Raised in the blues-rich south side of Chicago, he studied the methods of B.B. King and Johnny Smith. He fashioned his finger-picking guitar technique after the great Chet Atkins. James continued to perfect his talent and soon was playing in many of Chicago's more well-known clubs. It was while perfoming here that he was asked to join a band known as The Exceptions, originally founded by Kal David, Marty Grebb and Pete Cetera. They soon became one of the most in demand club acts in town. The Exceptions reached their pinnacle when they toured with Otis Redding.
Cetera later left to pursue other avenues, eventually winding up as the lead singer for Chicago. Vincent's talents were much in demand as a studio musician, laying down tracks for Minnie Ripperton, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and many notable Chess Records recording artists.
Along the way Vincent met rock promoter Bill Graham, who at the time was managing a band called H.P. Lovecraft. The band needed a guitar player and Vincent needed a change, so he took the job and moved to San Francisco. Through that project he met Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia, who had just recorded a now cult classic lp called "Hooter Roll" which was well stocked with talented musicians.
Vincent toured with them for a brief time and liked Garcia's laid-back style, but what he really liked was the work of the guitarist for Hooter Roll's opening band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra featuring John McLaughlin. Their fusion style inspired Vincent and once again he found himself spinning in a new direction.
Vincent later signed with Columbia/Caribou Records and recorded four albums, the most successful being Space Traveler with Harvey Mason on drums, Verdine and Freddy White from Earth, Wind and Fire, Ron Stockert on keyboards and Pete Cetera on background vocals. Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire offered Vincent a position with the band while chatting together on a flight back from England. Though flattered, Vincent declined the offer due to his heavy schedule with his solo career and special projects, such as recording an instrumental album with Rufus, recording and touring with the Latin band Azteca, featuring Sheila E. and Neal Schon (later of Journey fame), and performing with Santana, Tom Scott and the L.A. Express and Etta James band featuring Gregg Allman, to name a few.
-- from James Vincent's official website
-- RJM
Red Dust
James Vincent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For my heart is an unending tomb
I will not trouble your rest
For my heart is infinity blessed
Ever a hard rot
Cut from an ancient cloth of old
It chimes through this shimmering shell
That once was my vision of birth
Now is my vessel and curse
Heat from the tall lamp
Melting the outer wax that holds
Blood from a deep cut
Some of the reddest stuff to flow
Sometimes my hands they don't feel like my own
I need someone to love I need someone to hold
The lyrics to James Vincent's song Red Dust speak about the singer's refusal to give into the pressures of someone or something in his life. He declares that his heart may be a tomb, but it is an unending one, indicating that he will not be broken or beaten. He also claims that his heart is infinitely blessed, possibly meaning that he knows he has more to offer than what is being asked of him. The chorus speaks of an inner turmoil, with the line "ever a hard rot" implying that he is struggling with something deep within himself.
The following verse reveals a vision of birth that has turned into a curse, and someone ringing a bell that disrupts his current existence. The metaphor of a melting wax outer shell implies that the singer is in a state of transformation, shedding his former self to become something new. The lines "blood from a deep cut, some of the reddest stuff to flow" could signify that this transformation is painful, but ultimately necessary. The song ends with the singer expressing a need for love and comfort, revealing a vulnerability in contrast to the strength he displays throughout the rest of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I will not cave under you
I won't surrender to your demands
For my heart is an unending tomb
My heart is filled with sorrow that'll never be emptied
I will not trouble your rest
I won't disturb your sleep
For my heart is infinity blessed
My heart is forever fortunate
Ever a hard rot
Always feeling damaged and corrupted
Cut from an ancient cloth of old
Born into an old spirit and soul
Someone is ringing a bell
Feeling like there's a warning sign
It chimes through this shimmering shell
It echoes through my beautiful exterior
That once was my vision of birth
The image I once had of myself being born
Now is my vessel and curse
Now it's my body and burden
Heat from the tall lamp
The warmth of a burning lamp
Melting the outer wax that holds
Melting away the facade that obscures
Blood from a deep cut
Blood coming from a deep wound
Some of the reddest stuff to flow
The most vibrant, lustrous blood flowing out
Sometimes my hands they don't feel like my own
Sometimes my hands don't feel in my control
I need someone to love I need someone to hold
I need someone to provide me with affection and comfort
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES MCMORROW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MEHMET KAHRAMAN
I will not cave under you
For my heart is an unending tomb
I will not trouble your rest
For my heart is infinity blessed
Ever a hard rot
Cut from an ancient cloth of old
Someone is ringing a bell
It chimes through this shimmering shell
That once was my vision of birth
Now is my vessel and curse
Heat from the tall lamp
Melting the outer wax that holds
Blood from a deep cut
Some of the reddest stuff to flow
Sometimes my hands they don't feel like my own
I need someone to love I need someone to hold
Phước Nguyễn
Here is my interpretation on the video and the song. I haven t watch any of his other videos except this one. But, by reading comments, and others explanation of the guy s demise in Cavalier. Im convinced this song,and the video alluding to the thoughts of suicidal tendency, abortion.
Firstly, the lyrics starts off with the perspective of the poor girl who just learned the news about her supposed boyfriend (or could be. Husband). She is desolate. Yet, instead of sharing it out, let the wound be remedied. She ended up drowning in her own self destruction. She doesnt need help, she doesnt want help or any type of charity. "I will not cave under you for my heart is an unending tomb"- she doesnt want help from the aged woman. Next lines are about her boyfriend, she doesnt want to bother the departed, what is done is done. But clearly, she is devoted to him- "My heart is infinity blessed.
Continued, she runs to his room, trying on his clothes, pulling out those porno magazines, smoke, drink. She wants to know how he felt, which was explained by others, and I dont have any better insight than this.
From the coming lyrically poetic 2 lines "ever hard rot is cut from an ancient cloth of old", I induce that she is pregnant with his child, meditating on having an abortion here. But, she is asking herself if she ought resist this temptation of sin, since she is like "a cloth of old", the child is the only permanent trace of her boyfriend's existence. The one that presumably makes her feel special, and she is dearly smitten with this guy.
The next four lines is the self counter argument on this child could be a impedance to her new future "shimmering shell...vision of birth...my curse". She is indisputably broken, hurt, lost in this world, believing this could be the termination of her.
Lastly, when she bathe herself in that lake, it represents how she is now completely drown in those twisted, sinister feelings of self destruction, killing her own child. Beyond doubt, that is shown in the video as she attempted to bring an end to this tragic life. Her heart, her senses, and mind are all numb "my hands dont feel like my own." She is primed to carry on that next step.
The finale is quite ambiguous as it resort to the image of a convulsing, near death, striving for breath fish. It symbolize her vitality, and her decision for the future. Should she break everything off as she thought? Or should she withstand these horrors? Will she salvage that fish or she just gonna let it perish and drown herself in that bathtub again?
T C
"sometimes my hands, they don't feel like my own, I need someone to love... I need someone to hold..." they way he sings those lines does something to my heart
Becky Tierney
+Chido Moyo same
JarnoHealth
+Chido Moyo I could listen to that on repeat for hours !
youtube ,com
sigh lol
A J L
It gets me every time. I feel those words in my jellies.
ennem
I love this song so much, I'm afraid to overplay it.
I'm afraid to fall out of love with it, or get irritated by it.
I don't know, whatever.
MEHMET KAHRAMAN
I will not cave under you
For my heart is an unending tomb
I will not trouble your rest
For my heart is infinity blessed
Ever a hard rot
Cut from an ancient cloth of old
Someone is ringing a bell
It chimes through this shimmering shell
That once was my vision of birth
Now is my vessel and curse
Heat from the tall lamp
Melting the outer wax that holds
Blood from a deep cut
Some of the reddest stuff to flow
Sometimes my hands they don't feel like my own
I need someone to love I need someone to hold
iicy_Hott_x3
This song ... I love hearing the emotion in his voice
ShiaDelCampo
acoustic is better, i cry anytime i hear him
Renato Lustosa
Red Dust and Cavaliers videos are so beautifully connected! The heartbreak of a Woman and a man.