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.
Searchlights
David Cook Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For these searchlights are growing dim
I know this isn't much to recollect
Better now to close this puppet show
And say that it's the end
But for me,
Could you ready yourself
And hold on for a moment?
Could you bury it all
And hold on to this moment?
You made me fall forever
With no end in sight
When everything around is broken
Could you say that this felt right?
You are, for contradiction's sake,
Everything I remember that I swore I'd forget
You life has served you well
But everyone around has perished
From this fire that you've lit
Under me
I can ready myself
To hold on for a moment
Lock and key,
Trying to bury it all
And begin in this moment
You made me fall forever
With no end in sight
When everything around is broken
Could you say that this felt right?
You made me fall forever
With no end in sight
When everything around is broken
Could you say that this felt right?
You made me fall forever
With no end in sight
When everything around is broken
Could you say that this felt right?
Say it felt right
Say it felt right
Say it felt right
Say it felt right
The opening lines of David Cook's song 'Searchlights' suggest that the persona of the song is searching for someone in the darkness. The searchlights are dimming, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for hopelessness or a loss of direction. The persona reminisces about the good times spent with this person in question but then wonders if it's best to end the relationship, to which the persona seeks reassurance. The lyrics convey mixed emotions of love and betrayal, as the person in question created a tremendous impact on the persona but also broke their heart.
The chorus of the song repeatedly emphasizes the phrase, "You made me fall forever, with no end in sight." It's a metaphorical line that depicts how deep the persona was in love with this person. It also portrays how painful the heartbreak was, and the entire world seems to be tumbling down. The persona seeks acknowledgment from the other person where they ask, "Could you say this felt right?" It could be inferred that the persona is trying to make peace with the heartbreak and trying to come to terms with the relationship's ending.
This song has a pensive tone that weaves together the idea of searching and hopelessness, futility, and yearning. It's a song that speaks to the sadness of coming to terms with a love lost, and David Cook's vocals are powerful and moving. The song has layers of metaphorical meanings, making it both an emotional and a poetic masterpiece.
Line by Line Meaning
Where did you hide yourself
Where have you disappeared to?
For these searchlights are growing dim
The hope of finding you is fading away.
I know this isn't much to recollect
I don't have much to remember you by.
Better now to close this puppet show
It's time to end this charade.
And say that it's the end
To accept that it's over.
But for me,
But personally,
Could you ready yourself
Can you prepare yourself?
And hold on for a moment?
And hold on just for a little while longer?
Just for me,
Please, just for my sake,
Could you bury it all
Can you forget everything that happened between us?
And hold on to this moment?
And just stay in this moment with me?
You made me fall forever
You caused me to fall in love deeply.
With no end in sight
Without any chance of it ending.
When everything around is broken
Despite everything falling apart.
Could you say that this felt right?
Can you admit that what we had was worth it?
You are, for contradiction's sake,
You are, despite all contradictions,
Everything I remember that I swore I'd forget
Everything I vowed to forget from the past, you still embody.
You life has served you well
Your life has been good to you so far,
But everyone around has perished
But those around you have been destroyed.
From this fire that you've lit
From the destruction you have caused.
Under me
Beneath me,
I can ready myself
I am preparing myself
To hold on for a moment
To hold on for just a little while longer.
Lock and key,
I am keeping it hidden,
Trying to bury it all
Trying to forget everything that happened between us.
And begin in this moment
And start anew in this moment.
Say it felt right
Admit that it was worth it.
Say it felt right
Admit that what we had was good.
Say it felt right
Confirm that despite everything, you don't regret it.
Say it felt right
Say it was worth it.
Contributed by Wyatt B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Diaz207
This was the first song I ever downloaded it was on dial up internet and took 4 hours
Israel
Banger
John Schneider
Daaaamn this was my jam back in 2008!
Edma Pacanor
You make me fall forever with no end in sight.