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)
I Hope
Joe Cocker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thou shall not kill
I don't wanna hear nothing else about killing
And that is God's will
'Cause our children are watching us
They put their trust in us, they're going be like us
So let's learn from our history
Oh baby, I hope for more love, more joy and laughter
I hope we'll have more than you'll ever need
I hope we'll have more happy ever afters
I hope and we can all live more fearlessly
And we can lose all the pain and misery
I hope, I hope
Oh Rosie, her man, he, gets too rough
And all she can say is he's a good man
He don't mean no harm
He was just brought up that way
Our children are watching us
They put their trust in us, they're gonna be like us
It's okay for us to disagree
And we can work it out lovingly
I hope for more love, joy and laughter
I hope you'll have more than you'll ever need
I hope you'll have more happy ever afters
I hope and you can all live more fearlessly
And you can lose all your pain and misery
I hope, I hope, yes, you can
There must be a way
To change what's going on
Oh no, I don't have all the answers
But one thing
I hope for more love, more joy and laughter
I hope we'll have more than you'll ever need
I hope we'll have more happy ever afters
I hope and we can all live more fearlessly
We can lose all the pain and the misery
I hope, I hope
Oh babe, all the pain and misery
I hope, I hope
Come on love, give me happiness
Love and peace
(I hope)
No more hating and hurting
I hope
Give me little love, baby
I hope
Don't you know?
I'm hoping for love and happiness
(I hope)
Just to come my way
I hope.
The song "I Hope" by Joe Cocker seems to be an optimistic rallying cry for a better world. The song starts with the preacher announcing the commandment "Thou shall not kill," and how he doesn't want to hear about killing anymore because that is God's will. Here, the singer laments the violent times of the world and how the future generation is watching, hoping to learn from the examples set before them. The singer then expresses his wishes for a more peaceful world, where there is love, joy, and laughter. He wants everyone to live fearlessly, without any pain or misery and attain happy endings. Later in the song, he talks about how the world needs more understanding and love when it comes to disagreements so that everyone can work together lovingly.
Overall, Joe Cocker's "I Hope" seems to call for a more peaceful and loving world. The singer wishes for a future where everyone can live fearlessly, be happy, and experience joy and laughter. He urges people to be more understanding and loving towards each other and work out their differences with kindness. Ultimately, the song is a message of hope for a peaceful future.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunday morning, I heard the preacher say
On Sunday morning, I listened to the preacher speak
Thou shall not kill
We must not commit murder
I don't wanna hear nothing else about killing
I refuse to listen to anything else about taking someone's life
And that is God's will
This is what God commands us to do, to avoid killing others
'Cause our children are watching us
Our children observe our actions
They put their trust in us, they're going be like us
Our children trust us and will mimic our behavior
So let's learn from our history
We should learn from our past experiences
And do it differently
And make changes in our behavior
Oh baby, I hope for more love, more joy and laughter
I desire a future filled with love, happiness, and laughter
I hope we'll have more than you'll ever need
I hope we have abundance in our lives
I hope we'll have more happy ever afters
I pray for more happy endings for everyone
I hope and we can all live more fearlessly
I wish for us to live a life free from fear
And we can lose all the pain and misery
We can let go of our sadness and suffering
Oh Rosie, her man, he, gets too rough
Rosie's partner is often harsh with her
And all she can say is he's a good man
She only says that he is a good person
He don't mean no harm
He doesn't intend to bring harm
He was just brought up that way
His upbringing has influenced his behavior
Our children are watching us
Our children are observing our actions
It's okay for us to disagree
It's acceptable to hold divergent views
And we can work it out lovingly
We can come to a resolution with love
There must be a way
There's got to be a solution
To change what's going on
To alter the current situation
Oh no, I don't have all the answers
I am aware that I don't know all of the solutions
But one thing
Nevertheless
Come on love, give me happiness
Please grant me joy, love
Love and peace
Affection and tranquility
No more hating and hurting
Let's stop disliking and inflicting pain on others
Give me little love, baby
Grant me some affection, my dear
Don't you know?
Don't you realize?
I'm hoping for love and happiness
I'm seeking love and joy
Just to come my way
Hoping they will come in my direction
I hope.
I pray for all of these things.
Contributed by Caden T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.