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)
You Haven't Done Nothin'
Joe Cocker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By all the things you say that you′ll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you
But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
It's not too cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else
And we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
You haven′t done nothing
We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you′ll do
Decisions that are made by you
Love be cool
We want the truth
We would not care to wake up to the nightmare
That's becoming real life
But when mislead who knows a person′s mind
Can turn as cold as ice
Why do you keep on making us hear your song?
Telling us how you gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
You haven′t done nothing
We're so amazed but not amused
By all the things you say you′ll do
Decisions that are made by you
I'm not too cool
With all the truth you say
You haven't done nothin′
Don′t do nothin'
I said you haven′t done nothin'
Take me all the way
Haven′t done, haven't done nothing...
Joe Cocker's song "You Haven't Done Nothin'" was released in 1984 and is a protest song. The lyrics are criticizing politicians who make empty promises and don't deliver results. The song talks about people being "amazed but not amused" by the words that the politicians say they will do, yet are "sick and tired of hearing their song," as they are all talk, and no action.
Cocker goes on to say that it's not too "cool to be ridiculed," but the politicians have brought the criticism upon themselves as people want the truth and nothing else. Cocker emphasizes that the world is "tired of pacifiers" - we want to see action. Towards the end of the song, Cocker sings about the consequences of empty promises, as people who are mislead can turn "cold as ice."
Line by Line Meaning
We are amazed but not amused
We are surprised, but not entertained
By all the things you say that you'll do
We hear your promises, but doubt your ability to follow through
Though much concerned but not involved
We care about the issues, but are not directly affected
With decisions that are made by you
We don't have a say in the choices you make
But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
We are tired of listening to your empty promises
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
Claiming you will fix the problems, but doing nothing to address them
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
If you truly care about our opinions
You haven't done nothing
You haven't accomplished anything
It's not too cool to be ridiculed
It's not pleasant to be mocked
But you brought this upon yourself
You caused this situation with your empty promises
The world is tired of pacifiers
People are fed up with being placated
We want the truth and nothing else
We want honest answers, not more empty promises
We would not care to wake up to the nightmare
We don't want to face the harsh reality
That's becoming real life
That is becoming our actual experience
But when mislead who knows a person's mind
When deceived, a person's thinking can change
Can turn as cold as ice
Can become unfeeling and indifferent
Why do you keep on making us hear your song?
Why do you continue to make empty promises?
Telling us how you gonna change right from wrong
Claiming you will fix the problems without actually doing anything
I'm not too cool
I'm not okay with
With all the truth you say
With all the lies you tell
You haven't done nothin'
You haven't achieved anything
Don't do nothin'
Don't just talk, take action
I said you haven't done nothin'
I'm emphasizing that you haven't accomplished anything
Take me all the way
Follow through with your promises and take action
Haven't done, haven't done nothing...
Emphasizing that you haven't accomplished anything
Writer(s): Stevie Wonder
Contributed by Nicholas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.