David Roland Cook (born December 20, 1982 in Houston, Texas, United States)… Read Full Bio ↴David Roland Cook (born December 20, 1982 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol. Prior to Idol he released an independent album entitled "Analog Heart" released on May 6, 2006. This was followed by his post-Idol major-label debut "David Cook" which was released on November 18, 2008 and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA, as were two singles from the album, “Light On” and “Time of My Life.” A third single, “Come Back To Me,” was certified gold.

On June 28, 2011, Cook released his second major-label studio album, entitled "This Loud Morning". Produced by Matt Serletic, the album consists of 14 tracks penned by Cook along with co-writers David Hodges, Ryan Tedder, Kevin Griffin and Marti Frederiksen, among others. The album title comes from a line in the song “Rapid Eye Movement” – “Give me one more quiet night, before this loud morning gets it right, and does me in.”

On May 10, 2012, Cook debuted a new, independently released single, The Last Song I’ll Write for You, on American Idol. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Cook denied this was written with his former record company in mind, despite the fact it was his first new song after losing his recording contract with RCA. He insisted it was a break-up song that came together very quickly.

Early Music Career: David Cook formed a band with his friend Bobby Kerr while at high school. The band was initially named Red Eye, later Axium. He wrote his first song titled “Red Hot” when he was fifteen. He was encouraged by Evan Sula-Goff of 8stops7 to make an album when he went to Cook’s school to judge a contest, Mr. Jaguar, where David Cook and his band performed Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City”. The band had some success when one of their songs, “Hold”, was selected to be played in movie theaters across the country, and they were named one of the top 15 independent bands in the country by “Got Milk?” contest as well as the best Kansas City band in 2004.

Axium however broke up in 2006 and David Cook moved to Tulsa where he joined Midwest Kings, a band he once opened for. Members of that band Andy Skib and Neal Tiemann later became part of David Cook’s post-Idol band The Anthemic. He recorded and self-released a solo album Analog Heart in 2006, which sold well regionally.He worked as a bartender prior to appearing on Idol.

In 2006, after obtaining a degree in graphic arts, Cook had to decide whether he wanted to be a musician or a graphic designer. “I gave myself every opportunity not to do music,” he says, “but it was always there. I couldn’t ignore it.” He moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was in the early stages of recording his second album when his younger brother Andrew asked Cook to accompany him to Omaha and lend moral support while he tried out for American Idol. Andrew didn’t make the cut, but he encouraged a very reluctant David to try out. After Cook made it through the early auditions, he reportedly told his brother he’d drop out if Andrew didn’t want him to go through with it. “He threatened to beat my ass if I didn’t, so it’s entirely his fault that all this happened to me,” Cook says with a smile.

One week after being declared the winner with a record-breaking 56 percent of the nearly 100 million votes cast, Cook rewrote chart history when 11 of his songs debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart — the highest number of new entries in a single week by an artist since the Beatles in 1964. Topping the list was “The Time of My Life,” which debuted at No. 3, making it the highest new entry on the Hot 100 of 2008.

Cook’s self-titled major-label debut was released on November 18, 2008. His debut album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association for America (RIAA) for sales exceeding one-million units in January 2009.

In January 2009, Cook announced he would be embarking on a national tour in February. The Declaration Tour began on February 13, 2009 in Tallahassee, Florida, and was originally set to end in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 25, 2009. Due to strong ticket sales, the tour was extended several times, finally wrapping up on December 1, 2009 at The Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, after 154 concerts in the U.S. and Canada. During 2009 Cook also took his show overseas to the Philippines, and performed for troops in Iraq with the USO.

On April 30, 2013, Cook released a new single, “Laying Me Low”, through XIX Recordings, the record label of American Idol creator Simon Fuller. The song was written by David Cook, Chris Reardon, and Andy Waldeck.

I Did it for You
David Cook Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Today's not the same
As every day
It's far from ordinary
The pain I endure
You're my cure
But my mistakes have led me
Far away from you

You turn away
From all those things
That I've been trying to say
And all those promises
I shouldn't have made
I did it for you

Mile by mile
Feelings I just can't reconcile
My heart's on a string
These broken wings
You knew I'd be so fragile
Far away from you

You turn away
From all those things
That I've been trying to say
And all those promises
I shouldn't have made
I did it for you

I searched my soul
And all these feelings
That I can't control
And you're the one thing
That can make me whole
I did it for you

Try to let you know
Try to let you know
Try to let you know

Today is not the same
As every day
It's far from ordinary

You turn away
From all those things
That I've been trying to say
And all those promises
I shouldn't have made
I did it for you

Oh, I searched my soul
And all these feelings
That I can't control
And you're the one thing
That can make me whole
I did it for you
I did it for you
I did it for you

You're the one thing that can make me whole,
I did it for you.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "I Did it for You" by David Cook express the pain and regret of someone who has made many mistakes, causing them to feel far away from their loved one. The repetition of "Today's not the same" emphasizes that something significant has changed in their relationship, and that they are struggling to communicate their feelings. The singer believes that their loved one is the cure to their pain, but their mistakes have pushed them further away.

Despite their efforts to make things right, their promises were broken, making their loved one turn away. The lines "You turn away from all those things that I've been trying to say, and all those promises I shouldn't have made. I did it for you" imply that the singer was trying to prove their love to their partner through actions they couldn't keep.

The chorus of the song is the most powerful part, as it contains the repeated phrase "I did it for you", showing that everything they did was in the interest of their partner. They express how difficult it is for them to reconcile their feelings and emotions. The line "My heart's on a string, these broken wings" paints a vivid depiction of the singer's vulnerability and fragility. By the end of the song, the singer admits that their loved one is the only one who can make them whole, even after all the pain and the mistakes.

Line by Line Meaning

Today's not the same
Today is different from every other day

As every day
It is not like the other days

It's far from ordinary
It is quite unusual and unique

The pain I endure
I am suffering from unhappiness or distress

You're my cure
You are the solution to my pain

But my mistakes have led me
I am in this situation because of my wrongs

Far away from you
I am distant from you

You turn away
You ignore me

From all those things
From everything that I say or do

That I've been trying to say
From all the emotions I am expressing

And all those promises
From all the pledges I made