Zawinul, along with Corea and Hancock, was one of the first to integrate electric pianos and early synthesizers like the ARP 2600 in 1973's Sweetnighter. Unlike Hancock, he didn't care much for the Minimoog. He was one of the first to use a Fender-Rhodes with a Phasing effect too and a Wah-Wah pedal. He was a perfectionist and as a result achieved a very contemporary and modern sound. He also has played the kalimba, on Weather Report albums Mysterious Traveller and Mr. Gone.
Classically trained at the Vienna Conservatoire, Zawinul played in various broadcasting and studio bands before emigrating to the U.S. in 1959, where he played with Maynard Ferguson and Dinah Washington before joining the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in 1961.
During his nine-year stint on keyboards with Adderley, Zawinul wrote the hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." He also composed "Walk Tall" and "Country Preacher," the latter a tribute to U.S. Civil Rights Movement leader Rev. Jesse Jackson. In this title cut to the quintet's popular 1969 album release, Austrian-born Zawinul demonstrated a sophisticated and intimate understanding of the African/African-American concept of cool, of motion and interval. When "Country Preacher" debuted at a live recording session in Chicago at Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, it elicited enthusiastic cheers of immediate recognition from the mostly African-American audience.
In the late 60s, Zawinul recorded with Miles Davis's studio band and helped create the sound of the new Jazz fusion. Among others he played on the album In a Silent Way, the title track of which he composed, and the landmark album Bitches Brew, for which he contributed the twenty-minute track "Pharaoh's Dance" which occupied the whole of side one. Zawinul is known to have played live with Davis only once, on July 10, 1991, shortly before Davis' death.
Zawinul's biggest commercial success came from his composition Birdland, a 6-minute opus featured on Weather Report's 1977 album Heavy Weather. "Birdland" is one of the most recognizable jazz pieces of the '70s, covered by many prominent artists from The Manhattan Transfer to Maynard Ferguson. Even Weather Report's version received significant mainstream radio airplay — unusual for them — and served to convert many new fans to music which they may never have heard otherwise.
if
Joe Zawinul Lyrics
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Then why can't I paint you?
The words will never show
The you I've come to know
If a face could launch a thousand ships
Then where am I to go?
There's no one home but you
You're all that's left me, too
You come and pour yourself on me
Joe Zawinul's song If is a powerful ballad that explores the inadequacy of words or images in fully capturing the depth of one's feelings. The first two lines of the lyrics suggest that, despite the cliche that a picture paints a thousand words, the singer is unable to fully convey his feelings for the person he loves through any form of representation. This is because, as the third line of the verse suggests, "The words will never show/The you I've come to know." Essentially, the singer is saying that his love is something that cannot be captured in words or images, as it is too complex and too personal to be fully expressed through anything other than direct experience.
The second verse takes this theme even further, using the metaphor of a face launching ships to illustrate the impossibility of adequately expressing love through anything other than direct interaction. The singer wonders where he would go if the person he loves were to leave him, concluding that there is "no one home but you/You're all that's left me, too." This line underscores the idea that the singer's love is so strong and so specific that it cannot be transferred to anyone else or expressed through any other means.
The final lines of the song underscore the transformative power of love, with the singer stating that "when my love for life is running dry/You come and pour yourself on me." Here, the idea is that love has the power to refill a person's emotional well when it has run dry, suggesting that love is not simply an emotion but a force that can sustain us through difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
If a picture paints a thousand words
A single image can convey so much meaning and depth
Then why can't I paint you?
But even with all the words I have, I cannot fully capture who you are
The words will never show
Language is limited and cannot fully convey the essence of a person
The you I've come to know
The depth and complexity of who you are has surpassed what words could ever describe
If a face could launch a thousand ships
Some people have a captivating presence that has inspired great action and devotion
Then where am I to go?
But what should I do when that person is no longer there?
There's no one home but you
I am left alone with nothing but memories of you
You're all that's left me, too
You are the only thing I have left in my life after everything else has fallen away
And when my love for life is running dry
When I am feeling empty or lost
You come and pour yourself on me
Your presence and love are what keep me going and fill up that emptiness inside me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID GATES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind