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)
Don't Drink The Water
Joe Cocker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No use in hiding
Come now come now
Can you not see?
There's no place here
What were you expecting
Not room for both
Just room for me
Yes I will call this home
Away away
You have been banished
Your land is gone
And given me
And here I will spread my wings
Yes I will call this home
What's this you say
You feel a right to remain
Then stay and I will bury you
What's that you say
Your father's spirit still lives in this place
I will silence you
Here's the hitch
Your horse is leaving
Don't miss your boat
It's leaving now
And as you go I will spread my wings
Yes I will call this home
I have no time to justify to you
Fool you're blind, move aside for me
All I can say to you my new neighbor
Is you must move on or I will bury you
Now as I rest my feet by this fire
Those hands once warmed here
I have retired them
I can breathe my own air
I can sleep more soundly
Upon these poor souls
I'll build heaven and call it home
'Cause you're all dead now
I live with my justice
I live with my greedy need
I live with no mercy
I live with my frenzied feeding
I live with my hatred
I live with my jealousy
I live with the notion
That I don't need anyone but me
Don't drink the water
There's blood in the water
The lyrics to Joe Cocker's song Don't Drink The Water convey a sense of dominance and superiority. The singer seems to be addressing either a group of people or an individual who has been banished from their land. The singer claims that there is only room for one person and that the banished person's possessions and land have been taken from them. The singer speaks of a desire to spread their wings and make this new land their home, and they warn the banished person that they must leave or be buried.
The tone of the song is aggressive and threatening. The singer is unapologetic and shows no remorse for their actions. They seem to revel in their power and dominance, claiming that they live with their justice, greed, fury, and hatred. The final line, "Don't drink the water, there's blood in the water," suggests that the singer has committed some sort of violent act, and the warning not to drink the water implies that the consequences of their actions could still harm others.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the destructive nature of power and the consequences of unchecked greed and aggression. It highlights the ways in which those in power often justify their actions with twisted logic and a complete disregard for the lives and feelings of those they oppress. It is a warning against blindly following those who seek to dominate and control, and a call to resist such forces and work towards a more just society.
Line by Line Meaning
Come out come out
I know you're hiding, so come out.
No use in hiding
It's pointless to keep hiding, I already know you're there.
Come now come now
I'm urging you to come out and face me.
Can you not see?
Don't you realize that I have taken over this place?
There's no place here
This place now belongs to me, you have no place here.
What were you expecting
Did you really think you could keep your land?
Not room for both
I'm not willing to share this space with anyone else.
Just room for me
I'm the only one who is welcome here.
So you will lay your arms down
If you want to stay, you must give up your fight against me.
Yes I will call this home
I now claim this place as my home.
Away away
You're banished from this place.
You have been banished
You're no longer welcome here and must leave immediately.
Your land is gone
I've taken your land and now it belongs to me.
And given me
I now have control over this space.
And here I will spread my wings
I am free to do what I want here now.
What's this you say
I don't care about your objections.
You feel a right to remain
You believe you have rights to this place, but you don't.
Then stay and I will bury you
If you refuse to leave, I will take violent action against you.
What's that you say
I don't care about your opinion.
Your father's spirit still lives in this place
Your past family ownership has no relevance to my control over this space.
I will silence you
I won't let you speak your mind and will force you to leave.
Here's the hitch
There's a problem.
Your horse is leaving
Your chance to leave is now, don't miss it.
Don't miss your boat
You'll regret it if you don't leave now.
It's leaving now
You're running out of time.
I have no time to justify to you
I don't feel the need to explain myself to you.
Fool you're blind, move aside for me
You're foolish and can't see that I'm in control here, so step aside.
All I can say to you my new neighbor
You may live here now, but I'm the one who truly belongs here.
Is you must move on or I will bury you
You have to leave or face violent consequences.
Now as I rest my feet by this fire
I'm comfortable and at ease in this space.
Those hands once warmed here
Someone used to occupy this space, but not anymore.
I have retired them
I'm in control now and no one else can use this space.
I can breathe my own air
I have freedom to do what I want in this space.
I can sleep more soundly
I feel safe and protected in this space.
Upon these poor souls
The people who used to occupy this space are dead now.
I'll build heaven and call it home
Now that I'm in control, this place is like heaven for me.
'Cause you're all dead now
Your past ownership of this space is irrelevant now that you're gone.
I live with my justice
I make the rules here and provide my own sense of justice.
I live with my greedy need
I'm selfish and only care about my own desires.
I live with no mercy
I won't show any mercy to those who oppose me.
I live with my frenzied feeding
I constantly crave more power and control over this space.
I live with my hatred
I harbor intense negative emotions towards anyone who challenges me.
I live with my jealousy
I'm envious of anyone who has what I want.
I live with the notion
I firmly believe that I don't need anyone else in this space.
That I don't need anyone but me
I'm content with being alone in this space as long as I have control.
Don't drink the water
This space is tainted and dangerous, avoid it.
There's blood in the water
This space is marked by violence and conflict, stay away.
Contributed by Skyler C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.