The Trinity Session is perhaps their best known record, recorded live in a single day on a single microphone in a church in Toronto. This album also included a unique cover version of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane". Reed reportedly liked the Junkies' version of the song better than his own, and began performing their version in concert.
None of the band's subsequent albums have been hits outside of Canada, although the band has maintained a dedicated following and have continued to have chart hits in their native country. Following their 1998 album Miles from Our Home, Cowboy Junkies were dropped from their major label contract. They have continued to release albums on their own independent label, Latent Records.
Where Are You Tonight?
Cowboy Junkies Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quarters piled high upon the table
He orders Wild Turkey and with a quick wit and a smile
He says, 'My darling, you're the one I'll drape in sable'
But his baseball cap and this bar-room rap
Tell me a different story
That this is not my prince to grant all my wishes
Just another lonely country-boy grown weary of the night
Where are you tonight?
When I left you in my dreams last night
You promised me that we would be breaking free
Where are you tonight?
He tells me of the back roads
And how we'll drive them all night long
How the days will fade and the moon will hang forever
And how the cloud of dust we'll kick up will linger like a song
And the myth will grow about the two who refused to surrender
Then I catch us in the bar-room mirror
With his arm around my shoulder
This girl I see has grown so unfamiliar
And as she stands to leave with a stranger by her side
She can't help but laugh at a life grown so peculiar
Where are you tonight?
I don't think I can face tomorrow's light
Not knowing if you'll be there to guide me
Where are you tonight?
Where are you tonight?
I think that I'll make it through all right,
But I'd love to have you just one more time beside me
The song "Where Are You Tonight?" by Cowboy Junkies is a poignant and reflective ballad that deals with the theme of loneliness and the search for love. The lyrics are about a woman who has met a man in a bar, who seems charming and alluring, but who she knows deep down is not the one for her. The young man is described as playing "Crazy" all night long in the corner of the bar, with a pile of quarters on the table in front of him. He is wearing a baseball cap and talking about wild nights on the back roads, but the woman knows that his promises are empty.
Despite her misgivings, the woman is drawn to the man's charisma and she imagines a life with him where they will break free and drive down endless back roads forever. But when she sees herself in the bar-room mirror with the man's arm around her, she realizes that the life she is imagining is not real. The girl she sees reflected back at her is a stranger, and she leaves the bar with a stranger by her side, laughing at the peculiarity of her own life. The song ends on a note of uncertainty and longing, with the woman asking "where are you tonight?" and expressing her desire to have the man beside her just one more time.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet meditation on love, loneliness, and the way that we can be seduced by our own dreams of what our lives could be. The lyrics are carefully crafted and unfold like a short story, painting a vivid picture of the scene in the bar and the emotions of the woman who is searching for love.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a young man in the corner playing 'Crazy' all night long
A young man is playing 'Crazy' on the corner all night long
Quarters piled high upon the table
There are lots of coins stacked on the table
He orders Wild Turkey and with a quick wit and a smile
He orders Wild Turkey with a smile and a sharp sense of humor
He says, 'My darling, you're the one I'll drape in sable'
He declares that his beloved is the one he will clothe with sable fur
But his baseball cap and this bar-room rap
His baseball hat and talk of barrooms give off a certain impression
Tell me a different story
But they do not tell the true story
That this is not my prince to grant all my wishes
This young man is not her prince charming who can fulfill her every desire
Just another lonely country-boy grown weary of the night
He is just another lonely country boy who's tired of the long night
Just another boy with a sink full of dirty dishes
He is just another boy with a sink full of unwashed dishes
Where are you tonight?
Where are you tonight?
When I left you in my dreams last night
When I left you in my dreams last night
You promised me that we would be breaking free
You promised me that we would be breaking free
He tells me of the back roads
He tells me about the back roads
And how we'll drive them all night long
And how we will drive on them all night long
How the days will fade and the moon will hang forever
He imagines that the days will pass and the moon will stay forever
And how the cloud of dust we'll kick up will linger like a song
He predicts that the dust we'll kick up will stay in the air like a song
And the myth will grow about the two who refused to surrender
People will construct a legend about two people who refused to give up
Then I catch us in the bar-room mirror
Then I catch a glimpse of us both in the bar-room mirror
With his arm around my shoulder
He has his arm around my shoulder
This girl I see has grown so unfamiliar
The girl I see in the mirror seems so unfamiliar to me
And as she stands to leave with a stranger by her side
As she prepares to leave with a stranger
She can't help but laugh at a life grown so peculiar
She bursts into laughter at how strange life has become
I don't think I can face tomorrow's light
I'm not sure I can handle the light of the next day
Not knowing if you'll be there to guide me
Because I don't know if you'll be there to guide me
Where are you tonight?
Where are you tonight?
I think that I'll make it through all right,
I believe that I will be alright
But I'd love to have you just one more time beside me
But I would love to have you beside me, even if it's just one more time
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
sisterofnight1971
There's a young man in the corner playing 'Crazy' all night long
Quarters piled high upon the table
He orders Wild Turkey and with a quick wit and a smile
He says, 'My darling, you're the one I'll drape in sable'
But his baseball cap and this bar-room rap
Tell me a different story
That this is not my prince to grant all my wishes
Just another lonely country-boy grown weary of the night
Just another boy with a sink full of dirty dishes
Where are you tonight?
When I left you in my dreams last night
You promised me that we would be breaking free
Where are you tonight?
He tells me of the back roads
And how we'll drive them all night long
How the days will fade and the moon will hang forever
And how the cloud of dust we'll kick up will linger like a song
And the myth will grow about the two who refused to surrender
Then I catch us in the bar-room mirror
With his arm around my shoulder
This girl I see has grown so unfamiliar
And as she stands to leave with a stranger by her side
She can't help but laugh at a life grown so peculiar
Where are you tonight?
I don't think I can face tomorrow's light
Not knowing if you'll be there to guide me
Where are you tonight?
Where are you tonight?
I think that I'll make it through all right,
But I'd love to have you just one more time beside me
Terry Pender
This woman has been making me listen intently and sometimes weep for, oh, 30 years now. Wow.
Erik
One of the most beautiful, most poignant songs ever. A masterpiece..
Ray Avery
Such a beautiful voice !!!
I love Cowboy Junkies !!!!
8lalanz
These guys shaped my life in the 80s. Still love listening to them!
papinok
Thanks to everyone who has viewed / liked this video. It is the only video I have ever made and probably the last. I just felt this was the best song by the Cowboy Junkies and had to share it with the world on You Tube. I am sure I haven't done it justice but tried to capture the essence of it's lonliness that I am sure we have all fel at one time. Cheers!
Doggee Likesit
Well, thank you very much! You kicked ass with this. Of course I love it.
Dion Mkiva
CBJ & LHO continue to produce beautiful music. The creative energy provided by Tom Wilson is unparalleled.
EJ McGuinness
What's LHO?
Daryl Harrison
One of the best Cowboy Junkies tracks ever. Given they have such a huge catalogue it's difficult to make such a claim but I stand by it.
SuZee QZee
LOVE THEIR SOUND! LOVE THEIR ORIGINAL LYRICS & THE CHOICES OF REMAKES: e.g. Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road".... The photography is beyond awesome!!!! Makes me wish I were there!!! MN, USA Fan