John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English si… Read Full Bio ↴John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.

His first album featured a recording of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", which brought him to near-instant stardom. The song reached number one in the UK in 1968, became a staple of his many live shows (Woodstock and the Isle of Wight in 1969, the Party at the Palace in 2002) and was also known as the theme song for the late 1980s American TV series The Wonder Years. He continued his success with his second album, which included a second Beatles song: "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window". A hastily thrown together 1970 US tour led to the live double-album Mad Dogs & Englishmen, which featured an all-star band organized by Leon Russell. His 1974 recording of "You Are So Beautiful" reached number five in the US, and became his signature song. Cocker's best selling song was the US number one "Up Where We Belong", a duet with Jennifer Warnes that earned a 1983 Grammy Award. He released a total of 22 studio albums over a 43-year recording career.

In 1993, Cocker was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male. He was awarded a bronze Sheffield Legends plaque in his hometown in 2007, and received an OBE the following year for services to music. Cocker was ranked number 97 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers list.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Cocker

Studio albums
With a Little Help from My Friends (1969)
Joe Cocker! (1969)
Joe Cocker (1972/EU: 1973)
I Can Stand a Little Rain (1974)
Jamaica Say You Will (1975)
Stingray (1976)
Luxury You Can Afford (1978)
Sheffield Steel (1982)
Civilized Man (1984)
Cocker (1986)
Unchain My Heart (1987)
One Night of Sin (1989)
Night Calls (1991/US: 1992)
Have a Little Faith (1994)
Organic (1996)
Across from Midnight (1997)
No Ordinary World (1999/US: 2000)
Respect Yourself (2002)
Heart & Soul (2004/US: 2005)
Hymn for My Soul (2007/US: 2008)
Hard Knocks (2010/US: 2012)
Fire It Up (2012)

Across From Midnight
Joe Cocker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's come down to just the two of us
Me and my shadow on the wall
Radio playing softly somewhere down the hall
And over in the next room
The hollow sound of a cigarette cough
Oh I'm sitting across from midnight
And morning's a long way off

There's a fire in a trash can
In the alley below
The down and outers gather round
Sippin' wine and talkin' low
We're companions of the night time
We got no place to go
Sittin' across from midnight
And time draggin' by too slow

You can feel the night when you're all alone
There's comfort in the room you keep hangin' on
You wait until the dawn

The skeletons in the closet
March around like a platoon
I guess it's too much to ask for
I need some breathing room
And the tall city buildings
They cover up the moon
Oh I'm sitting across from midnight
And morning can't come too soon

The early morning hours
Bring out the darkness of your thoughts

And you're sitting across from midnight
And morning a long way off

Overall Meaning

The song "Across From Midnight" by Joe Cocker is a somber reflection on the loneliness and isolation of late nights spent alone. As Cocker sings, "It's come down to just the two of us / Me and my shadow on the wall / Radio playing softly somewhere down the hall," the listener is transported to a solitary place where the only company is one's own thoughts and the flickering shadows on the walls. The song paints a picture of a world where time stretches out endlessly and morning feels impossibly far away.

Cocker goes on to describe the bleakness of this world: the hollow sound of a cigarette cough, the down and outers gathering in the alley below, and the skeletons in the closet marching around like a platoon. With each passing verse, the song builds a sense of weariness and defeat. Yet there is a glimmer of hope, too, as Cocker sings of waiting until dawn: "You can feel the night when you're all alone / There's comfort in the room you keep hangin' on / You wait until the dawn." The promise of the morning, of light breaking through the darkness, offers a small measure of solace in an otherwise desolate landscape.

In the end, "Across From Midnight" is a song about the human need for connection and the pain of being alone. Cocker's powerful, soulful voice conveys the longing and desperation of his lyrics, while the haunting melody and spare instrumentation create a sense of atmosphere that is both eerie and beautiful.

Line by Line Meaning

It's come down to just the two of us
It's just me and my shadow on the wall

Radio playing softly somewhere down the hall
I can hear the faint sound of a radio playing from another room

And over in the next room
In the adjacent room

The hollow sound of a cigarette cough
I can hear someone coughing after taking a drag from their cigarette

Oh I'm sitting across from midnight
I'm sitting and enduring the late hours of the night

And morning's a long way off
Daybreak is far away

There's a fire in a trash can
A trash can is burning in the alley below

In the alley below
Down in the street

The down and outers gather round
People who are struggling and have nowhere else to go are congregating

Sippin' wine and talkin' low
They are drinking wine and speaking quietly

We're companions of the night time
We are all together, experiencing the night

We got no place to go
We are all homeless

And time draggin' by too slow
The hours are passing too slowly

You can feel the night when you're all alone
When you are alone, you can sense the atmosphere of the night

There's comfort in the room you keep hangin' on
You can find solace in the familiar surroundings you are in

You wait until the dawn
You patiently wait until morning arrives

The skeletons in the closet
The hidden secrets and past regrets

March around like a platoon
They relentlessly haunt and torment you

I guess it's too much to ask for
It seems like too big of a request

I need some breathing room
I need some space to escape from the chaos and turmoil

And the tall city buildings
The towering skyscrapers

They cover up the moon
They are blocking the view of the moon in the sky

And morning can't come too soon
I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of daylight

The early morning hours
The hours just before dawn

Bring out the darkness of your thoughts
Your darkest thoughts come to the surface

And you're sitting across from midnight
You are still awake, enduring the late hours of the night

And morning a long way off
The arrival of daybreak is still far away

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TONY JOE WHITE, LEANNE WHITE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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TRACKS

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01Tonight4:46

02Could You Be Loved4:17

03That's All I Need To Know

04N'oubliez Jamais4:52

05What Do I Tell My Heart?5:01

06Wayward Soul

07Loving You Tonight4:38

08Across From Midnight4:57

PT4M57S

Joe Cocker

09What Do You Say?4:42

10The Last One To Know3:30

11That's The Way Her Love Is

12Need Your Love So Bad

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

RE-MASTERPIECES

2y↑14

TRACKLIST:

00:00:00 INTRO
00:00:56 Could you be loved
00:05:57 Feelin alright
00:10:30 Have a little faith in me
00:15:33 Up where we belong
00:20:15 You can leave your hat on
00:24:47 When the nights come
00:29:26 N'oubliez jamais
00:34:14 Summer in the city
00:38:38 You are so beautiful
00:42:19 Into the mystic
00:47:08 Don't let me be misunderstood
00:50:59 Delta lady
00:54:15 The letter
00:59:09 Unchain my heart
01:04:52 With a little help from my friends
01:14:23 Across from midnight
01:19:07 Cry me a river
01:23:17 END

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