He is signed with Concord Records. He had his début self titled album in 1991 which sold 1.5 milllion. In his solo career, his most famous songs are 'I Wonder Why' and 'You're All That Matters To Me'. He has also worked with Elton John, Eric Clapton, Prince, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, The Allman Brothers Band and Joe Cocker.
Since then he has married and has a daughter, and recently participated in the BBC TV programme "Just the Two of Us", where he partnered newsreader and TV presenter Penny Smith.
Albums
Curtis Stigers (Arista, 1991)
Time Was (Arista, 1995)
Brighter Days (Columbia, 1999)
Baby Plays Around (Concord Jazz, 2001)
Secret Heart (Concord Jazz, 2002)
You Inspire Me (Concord Jazz, 2003)
I Think It's Going to Rain Today (Concord Jazz, 2005)
Real Emotional (Concord, 2007)
Lost in Dreams (Concord, 2009)
Let's Go Out Tonight (Concord Jazz, 2012)
Hooray for Love (Concord Jazz, 2014)
One More for the Road [live] (Concord Jazz, 2014 [rel. 2017]) with the Danish Radio Big Band
Gentleman (EmArcy, 2020)
The Big One
Curtis Stigers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come walk again with me
In my dream of love
The stars above
But dreams will fade
And all the plans we made
Will go up in flame
Now every story has an end
And we can't go on pretending like we used to
(Used to)
And I should go off by myself
To preserve my mental health but I don't choose to
(I might lose you)
'Cause I'm waiting for the big one
I'm waiting for the ground to start to shake
I'm waiting for the big one
When the walls start to crumble and love comes a tumblin'
Down, down, down
I never knew
I never saw the writing
On the crumbling wall
We had it all
Well, I've done the best I can
Built you castles in the sand just to keep you
(Keep you)
But the tide's coming in
And I'll sink if I don't swim but I can't leave you
(I won't leave you)
'Cause I'm waiting for the big one
I'm waiting for the walls to start to shake
I'm waiting for the big one
When my heart starts to break and the earth starts to quake
Waiting for the big one
They built this house of love on shaky ground
I'm waiting for the big one
When the walls start to crumble and love comes a tumblin'
Down, down, down, down
And all this time
I thought the world would turn
And the sun would shine
You'd be mine, all mine
But I can't find a trace
Of the love in your face that I'm used to
(Used to)
You don't need me anymore
And I can walk right out that door if I choose to
(But I don't choose to)
'Cause I'm waiting for the big one
I'm waiting for the walls to start to shake
I'm waiting for the big one
When my heart starts to break and the earth starts to quake
Waiting for the big one
They built this house of love on shaky ground
I'm waiting for the big one
When the walls start to crumble and love comes a tumblin'
Down, down, down, down
I'm waiting for the big one
I'm waiting for the big one
I'm waiting for the big one...
The song, The Big One by Curtis Stigers, deals with the painful process of realizing that a relationship has come to an end. The singer takes us on a journey of denial, acceptance, and ultimately, despair. The song is constructed in three parts: the first part talks about the hope and beauty of a relationship and how the singer is willing to persevere through thick and thin. The second part is where reality sets in, and the singer becomes aware that the relationship is on shaky ground with the realization that everything can come crashing down at any moment. And finally, in the third part, the singer acknowledges that there’s no saving the relationship and instead waits for the inevitable breakup.
Line by Line Meaning
Come take my hand
Join me on this journey of love and let us face the world together
Come walk again with me
Let us rekindle our love and walk together on this path once more
In my dream of love
In the world of love that exists only in my dreams
The stars above
Under the starry sky that symbolizes the vastness of our love
But dreams will fade
The dreams of love that we shared will eventually disappear
And all the plans we made
All the future plans we had together
Will go up in flame
Will be destroyed and taken away from us
All in vain
All the efforts we put into our relationship will seem worthless
Now every story has an end
All things must come to an end, including our love story
And we can't go on pretending like we used to (Used to)
We can no longer pretend that everything is okay and go on as if nothing happened
And I should go off by myself
I should be by myself to protect my own sanity
To preserve my mental health but I don't choose to (I might lose you)
I am afraid that if I leave, I might lose you and that thought scares me
'Cause I'm waiting for the big one
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
I'm waiting for the ground to start to shake
I am waiting for something drastic to happen that will cause our love to crumble
When the walls start to crumble and love comes a tumblin' Down, down, down
When our love falls apart, it will be like an earthquake that will cause everything to crumble down
I never knew
I never realized
I never saw the writing
I never noticed the warning signs
On the crumbling wall
On the wall that was already falling apart
We had it all
Our love was once strong and perfect
Well, I've done the best I can
I have tried my best to make our relationship work
Built you castles in the sand just to keep you (Keep you)
I have gone to great lengths to ensure that you are happy and content with me
But the tide's coming in
But the inevitable end of our love is drawing near
And I'll sink if I don't swim but I can't leave you (I won't leave you)
If I don't try to save our relationship, I will be swept away and drowned by the final wave of our end, but I can't bring myself to leave you
'Cause I'm waiting for the big one
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
When my heart starts to break and the earth starts to quake
When our love falls apart, it will be like an earthquake that will cause everything to crumble down
They built this house of love on shaky ground
Our love was never strong enough to begin with, and our foundation was always unstable
And all this time
All this while
I thought the world would turn
I thought that everything would work out in the end
And the sun would shine
And that we would always have a bright future together
You'd be mine, all mine
You would always belong to me
But I can't find a trace
But I no longer see
Of the love in your face that I'm used to (Used to)
The love and affection that I used to see in your eyes
You don't need me anymore
You no longer require my presence or love
And I can walk right out that door if I choose to (But I don't choose to)
I can easily choose to leave you but I don't have the heart to do so
'Cause I'm waiting for the big one
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
When my heart starts to break and the earth starts to quake
When our love falls apart, it will be like an earthquake that will cause everything to crumble down
I'm waiting for the big one
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
When the walls start to crumble and love comes a tumblin'
When our love falls apart, it will be like an earthquake that will cause everything to crumble down
Down, down, down, down
To the very bottom, with no chance of recovery
I'm waiting for the big one
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
I'm waiting for the big one
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
I'm waiting for the big one...
I am waiting for the final straw, the last event that will break us apart
Contributed by Leo T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.