Throughout his prolific career, James Newton Howard has scored films of all scales and genres, earning multiple award nominations for his work. Howard began studying music as a young child and went on to attend the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California and then majored in piano performance at the University of Southern California. After Howard left college, he toured with Elton John and Toto as a keyboardist during the late 1970s and early 1980s before moving into film music in the mid-1980s.
By the 1990s, Howard truly hit his career stride, scoring the surprise blockbuster romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990) and receiving his first Academy Award nomination for his score for Barbra Streisand's drama The Prince of Tides (1991). Setting the musical mood for numerous films throughout the decade, Howard's skills encompassed a plethora of genres, including two more best original score Oscar nominations, the Harrison Ford actioner The Fugitive (1993) and the Julia Roberts romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding. In addition, Howard scored the Western epic Wyatt Earp (1994), the legal drama Primal Fear (1996), and the blockbuster M. Night Shyamalan suspense thrillers The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), and The Village (2004). His collaborations on tunes for One Fine Day (1996) and Junior (1994) garnered Best Song nods. Along with scoring such smaller, character-driven films as Five Corners (1988), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and American Heart (1993), Howard proved equally skilled at composing for big-budget Hollywood spectacles, including Space Jam (1996), Dante's Peak (1997), Dinosaur (2000), and Collateral (2004). Although for Dante's Peak he only composed the main theme only, the score itself was composed by John Frizzell. Though he concentrated primarily on films, Howard has also contributed music for TV series, earning an Emmy nomination in 1995 for his theme to NBC's ratings smash ER.
Howard is now one of the most recognized composers for film. His work in 2004 on The Village, with violin solos by Hilary Hahn, earned him an Oscar nomination. Since, he has composed for several major motion pictures, notably the score for Batman Begins which he co-wrote with Hans Zimmer. On October 14, 2005, it was officially announced that Howard would replace Howard Shore as composer for King Kong, due to "differing creative aspirations for the score" between Shore and director Peter Jackson. The resultant score earned Howard his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score.
Since then he has been nominated for Best Original Score for the legal thriller Michael Clayton in 2008 and the war film Defiance in 2009. Since then he has composed music for blockbuster franchises and solo films including I Am Legend,The Dark Knight with Hans Zimmer, all of The Hunger Games films and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He was nominated for another Academy Award nomination in 2021 for his work on News of the World
I Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl
James Newton Howard Lyrics
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I wished I had some good man, to tell my troubles to
Seem like the whole world's wrong
Since my man's been gone
I need a little sugar in my bowl
I need a little hot dog on my roll
I can stand a bit of lovin', oh so badI feel so funny, I feel so sad
I need a little steam-heat on my floor
Maybe I can fix things up, so they'll go
What's the matter hard papa
Come on and save your mama's soul
'Cause I need a little sugar, in my bowl, doggone it
I need a some sugar in my bowl
I need a little sugar in my bowl
I need a little hot dog between my rolls
You gettin' different, I've been told
Move your finger, drop something in my bowl
I need a little steam-heat on my floor
Maybe I can fix things up, so they'll go
Get off your knees, I can't see what you're drivin' at
It's dark down there looks like a snake!
C'mon here and drop somethin' here in my bowl
Stop your foolin' and drop somethin' in my bowl
The song "I Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" by James Newton Howard is a classic blues ballad with a sexual undertone. The lyrics describe a woman lamenting the emptiness in her life after her man has left her. She yearns for a lover who can fill her life with pleasure and excitement. The repetition of the line "I need a little sugar in my bowl" emphasizes the woman's longing for physical intimacy. The reference to a hot dog on her roll adds to the sexual connotation of the song.
The woman is tired of feeling lonely and blue and wants to confide in someone who can listen to her troubles. The lyrics 'Seem like the whole world's wrong since my man's been gone' suggests that the woman's life has lost all its meaning ever since her man left her, and now she is looking for someone to make her happy again. The line 'I feel so funny, I feel so sad' encapsulates the emotional turmoil the woman is going through, desperate for someone to bring joy and laughter back into her life. The steam heat on the floor also symbolizes the intense passion and heat that the woman wants in her life. The sexual undertones of the song may seem subtle, but they are quite evident in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Tired of bein' lonely, tired of bein' blue
I am exhausted from being alone and feeling sad all the time.
I wished I had some good man, to tell my troubles to
I long for a man in my life who can lend me a listening ear when I need to talk about my issues.
Seem like the whole world's wrong
Since my man's been gone
Ever since my partner left me, everything seems out of place and nothing seems to be going right.
I need a little sugar in my bowl
I need a little hot dog on my roll
I can stand a bit of lovin', oh so bad
I feel so funny, I feel so sad
I am craving love and affection so much that I am willing to express it explicitly, along with my desperation for it. This desperation is stemming from my feelings of loneliness and sadness, which are making me feel weird and different than usual.
I need a little steam-heat on my floor
Maybe I can fix things up, so they'll go
What's the matter hard papa
Come on and save your mama's soul
'Cause I need a little sugar, in my bowl, doggone it
I need a some sugar in my bowl
I need a little intimacy or passion in my life to feel energized and hopeful again. I am hopeful that this will help me in fixing my overall situation or at least provide temporary solace. I am desperately seeking for a man, who without hesitation or delay, can quench my inner thirst for love and fulfillment.
You gettin' different, I've been told
Move your finger, drop something in my bowl
I sense some reluctance or hesitation on your part, which has made you different from before. Please do something to help me achieve emotional fulfillment, even if you feel uncomfortable or hesitant at first.
Get off your knees, I can't see what you're drivin' at
It's dark down there looks like a snake!
C'mon here and drop somethin' here in my bowl
Stop your foolin' and drop somethin' in my bowl
I cannot understand or interpret your actions properly as it's too dark down there, but I need you to do something to help me. So, get up and come close to me, then please do something to fill my emotional void rather than playing games or teasing me without any intention of fulfilling my needs.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CLARENCE WILLIAMS, DALLY SMALL, J. TIM BRYMN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind