He started off learning to play the violin but soon switched to piano. From the age of 16 he played in bars, and won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music. Jackson did not like the prospect of being a serious composer, and moved towards pop and rock.
His first band was Arms and Legs which collapsed after two unsuccessful singles. He then spent some time in the cabaret circuit to make money to record his own demos.
In 1978 a producer heard his tape, and got him signed to A&M Records. The album Look Sharp! was recorded straight away, and was released in 1979, quickly followed by I'm the Man and Beat Crazy in 1980. He also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover.
The Joe Jackson Band was very successful and toured extensively. After the breakup of the band, Joe took a break and recorded an album of old-style swing and blues tunes, Jumpin' Jive, featuring songs of Cab Calloway, Lester Young, Glenn Miller, and most prominently, Louis Jordan. He went on to record Night and Day, an album that paid tribute to the wit and style of Cole Porter (and less directly, to New York City) and was his last album to hit the Top 10, peaking at #4.
He recorded another record that was heavily influenced by jazz, pop and jazz standards, and salsa, Body and Soul, which hit #20, containing the hit You Can't Get What You Want ('Til You Know What You Want).
Jackson followed with Big World, a three-sided double record (the fourth side consisted of a single centring groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side"). The instrumental Will Power set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind he put out two more cerebral and celebratory albums, Blaze of Glory and Laughter and Lust. For some years he drifted away from the pop style, going on to be signed by Sony Classical in 1997, which released his Symphony No. 1 in 1999 for which he received a Grammy award.
Night and Day II in 2000 lacked strong pop hooks though, as usual with Jackson, displayed fine lyrics and some elegant songwriting. Volume 4 in 2003 reunited the original band and was well received. A promotional CD, bundled with the initial release, of the 'live' band playing some of Jackson's strongest material was widely admired.
Jackson is also an author, having written A Cure for Gravity, published in 1999, which Jackson has described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his early musical life from childhood until his 24th birthday. Life as a pop star, he suggested, was hardly worth writing about.
In 2004 Jackson performed a cover of Common People with William Shatner for Shatner's album Has Been.
He has actively campaigned against smoking bans in both the USA and the UK, writing a 2005 pamphlet The Smoking Issue and issuing a satirical song (In 20-0-3) on the subject.
In 2008 the album Rain was released by Joe Jackson. Like its predecessor Volume 4, it featured members of the 'Joe Jackson Band', this time minus guitarist Gary Sanford.
Currently he lives in Kreuzberg, Germany.
Discography:
1979 - Look Sharp!
1979 - I'm The Man
1980 - Beat Crazy
1981 - Jumpin' Jive
1982 - Night and Day
1983 - Mike’s Murder, (Soundtrack)
1984 - Body and Soul
1986 - Big World
1987 - Will Power
1988 - Live 1980/86
1988 - Tucker, (Soundtrack)
1989 - Blaze of Glory
1991 - Laughter & Lust
1994 - Night Music
1997 - Heaven and Hell
1999 - Symphony No. 1
2000 - Summer in the City: Live in New York
2000 - Night and Day II
2002 - Two Rainy Nights, (Live)
2004 - Volume 4
2004 - Afterlife, (Live)
2008 - Rain
2011 - Live Music, (Live)
2012 - The Duke
Drowning
Joe Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I'm lost
Thinking of you
And the ghosts
Of so many special moments
That passed so quickly at the time
And now they come and track me down
And time goes quickly
Or disappears completely
And I feel like I fade away
Like drowning
I don't need you
But it's so hard
To be without you
Though you're not far away
I censor my emotions
And tell myself to bide my time
But every time you come around
You batter my defenses down
But so gently
Like some sweet hypnosis
And the world just slips away
I'm drowning
It's dark
My heart is pounding
I'm sinking down
Into a pool of passion
There's laughter as I drown
Like so many lost before me
Damned by lust and gone to hell
And then I look into your eyes
And something melts
I shake inside
And cool water
Washes me all over
Washes me away
And still I'm drowning
The lyrics to Joe Jackson's song "Drowning" express the singer's conflicting emotions about someone they are thinking of, but claim not to love. The singer is haunted by memories of "so many special moments" with this person that now "echo round and round and round." This internal conflict is overwhelming and the singer feels like they are "drowning" as time passes too quickly or disappears entirely. The singer tries to push away their emotions and tell themselves they don't need this person, but every time they come around, the singer's defenses are "battered down" and they slip away. The singer acknowledges that they are sinking into a "pool of passion" and feel damned by their own desire for this person, but when they look into their eyes, something melts inside of them and they feel washed away by "cool water."
Line by Line Meaning
I don't love you
I do not have romantic feelings for you
But I'm lost
But I am confused about my emotions
Thinking of you
Reflecting on memories of you
And the ghosts
And the lingering presence of past experiences with you
Of so many special moments
Of numerous sentimental memories
That passed so quickly at the time
That went by rapidly when they occurred
And now they come and track me down
And now they haunt me
And echo round and round and round
And persistently reverberate in my mind
And time goes quickly
And time passes by rapidly
Or disappears completely
Or disappears without any trace
And I feel like I fade away
And I feel like I am becoming less noticeable
Like drowning
Like slowly and steadily sinking underwater
I don't need you
I do not depend on you
But it's so hard
But it is difficult
To be without you
To not have you around
Though you're not far away
Despite your physical proximity
I censor my emotions
I hide my true feelings
And tell myself to bide my time
And tell myself to wait patiently
But every time you come around
But every time you are nearby
You batter my defenses down
You break through my emotional barriers
But so gently
But in a delicate, soothing way
Like some sweet hypnosis
Like a comforting mental state induced by words or actions
And the world just slips away
And the outside world becomes irrelevant
I'm drowning
I am overwhelmed by my emotional state
It's dark
It is a bleak situation
My heart is pounding
My heart is beating rapidly
I'm sinking down
I am descending into a negative emotional state
Into a pool of passion
Into a deep, intense emotional state
There's laughter as I drown
There is an ironic contrast between the seriousness of the situation and the levity of laughter
Like so many lost before me
Like so many others who have experienced this before me
Damned by lust and gone to hell
Affected negatively by intense desire and ruined as a result
And then I look into your eyes
And then I gaze into your eyes
And something melts
And a barrier within me breaks down
I shake inside
I tremble internally
And cool water
And refreshing sensations
Washes me all over
Envelopes me in its soothing effects
Washes me away
Carries me off to a different place mentally
And still I'm drowning
And yet I am still overwhelmed by my emotions
Lyrics © DistroKid, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JACKSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind