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
Flying
Joe Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't know what's going on
Tired of trying to be strong
When I should be crying
The further I go the less distance I see
Leave behind another home
The harder I try the less people I please
The older I get the more lucid I feel
Tired of trying to belong
When I could be flying
These lyrics from Joe Jackson's song Flying are a reflection of how the singer's perception of the world changes as he grows older. The first line, "The older I get the more stupid I feel," suggests that as he gains more experience, he realizes how little he actually knows. He is no longer confident in his understanding of the world and is constantly questioning what is going on around him. The next line, "I don't know what's going on," reinforces his sense of confusion and insecurity.
The third and fourth lines, "Tired of trying to be strong, When I should be crying," express his frustration with societal expectations that he be strong and not show vulnerability. He recognizes that sometimes it is necessary to cry and let out emotions rather than bottle them up.
The next few lines, "The further I go the less distance I see, Leave behind another home, The harder I try the less people I please," describe a feeling of disconnection from the world around him. The more he travels and experiences new places, the less he feels like he truly understands them. He has left behind many homes and relationships in his journey, and the more he tries to please others, the less successful he seems to be.
Line by Line Meaning
The older I get the more stupid I feel
As I age, I become less knowledgeable and aware.
I don't know what's going on
I am confused and unsure about what is happening around me.
Tired of trying to be strong
Exhausted from attempting to stay emotionally resilient.
When I should be crying
Instead of repressing my emotions, I should be expressing them through tears.
The further I go the less distance I see
As I progress forward in life, the future seems more uncertain and unclear.
Leave behind another home
Moving from one place to another, abandoning the familiar for the unknown.
The harder I try the less people I please
No matter how much effort I put into pleasing others, I am unsuccessful and dissatisfy less and less people.
The older I get the more lucid I feel
As I age, my thoughts become more clear and rational.
Let it go and let it come
Relinquish control and accept whatever comes my way.
Tired of trying to belong
Worn out from attempting to fit in and be accepted by a certain group or society.
When I could be flying
Instead of conforming, I could soar and be my own person.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JACKSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind