can't do a thing with you
Every time we go out
This is all you talk about
Things you say and things you do
What is that calling me to do
Oh baby, oh baby
What did I do to you
What did I do to you
The lyrics of Colin James's song No Buts No Maybes seem to be referring to a relationship that is on the rocks with one partner driving the other “crazy” with their behavior. The singer seems to be completely confused and does not understand what they have done wrong to cause their partner's behavior. They question what they did to deserve this situation and try to fix things by pleading with their partner to be straightforward and clear about their feelings without any hesitation or ambiguity.
The lines "Baby no buts and no maybes/Lately you've been driving me crazy/What have I done to you" represents the singer's feelings of confusion and frustration as their partner's indecisiveness has driven their relationship to the edge. The lines "Honey, I ain't got no more money/Lately you been acting funny/I can't do a thing with you" seems to be indicating that the singer's significant other may be after their wealth or material value, which makes the singer feel powerless and trapped in their relationship.
The chorus, "Every time we go out/This is all you talk about/Things you say and things you do/What is that calling me to do" seems to be representing the singer's partner's constant complaints and frustrations that they express every time they are together, which is causing the singer to question their place in the relationship.
Overall, the lyrics of No Buts No Maybes seem to be focusing on the frustration and confusion of a partner in a relationship that has soured due to their significant other's behavior. The lyrics seem to be conveying the feeling of powerlessness that the singer is experiencing, and the desire to have a clear and straightforward conversation to help them understand their partner's feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby no buts and no maybes
I need a straightforward answer or decision from you, without any excuses or hedging
Baby you've been driving me crazy
Your behavior or actions have been causing me a lot of stress or frustration
What did I do to you
I'm confused or mystified by your behavior towards me
Honey, I ain't got no more money
I'm financially strained and can't provide for us in the way that I used to
Lately you been acting funny
You've been acting peculiar or unusual lately, and I'm not sure why
Every time we go out
Whenever we socialize or go somewhere together
This is all you talk about
You only want to discuss or complain about one particular topic or issue
Things you say and things you do
The way you communicate or behave towards me
What is that calling me to do
I'm unsure how to respond or what course of action to take in response to your words or actions
Oh baby, oh baby
An expression of affection or endearment towards the person being addressed
What did I do to you
I'm genuinely curious about what has caused you to change your behavior towards me
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: HENRY ROELAND BYRD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind