Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Parker sang in small-time amateur English bands such as the Black Rockers and Deep Cut Three, while working in dead-end jobs at a glove factory and a petrol station. In late 1974 he placed an ad in Britain’s "Melody Maker" music mag seeking like-minded musicians and he began performing professionally. In 1975, he recorded a few demo tracks in London with Dave Robinson, who would shortly found Stiff Records and who connected Parker with his first backing band of note.
Graham Parker & the Rumour (with Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont on guitar, Bob Andrews on keyboards, Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums) formed in the summer of 1975 and began doing the rounds of the British pub rock scene. Their first album, Howlin' Wind, was released to acclaim in 1976 and rapidly followed by the stylistically similar Heat Treatment. A mixture of rock, ballads, and reggae-influenced numbers, these albums reflected Parker's early influences (Motown, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and contained the songs which formed the core of Parker's live shows -- "White Honey", "Soul Shoes", "Lady Doctor", "Fool's Gold", and his early signature tune "Don't Ask Me Questions", which hit the top 40 in the UK. Like the pub rock scene he was loosely tied to, the singer's class-conscious lyrics and passionate vocals signaled a renewal of rock music as punk rock began to flower in Britain.
Parker preceded the other "new wave" English singer-songwriters, Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. Early in his career his work was often compared favorably to theirs, and for decades journalists would continue to categorize them together, long after the artists' work had diverged. Characteristically, Parker would not hesitate to criticize this habit with caustic wit.
The first two albums' critical acclaim was generally not matched with LP sales. Graham Parker and the Rumour appeared on BBC television's Top of the Pops in 1976, performing their top 30 hit version of The Trammps' "Hold Back the Night".
At this point, Parker began to change his songwriting style, reflecting his desire to break into the American market. The first fruits of this new direction appeared on Stick To Me (1977). The album broke the top 20 on the UK charts but divided critical opinions.
Energized by his new label, Arista, and the presence of legendary producer Jack Nitzsche, Parker followed with Squeezing Out Sparks (1979), widely held to be the best album of his career. For this album, The Rumour's brass section, prominent on all previous albums, was jettisoned, resulting in a spare, intense rock backing for some of Parker's most brilliant songs. Of particular note was "You Can't Be Too Strong", one of rock music's rare songs to confront the topic of abortion, however ambivalently.
Squeezing out Sparks is still ranked by fans and critics alike as one of the finest rock albums ever made. Rolling Stone named it #335 [1] on their 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In an early 1987 Rolling Stone list of their top 100 albums from 1967-1987, Squeezing Out Sparks was ranked at #45, while Howlin' Wind came in at #54 [2].
Although marginally less intense than its predecessor, 1980's The Up Escalator was Parker's highest-charting album in the UK and featured glossy production by Jimmy Iovine and guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless it was Parker's last album with the Rumour, although guitarist Brinsley Schwarz would join most of the singer's albums through the decade's end.
The 1980s were Parker's most commercially successful years, with well-financed recordings and radio and video play. Over the decade, the British press turned unkind to him, but he continued to tour the world with top backing bands, and his 1985 release Steady Nerves included his only US Top 40 hit, "Wake Up (Next to You)". The singer began living mostly in the United States during this time.
In early 2011, Parker reunited with all five original members of The Rumour to record a new album. The record, titled Three Chords Good, was released in November 2012.
Bad to Me
Graham Parker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you ever leave me, I'm so in love with you
The birds in the sky would be sad and lonely
If they knew that I'd lost my one and only
They'd be sad, don't be bad to me
The leaves on the trees would be softly sighin
They'd be sad, don't be bad to me
But I know you won't leave me 'cos you told me so
And I've no intention of letting you go
Just as long as you let me know you won't be bad to me
So the birds in the sky won't be sad and lonely
'Cause they know that I got my one and only
They'll be glad you're not bad to me
The lyrics of Graham Parker's song Bad to Me are about a plea from the singer to his beloved not to leave him, as it would cause him and nature around him to be saddened. The song starts with the singer admitting that he would be sad and blue if his beloved ever left him. He implores her not to leave him, stating that he is so much in love with her. The singer believes that even the birds in the sky would be sad and lonely, knowing that he had lost his one and only love. He asks his lover not to be bad to him, exhibiting his vulnerability, desperation and the extent to which he depends on her to make him happy.
The singer further notes that the leaves on the trees would softly sigh if they knew that his lover had left him crying. He feels as though he would lose everything that means something to him if she were to leave him. Nonetheless, the singer reassures himself that his lover won't leave him because she has told him so. He declares that he has no intention of letting her go and, as long she promises to never be bad to him, their love will be a source of happiness to him and those around him. The song ends on a positive note by suggesting that the birds in the sky will be happy, knowing that the singer has found his one and only love, and she isn't bad to him.
Line by Line Meaning
If you ever leave me I'll be sad and blue
My happiness depends solely on you not leaving me. If you do, it will deeply affect me.
Don't you ever leave me, I'm so in love with you
I am deeply in love with you and cannot go on without you. Please, never leave me.
The birds in the sky would be sad and lonely
If they knew that I'd lost my one and only
They'd be sad, don't be bad to me
If you leave me, everything around me will be affected. Even the birds in the sky would be affected; they would be sad knowing that I lost my one true love. Please don't hurt me.
The leaves on the trees would be softly sighin
If they heard from the breeze that you left me cryin'
They'd be sad, don't be bad to me
The environment around me would feel my pain if you left me crying. Even the leaves on the trees would make a sorrowful sound. Please don't do this to me.
But I know you won't leave me 'cos you told me so
And I've no intention of letting you go
Just as long as you let me know you won't be bad to me
I trust you when you say you won't leave me. I am committed to keeping you and won't let you go. But please, reassure me that you won't hurt me.
So the birds in the sky won't be sad and lonely
'Cause they know that I got my one and only
They'll be glad you're not bad to me
Know that if you stay with me, everything around us will be at peace. The birds in the sky will be glad knowing that you're here with me and not hurting me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON, JOHN WINSTON LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind