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)
Human Touch
Joe Cocker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away
Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blesses my darlin'
I ain't lookin' for praise or pity
I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch
Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
It's just you and me tonight
Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch
Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
Without losin' the love that remains
We're all riders on this train
So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hell, a little touchup
and a little paint...
You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that Human Touch
Feel a little of that Human Touch
Give me a little of that Human Touch
The song "Human Touch" by Joe Cocker is about the longing for human connection in a world where people are often cold and unfeeling towards one another. The lyrics suggest that the singer and the person they are addressing were once "pretenders" who let their connection slip away, but that now they both recognize the importance of human connection and are seeking it out again. The singer acknowledges that the world can be a harsh and unforgiving place, but that despite this, they still crave the touch and conversation of another person. The lyrics reference the idea that safety and security come at a cost, and that in order to preserve the love that remains, we have to be prepared to take risks and endure pain.
Line by Line Meaning
You and me we were the pretenders
We pretended to be something we're not
We let it all slip away
Our dreams slipped away from us
In the end what you don't surrender
If you don't let go of something, the world will take it away from you eventually
Well the world just strips away
The world takes things away from you
Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
People are often unkind to strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
There are no miracles to be found
Well you can wait on your blesses my darlin'
You can wait for good things to come to you
But I got a deal for you right here
But I have something to offer you right now
I ain't lookin' for praise or pity
I don't want anyone's admiration or sympathy
I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch
I don't want to rely on anyone or anything to get through life
I just want someone to talk to
I just want someone to confide in
And a little of that Human Touch
And some human connection and intimacy
Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
The town is rough and unforgiving
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
There's no divine intervention
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
There's no salvation to be found
It's just you and me tonight
It's just us against the world
Tell me, in a world without pity
If the world was harsh and unforgiving
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
Do you think I'm asking for too much?
I just want something to hold on to
I just want something to give me hope
And a little of that Human Touch
And some human connection and intimacy
Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize
The feeling of safety you value
Well it comes at a hard hard price
Comes with a steep cost
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
You can't avoid the risk and pain of life
Without losin' the love that remains
Without losing what you already have
We're all riders on this train
We're all on this journey together
So you've been broken and you've been hurt
You've experienced pain and heartbreak
Show me somebody who ain't
Show me someone who hasn't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
I know I'm not perfect
But, hell, a little touchup and a little paint...
But a little improvement couldn't hurt
You might need somethin' to hold on to
You might need something to give you hope
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
When all the answers don't really solve anything
Somebody that you could just to talk to
Someone to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
And some human connection and intimacy
Baby, in a world without pity
In a harsh and unforgiving world
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
Do you think I'm asking for too much?
I just want to feel you in my arms
I just want to hold you
Share a little of that Human Touch
Share some human connection and intimacy
Feel a little of that Human Touch
Experience some human connection and intimacy
Give me a little of that Human Touch
Give me some human connection and intimacy
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
PR
So many memories with this songs, Joe have one of the best voices ever of soul.,Thank you for your voice and your "Human Touch" R.I.P Joe Cocker.
tony fontane
Hey... this is great!...Joe Cocker is the greatest cover artist in the history of Rock and Roll!
LesSmith45
He is for sure in the top 3. I would throw in Johnny Rivers and George Thorogood in that argument. Especially George. He has over 100 covers of old blues songs.
marcello rebecchi
8da
Robin Guest
Fantastic! Joe is the man! Love the guitar too!
techkie
Excellent version of this song. I love Joe's raspy voice. He was struck by cancer and that is just so unfair. R.I.P. Joe.
Russ Jeske
Absolutely beautiful.. I am so happy I stumbled onto this version of "Human Touch" I had no idea how it would sound and it took me about 15 seconds to realize It was terrific. Way to go Joe!!
Christian.
Very, very good! I think this is the first cover version of this song i've ever heard.. And it's great!
Karmen Jazbec
YES JOE WE MISS YOU
Ingeniero Pablito
Agree 💪🇺🇾