Henry was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but grew up in the Detroit area where he met Melanie Ciccone, Madonna's sister, whom he married in 1987. In 1985 he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he played at small clubs. His debut album Talk of Heaven came out in 1986. He signed to A&M Records and released two albums, Murder of Crows (1989) and Shuffletown (1990)
After Henry and his wife moved to Los Angeles in 1990, he left A&M in 1992 to join the independent label Mammoth, located in North Carolina. He released Short Man's Room and Kindness of the World, on which members of the Jayhawks provided instrumental backing.
In the mid-1990s Henry decided "to do something decidedly more eclectic" instead of continuing with country-rock. He turned to producer Patrick McCarthy, in making his next album Trampoline (1996). Trampoline also employed metal guitarist Page Hamilton, who demonstrated his own eagerness to stretch by collaborating on the album.
Asked to contribute a song to a benefit album for singer Vic Chesnutt in 1996, Henry also collaborated with his famous sister-in-law on a cover of Chesnutt's "Guilty by Association" (Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, The Songs of Vic Chesnutt, 1996).
In 1999 Henry released the experimental album Fuse with trip hop shadings. His eighth album, Scar, followed in 2001. The band on the record consisted mainly of jazz musicians (Marc Ribot, Brian Blade and Brad Mehldau among others) and Jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman guesting on the track "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation".
In 2001, Henry sang on the song "Alleluia" from Julia Fordham's album, Concrete Love. His self-produced album Tiny Voices appeared on Epitaph's Anti label in 2003.
Henry produced Teddy Thompson's 2000 album Teddy Thompson, a critically acclaimed album from the son of British folk legends, Linda Thompson and Richard Thompson. Henry also produced Solomon Burke's 2002 album Don't Give Up On Me, which won Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards. 2005 releases produced by Henry include Ani DiFranco's Knuckle Down, Aimee Mann's 1970s concept album The Forgotten Arm, and Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell to Raise.
He also produced the multi-artist album I Believe to My Soul, which featured Allen Toussaint, Mavis Staples, Ann Peebles, Irma Thomas and Billy Preston.
In 2006, Henry teamed with Toussaint, producing his collaborative album with Elvis Costello, The River in Reverse.
In September of 2006, Henry and his longtime hero Loudon Wainwright III began composing the music for the Judd Apatow movie Knocked Up. Snippets of instrumentals were used as background score for the film, but the full versions of the songs make up Wainwright's 2007 album Strange Weirdos. Henry produced Mary Gauthier's 2007 album Between Daylight and Dark.
Henry's 10th album, "Civilians," was released in 2007 on the Anti label. His 11th album, Blood From Stars, followed in 2009, and his 12th, Reverie, was released in 2011.
http://www.joehenrylovesyoumadly.com/
Wave
Joe Henry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hats flew up and everybody cheered,
But you turned as I guess someone spoke to you,
And in a sea of arms you disappeared.
I lived the life of a ragged soldier
The secretary to a rebel king,
He kept us drunk and hungry in a jungle
We gambled and we fought with one another
We had no code to give us unity,
Most died among us without God or honour
As blood became our faith and currency.
And all the while I kept your name beside me
I wrote it, but refused it on my tongue,
Believing you a song still there inside me
I feared your loss if ever it were sung.
I found myself at last upon a shoreline
I booked my passage home and stood in tears,
With a bag of apples and a forged passport
-The first I'd seen my face in seven years
Now I wonder at the day when I might find you,
Appear among the living at your door,
Will you have a husband and some children?
Will we share a secret anymore?
Life is brutal to the weak and sober
Its powers of persuasion dark and grave,
It pushes its way up to the railing
Then turns its face when you start to wave.
The song "Wave" by Joe Henry is a poignant reflection on missed opportunities, lost love and the ravages of war. The singer begins by recounting a scene where they are departing on a boat and waving goodbye to someone they love. As they leave, they watch that person become lost in a sea of arms as if they were never there at all. This image symbolizes the feeling of being adrift, without an anchor or a place to call home. In the next verse, the singer describes their life as a soldier, serving under a "rebel king" who kept them drunk and hungry. They describe a world where there was no code of honor, and where loyalty was bought and sold with blood. Even in the midst of war, however, the singer refuses to forget their loved one. They carry the memory of that person with them, writing their name but never speaking it aloud. The song ends with the singer standing on a shoreline, gazing out at the sea and wondering if they will ever be reunited with their lost love. The final verse is a sobering reflection on the harshness of life, which can be at once cruel and indifferent.
Overall, "Wave" is a powerful meditation on what it means to be human in a world that can be both beautiful and brutal. The lyrics are filled with vivid images and metaphors that bring the singer's inner world to life. The song's mournful melody and sparse instrumentation lend a sense of intimacy to the proceedings, making it feel as if we are eavesdropping on a private conversation. At its core, "Wave" is a reflection on the universal human experience of longing and loss, of the things we carry with us and the things we leave behind.
Line by Line Meaning
I waved to you as my boat was leaving
I said goodbye to you as my boat sailed away from the shore
Hats flew up and everybody cheered,
People waved their hats and cheered as I departed
But you turned as I guess someone spoke to you,
You turned away, possibly because someone called out to you
And in a sea of arms you disappeared.
You disappeared into the crowd of people around you
I lived the life of a ragged soldier
I lived the life of a disheveled soldier
The secretary to a rebel king,
I was a secretary to a king who rebelled against authority
He kept us drunk and hungry in a jungle
He kept us intoxicated and starving in a dense forest
Tangled in the lilies of his scheme.
Entangled in the intricate plans of the king
We gambled and we fought with one another
We took risks and fought each other without any sense of unity
We had no code to give us unity,
We had no set of guiding principles to bring us together
Most died among us without God or honour
Most of us died without any sense of religious or moral values
As blood became our faith and currency.
We relied on bloodshed as a way of life and a means of exchange
And all the while I kept your name beside me
I kept your name close to me the entire time
I wrote it, but refused it on my tongue,
I wrote your name but didn't speak it out loud
Believing you a song still there inside me
Thinking that you were a melody that was still with me
I feared your loss if ever it were sung.
I was scared of losing the memory of you if I were to sing about you
I found myself at last upon a shoreline
I found myself finally reaching a shore
I booked my passage home and stood in tears,
I booked my return journey and stood crying
With a bag of apples and a forged passport
Carrying a bag of apples and a fake passport
-The first I'd seen my face in seven years
It was the first time I had seen my own face in seven years
Now I wonder at the day when I might find you,
Now I wonder about the day when I might come across you
Appear among the living at your door,
Show up at your doorstep in person
Will you have a husband and some children?
Would you be married and have children by then?
Will we share a secret anymore?
Would we still have a secret between us?
Life is brutal to the weak and sober
Life is harsh for those who are vulnerable and conscious
Its powers of persuasion dark and grave,
Its abilities to influence are sinister and serious
It pushes its way up to the railing
It forces itself to the front of the queue
Then turns its face when you start to wave.
And then it ignores you when you try to get its attention
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOSEPH LEE HENRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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