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.

Wish I Had Not Said That
J.J. Cale Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You don't come here too often
You make my day when you come around
You know I love you something awful
You're a diamond I have found
Wish I had not said that, baby
If I could only close you out of my mind
Sunset passes oh so sweetly
Gives a man just time to think

Frees the image of your body
Fantasy is just a blink
Wish I had not said that, baby
If I could only close you out of my mind
It don't matter what you're into
If I could taste you once again
Feel the pain and the pleasure
We could make it to the end

Wish I had not said that, baby
If I could only close you out of my mind

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of J.J. Cale's song "Wish I Had Not Said That" speak of a love that is both passionate and painful. The singer talks about how seldom the subject of the song visits them, yet their presence brings joy into their life. The singer then declares their love for the subject in an intense and almost desperate way, comparing their love to a valuable diamond they have found. However, the singer regrets confessing their feelings, and wishes they could erase the memory of it from their mind.

The song then moves onto a description of the sunset, which provides the singer with time to think about the subject of the song. The image of the subject's body is described as being freed by the sunset, allowing the singer's fantasy to take over. The singer again wishes they had not revealed their feelings to the subject, as it seems to have heightened their longing for their lover.

The final verse of the song expresses the sadness and desperation of the singer, who acknowledges that it does not matter what the subject is interested in, that they simply long to taste and feel them again. There is a sense of both pain and pleasure in the singer's thoughts, and the idea that they will do whatever it takes to be with the subject until the end.

Line by Line Meaning

You don't come here too often
I don't get to see you as much as I wish

You make my day when you come around
I always feel better when you're here with me

You know I love you something awful
My affection for you is incredibly strong

You're a diamond I have found
You are a rare and valuable treasure to me

Wish I had not said that, baby
I regret something I said, my dear

If I could only close you out of my mind
If only I could forget you and move on

Sunset passes oh so sweetly
The beauty of the sunset makes me feel peaceful

Gives a man just time to think
It allows me to reflect and ponder

Frees the image of your body
I can picture you more vividly in my mind

Fantasy is just a blink
But it's only a temporary escape from reality

It don't matter what you're into
Your interests or preferences are irrelevant