John Weldon Cale (5 December 1938 – 26 July 2013), known as JJ Cale or J.… Read Full Bio ↴John Weldon Cale (5 December 1938 – 26 July 2013), known as JJ Cale or J.J. Cale, was a Grammy Award-winning American singer, musician, and songwriter. Cale was one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has often been described as "laid back".

His songs have been performed by a number of other musicians including "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton,"Cajun Moon" by Randy Crawford, "Clyde" and "Louisiana Women" by Waylon Jennings, "Magnolia" by Jai, "Bringing It Back" by Kansas, "Call Me the Breeze" and "I Got the Same Old Blues" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "I'd Like to Love You, Baby" by Tom Petty, "Travelin' Light" and "Ride Me High" by Widespread Panic, "Tijuana" by Harry Manx, "Sensitive Kind" by Carlos Santana, "Cajun Moon" by Herbie Mann with Cissy Houston, and "Same Old Blues" by Captain Beefheart.

Cale was born on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was raised in Tulsa and graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1956. Along with a number of other young Tulsa musicians, Cale moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, where he first worked as a studio engineer.
The Leathercoated Minds was a 1966-67 psychedelic studio-based band masterminded largely by Snuff Garrett and J J Cale. The band produced one album, A Trip down the Sunset Strip, co-produced by Cale and Garrett
Finding little success as a recording artist, he later returned to Tulsa and was considering giving up the music business until Clapton recorded "After Midnight" in 1970. His first album, Naturally, established his style, described by Los Angeles Times writer Richard Cromelin as a "unique hybrid of blues, folk and jazz, marked by relaxed grooves and Cale's fluid guitar and laconic vocals. His early use of drum machines and his unconventional mixes lend a distinctive and timeless quality to his work and set him apart from the pack of Americana roots-music purists."

Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean-Jacques Cale". In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale, Cale talks about Elmer Valentine, co-owner of the Sunset Strip nightclub Whisky à GoGo, who employed him in the mid-1960s, being the one that came up with the "JJ" moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale. Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail.

His biggest U.S. hit single, Crazy Mama, peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972. During the 2006 documentary film To Tulsa and Back Cale recounts the story of being offered the opportunity to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand to promote the song, which would have moved the song higher on the charts. Cale declined when told he could not bring his band to the taping and would be required to lip-sync the words to the song.

Cale died on Friday, July 26, 2013, at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, California, after suffering a heart attack.

Nowhere To Run
J.J. Cale Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Nowhere to run,
Nowhere to hide
No way to relieve
This feeling inside
You done gave me them blues
And then you took a ride
Left me with nowhere to run,
Nowhere to hide

Shame, oh shame, on what you do
Can't you see that I, I, I,
Been feeling so blue
Cast a spell on me,
Then you took a ride
Left me with nowhere to run,
Nowhere to hide
Pardon me, if I sound so sad
I can't get to you
When I want you so bad
You done gave me them blues,
Then you took a ride

Left me with nowhere to run,
Nowhere to hide

Overall Meaning

The song "Nowhere to run" by J.J. Cale is a bluesy track that expresses a feeling of being stuck and helpless. The lyrics describe a person who has been abandoned and left alone, feeling low, and unable to escape from the heartache that they are experiencing. The repetition of "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" throughout the song reinforces the sense of desperation felt by the singer, as they come to terms with the fact that they have been deserted and there is no escape from their feelings. Furthermore, as the lyrics progress, the singer puts the blame on the person who left, expressing their disappointment in a way that suggests that they were betrayed.

Cale's lyrics are especially poignant when he describes feeling lost, sorrowful, and helpless. While there is no resolution to the singer's situation in this song, the hopelessness they express is relatable for anyone who has experienced a similar kind of heartbreak. Ultimately, "Nowhere to run" is a sad song that reflects on the human experience of loss and grief.

Line by Line Meaning

Nowhere to run,
There is no place for me to escape

Nowhere to hide
There is no way for me to conceal myself

No way to relieve
There is no solution to cure

This feeling inside
This emotion residing within me

You done gave me them blues
You have made me feel sad and disappointed

And then you took a ride
And then you left without any concern for me

Left me with nowhere to run,
Abandoned me with no way out

Shame, oh shame, on what you do
Your actions are shameful

Can't you see that I, I, I,
Don't you realize that

Been feeling so blue
I have been feeling sad and down

Cast a spell on me,
You have captivated and enchanted me