In a career dating back to the 1960s he has played with bands including Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and Skid Row as well as having a successful solo career.
Moore started performing from a young age and got his first good guitar at the age of 14. In a career lasting over 30 years he has demonstrated that he is a fine musician, and his unique style of playing has adapted to very different music genres, including jazz rock jazz, blues, electric blues, hard rock, celtic rock and heavy metal.
One of his most famous non-blues records is Wild Frontier, his first studio album after a trip back to his native Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1985, this album has several songs about Ireland and even the music itself is steeped in Celtic roots. The title track was intended to be sung by Phil Lynott, however Lynott's death in January 1986 prevented that. The album is dedicated to Lynott's memory, with the words "For Philip" on the rear cover.
Wild Frontier contains the hit "Over the Hills and Far Away", which reached #20 in the UK as well as a cover of the Australian band The Easybeats' hit of the middle of the 1960s, "Friday on My Mind". The Max Middleton-penned "The Loner" was originally recorded by Cozy Powell for his Over the Top album in 1979 (which Moore did perform on, albeit not on Powell's recording of "The Loner"), but was substantially altered by Moore for his own recording, thus he was credited as a co-writer.
For blues fans, Moore's best recorded, live performance on video is "LIVE BLUES" recorded in a small night club in London and was released in 1992 on VHS. It is now available on DVD as well. "LIVE BLUES" also features two songs with B.B. King appearing on stage with Moore. "The Thrill Is Gone" on this recording is probably the best version of this, complete with More's Midnight Horns, female backup singers and dueling guitars. Many of Moore's standard songs are on this 90 minute show and were mixed better than most of the studio versions of the same tunes for a very rich and full sound. Even Moore's voice sounds better than it usually does in the studio. Moore did not seem interested in touring the United States.
Connection with Peter Green
According to numerous interviews he has given to guitar magazines, he was the protege of British Blues pioneer Peter Green, whom he had always admired ever since the Bluesbreakers days. When Green quit Fleetwood Mac and the entire music scene, he sold his famous nasal-sounding 1959 Gibson Les Paul to Moore for the same price that Moore had managed to sell his then guitar (a Gibson SG) for. The nasal sound of the neck pickup on Green's guitar was not, as used to be believed, the result of the pickup having been turned backwards, but instead its two coils had been - perhaps accidentally - reconnected in parallel and out of phase, as per the "in between" positions of a Fender Stratocaster. Moore has used this guitar in the recordings of some songs of his albums Still Got The Blues, After Hours and Blues For Greeny. Green and Moore also reportedly had a disagreement regarding what guitar the former was playing in the song "Albatross". Moore insists it was the Les Paul, because the guitar tone was particularly warm and rich in the bass, while Peter Green maintains he was using a Strat, as the vibrato in that song was not finger vibrato, but subtle tremolo arm vibrato. Up to the day of his death, Green and Moore remained good friends.
Guitars used
Over the years Gary has used numerous guitars. These include: Peter Green's 1959 Gibson Les Paul, Peter Green's 1961 Fender Stratocaster and 1950s Gibson Les Paul Junior. He has also used guitars from Charvel, Ibanez, Hamer, Jackson and Heritage. Amplification has generally come from Marshall, though Soldanos and Fender have also been used, as well as transistor-driven Dean Markley units (especially in the studio). He also has used numerous effects over the years. these include; Delay units such as the Echoplex, Overdrive/Booster units such as the Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamer variants, Marshall Bluesbreaker and Guv'nor pedals as well as Wah-Wah pedals such as the Vox Wah. He appears nowadays to favour Gibson and Fender Guitars through Marshall amps with any of the above Overdrive pedals and Wah pedals to make his sound.
Solo career
In 1973 he released his first solo album as the Gary Moore Band. In 1979 his solo career started again with help from Phil Lynott, the combination of Gary's blues based guitar and Phil's voice produced "Parisenne Walkways" which reached the UK Top Ten in April 1979 and the no.2 album 'Black Rose'. After a series of powerful rock records Gary returned to blues music with Still Got the Blues, with contributions from B. B. King, Albert King and Albert Collins the album was well received by fans and a huge success. Gary stayed with the blues format until 1997 when he decided to experiment with modern dance beats in Dark Days In Paradise; this left many fans as well as the music press confused. Back to the Blues saw Gary return to the tried and tested blues format.
Albums
* Grinding Stone, 1973
* Parisienne Walkways, 1977
* Back on the Streets, 1978
* Corridors of Power, 1982
* Live at the Marquee, 1983
* Rockin' Every Night - Live in Japan, 1983
* Victims of the Future, 1983
* Dirty Fingers, 1984
* We Want Moore, 1984
* Run for Cover, 1985
* Wild Frontier, 1987
* After the War, 1989
* Still Got the Blues, 1990
* After Hours, 1992
* Blues Alive, 1993
* Ballads & Blues 1982-1994, 1994
* Blues For Greeny, 1995
* Dark Days in Paradise, 1997
* Out in the Fields - The Very Best of Part 1, 1998
* Blood of Emeralds - The Very Best of Part 2, 1999
* A Different Beat, 1999
* Back to the Blues, 2001
* Power Of The Blues, 2004
* Old New Ballads Blues, 2006
* Close As You Get, 2007
* Bad For You Baby, 2008
Singles
* Parisienne Walkways
* Out in the Fields
* Empty Rooms
* Wild Frontier
* Still Got the Blues
The Future (2005-present)
Later on in 2006, Gary will support BB King on his 'Farewell UK Tour'. It unfortunately did not lead to a tour of the United States with BB King.
The studio album entitled 'Old New Ballads Blues' was a follow up of 2004's 'Power of the Blues' and it featured new material as well as new versions of fan favourites 'Midnight Blues' and 'All your Love'
Gary Moore has also sold his Les Paul that was given to him by Peter Green to a private owner.
On February 6th 2011, he died from a heart attack in his sleep while on holiday in Spain.
External links
* The Official Gary Moore World Wide Website: http://www.gary-moore.com/
* The Lord Of The Strings - World Wide Gary Moore Fansite: http://www.garymoore.hu/eng.htm Thanks for the music.
Run to Your Mama
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got to be mean, you've got to be tough,
You don't need none of that pity stuff.
You've got to be hard or else you'll be done.
You have to take care of number one.
Don't come to me if you're out on the street.
I'll only tell you to get up on your feet.
Cause I don't have the time to listen to you.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
You've got to be smooth, you've got to be rough,
You don't need none of that pity stuff.
You've got to be cruel, forget bein' kind,
Or else they'll just take it and leave you behind.
Don't come to me if you're down on the ground.
If it's problems you've got, I don't need you around.
Don't come to me if your luck is in doubt,
Cause I won't even listen, I'll just kick you out.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me, yeah.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me, yeah-yeah.
Run to your mama, don't you come crying to me.
Run to your mama, don't you come crying to me.
No, no, no, no.
Run to your mama, but don't you come crying to me, no.
The lyrics to Gary Moore's song "Run to Your Mama" are a warning to those who find themselves in tough situations. The repeated refrain of "run to your mama, but don't come crying to me" is a clear message that the singer doesn't have time for someone who is looking for sympathy or a handout. The lyrics emphasize the importance of being strong and self-reliant in order to succeed in life. The lines "you've got to be mean, you've got to be tough" and "you've got to be cruel, forget bein' kind" suggest that in order to survive, one needs to be ruthless and unfeeling.
The verses also suggest that the singer has no patience for those who are struggling. Lines like "don't come to me if you're out on the street" and "if it's problems you've got, I don't need you around" make it clear that the singer has no sympathy for someone who has fallen on hard times. Instead, the lyrics suggest that one should turn to their mother, who symbolizes a source of comfort and support.
Overall, the lyrics to "Run to Your Mama" are a message of tough love, reminding listeners that in order to succeed in life, they need to be strong and self-reliant.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got to be mean, you've got to be tough,
You have to be strong and resilient.
You don't need none of that pity stuff.
You can't rely on sympathy, you need to take care of yourself.
You've got to be hard or else you'll be done.
If you're not tough, you won't survive.
You have to take care of number one.
You have to prioritize yourself.
Don't come to me if you're out on the street.
Don't come to me for help if you're in a bad situation.
I'll only tell you to get up on your feet.
I won't offer sympathy, I'll tell you to be strong.
Don't come to me if you feel you are through,
Don't come to me if you're defeated.
Cause I don't have the time to listen to you.
I won't waste my time on someone who's given up.
Run to your mama, but don't come crying to me.
Find comfort in your loved ones, not me.
You've got to be smooth, you've got to be rough,
You need to be adaptable and versatile.
You've got to be cruel, forget bein' kind,
You can't be soft-hearted or people will walk all over you.
Or else they'll just take it and leave you behind.
If you're too nice, people will take advantage of you and move on.
Don't come to me if you're down on the ground.
Don't come to me for help if you're in a bad situation.
If it's problems you've got, I don't need you around.
I won't associate with someone who can't handle their own problems.
Don't come to me if your luck is in doubt,
Don't come to me if you're unsure of yourself.
Cause I won't even listen, I'll just kick you out.
I won't waste my time on someone lacking confidence or direction.
Run to your mama, don't you come crying to me.
Find comfort elsewhere, I won't offer sympathy.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jan van Wonderen
One of the best of Gary's songs ever made.
Danny Brew
Great song...sometimes I forget how good Gary's earlier song were!
LFP. _
The best gift my dad gave me was two albuns from the old days of Gary Moore 🤘🏼
Thrasher
This song got me through a lot of shit in my life,
correction, Gary Moore got me through a lot of my life.
Man I miss him... :(
Doar Eu
We all do brother...
Smokestack Studios Gembrook
Thrasher Blackpaw Miss him too brother.. I’m 53 and a guitar player and have everything he ever recorded.
And this song brings back huge memories too. RIP GM.🎸
Thomas Borgebäck
Garys best recordings if you ask me!!!!!!!
Mikey Amos
I was listening to Pete Pardo top ten Gary Moore songs and this was in at number 4! I do like this one though great guitar solos as always from late G.Moore R.I.P.
Thomas Borgebäck
This LP is Fabolous!!!!
Дмитрий Кут
Заебись !! В 95г.мне было 10....и я слушал это у шурина в машине....