As well, it nearly took him that long to find his own style. Hiatt began his solo career in 1974, and over the next decade he ran through a number of different styles from rock & roll to new wave-esque pop before he finally settled on a rootsy fusion of rock, country, blues, and folk with his 1987 album 'Bring the Family'. Though the album didn't set the charts on fire, it became his first album to gain some major commercial success, and several of the songs on the record became hits for other artists, including the aforementioned Raitt and Milsap. Following its success, Hiatt became a reliable hit songwriter for other artists, and he developed a strong cult following that continued to gain strength into the mid-90s.
While he was growing up in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, Hiatt played in a number of garage bands. Initially, he was inspired by the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, and the music of those two artists would echo strongly throughout his work. Out of all the bar bands he played with in the late 60s, a group called The White Ducks was the one that received the most attention. Following his high-school graduation, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 18, where he landed a job as a songwriter for Tree Publishing.
For the next several years, he wrote and performed at local clubs and hotels. Within a few years, his songs were being recorded by several different artists, including Conway Twitty, Tracy Nelson, and Three Dog Night, who took Hiatt's "Sure as I'm Sittin' Here" to number 16 in the summer of 1974. Eventually, his manager secured him an audition at Epic Records, and the label signed him in 1974, releasing his debut album, Hangin' Around the Observatory, later that year. Despite their critical acclaim, neither Hangin' Around the Observatory nor its 1975 follow-up Overcoats sold many copies, and he was dropped by the label. By the end of the year, Tree Publishing had let him go as well.
Following his failure in Nashville, Hiatt moved out to California. By the summer of 1978 he had settled in Los Angeles, where began playing in clubs, opening for folk musicians including Leo Kottke. With Kottke's assistance, Hiatt hired a new manager, Denny Bruce, who helped him secure a record contract with MCA Records. Slug Line, his first record for MCA, was released in the summer of 1979. Where his first two records were straight-ahead rock & roll and folk-rock, Slug Line was in the new wave vein of angry English singer/songwriters like Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and Joe Jackson, as if Hiatt was vying for the role of the American angry young man. The new approach earned some strong reviews, yet it failed to generate any sales. Two Bit Monsters, his second MCA album, faced the same situation. Although it was well-received critically upon its 1980 release, it made no impression on the charts, and the label dropped him.
Apart from working on Two Bit Monsters, Hiatt spent most of 1980 as a member of Ry Cooder's backing band, playing rhythm guitar on the Borderline album and touring with the guitarist. Hiatt stayed with Cooder throughout 1981, signing a new contract with Geffen Records by the end of the year. Produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), his Geffen debut All of A Sudden was released in 1982, followed by the Nick Lowe/Scott Matthews & Ron Nagel-produced Riding With the King in 1983. As with his previous records for Epic and MCA, neither of his first two Geffen releases sold well. By this time, Hiatt's personal life was beginning to spin out of control as he was sinking deep into alcoholism. Around the time he completed 1985's Warming Up to the Ice Age, his second wife committed suicide. Following the release of Warming Up to the Ice Age, Hiatt was dropped by Geffen. By the end of 1985, he had entered a rehabilitation program. During 1986, he remarried and signed a new deal with A&M Records.
For his A&M debut, Hiatt assembled a small band comprising his former associates Ry Cooder (guitar), Nick Lowe (bass), and Jim Keltner (drums). Recorded over the course of a handful of days, the resulting album, Bring the Family, had a direct, stripped-down rootsy sound that differed greatly from his earlier albums. Upon its summer 1987 release, Bring the Family received the best reviews of his career and, for once, the reviews began to pay off, as the album turned into a cult hit, peaking at 107 on the U.S. charts; it was his first charting album. Hiatt attempted to record a follow-up with Cooder, Lowe, and Keltner, but the musicians failed to agree on the financial terms for the sessions. Undaunted, he recorded an album with John Doe, David Lindley, and Dave Mattacks, but he scrapped the completed project, deciding that the result was too forced. Hiatt's final attempt at recording the follow-up to Bring the Family was orchestrated by veteran producer Glyn Johns, who had him record with his touring band, the Goners. Despite all of the behind-the-scenes troubles behind its recording, the follow-up album, Slow Turning, actually appeared rather quickly, appearing in the summer of 1988.
Slow Turning, like Bring the Family before it, received nearly unanimous positive reviews and it was fairly well-received commercially, spending 31 weeks on the U.S. charts and peaking at 98. Within the next year, Hiatt successfully toured throughout America and Europe, strengthening his fan base along the way. Inspired by the success of Hiatt's two A&M albums, Geffen released the compilation Y' All Caught? The Ones That Got Away 1979-85 in 1989. That same year, other artists began digging through Hiatt's catalog of songs, most notably Bonnie Raitt, who covered "Thing Called Love" for her multi-platinum comeback album, Nick of Time.
In 1990, Hiatt returned with Stolen Moments, which was nearly as successful as Slow Turning, both critically and commercially. "Bring Back Your Love to Me," an album track from Stolen Moments that was also recorded by Earl Thomas Conley, won BMI's 1991 Country Music Award. By the time "Bring Back Your Love to Me" won that award, it had become a standard practice for artists to cover Hiatt's songs, as artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Ronnie Milsap, Suzy Bogguss, and Iggy Pop all covered his songs in the early '90s. In 1993, Rhino Records released Love Gets Strange: The Songs of John Hiatt, which collected many of the cover versions that were recorded during the '80s and '90s.
During 1991, the group that recorded Bring the Family — Hiatt, Cooder, Lowe, and Keltner — re-formed as a band called Little Village, releasing their eponymous debut in early 1992. Based on the success of Bring the Family and Hiatt's A&M albums, expectations for Little Village were quite high, yet the record and its supporting tour were considered a major disappointment. Later, the individual members would agree that the band was a failure, mainly due to conflicting egos.
Hiatt decided to back away from the superstar nature of Little Village for his next album, 1993's Perfectly Good Guitar. Recorded in just two weeks with a backing band comprised of members of alternative rock bands School of Fish and Wire Train, the album was looser than any record since Bring the Family, but it didn't quite have the staying power of its two predecessors, spending only 11 weeks on the charts and peaking at number 47. The following year, he released his first live album, Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan? Hiatt left A&M Records after the release of the record, signing with Capitol Records the following year.
Walk On, Hiatt's first Capitol album, was recorded during his supporting tour for Perfectly Good Guitar and featured guest appearances by the Jayhawks and Bonnie Raitt. Walk On entered the charts at 48, but slipped off the charts in nine weeks, indicating that his audience had settled into a dedicated cult following. Fittingly, after 1997's Little Head quickly came and went in the marketplace, Hiatt parted ways with Capitol, and his next album, 2000's Crossing Muddy Waters was released on the established independent imprint Vanguard Records. After a second album with Vanguard, The Tiki Bar Is Open, Hiatt alligned himself with another independent label, New West, for the release of his 2003 set Beneath This Gruff Exterior. Master of Disaster, along with CD and DVD versions of Live from Austin, TX followed in 2005.
Same Old Man followed in 2008; then The Open Road in 2010.
Cry To Me
John Hiatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heating up just like the fallin′ evening rain
Tongues so sharp they could burst any bubble
Nobody wants to talk about all that pain
They're all having fun playing with your feelings
You can′t control it, it just breaks your heart
Dirty double crosses done with underhanded dealings
When all you ever wanted was a place to start
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won′t keep you down
Memories of Highway 19, they still haunt you
Babies on hips made out of motorcycle parts
Broken windows and crushing blows that taunt you
Not one damn thing in the yard that starts
I wonder why love is always looking for its own goals
Or is that just what hurt people do
Find the ones who injured them the utmost
Practically beg ′em to make their dreams come true
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won′t keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down, yup!
Sometimes something good can come from lying
′Cause sometimes when they got you so down
Somethin' worse can come from crying
′Cause sometimes they just wanna keep you down
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I′m probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won′t keep you down, yeah
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won′t keep you down
The lyrics to John Hiatt's song "Cry To Me" address the pain and difficulties of facing a troubled past and dealing with broken relationships. The first verse of the song speaks to the sense of isolation and betrayal felt when others do not want to acknowledge or discuss painful memories. The second verse evokes a sense of despair as the singer mentions the haunting memories of Highway 19, representing a broken and chaotic reality that still affects the present. The chorus, "Come on and cry to me baby," is a plea for the person to open up and share their pain, even if it means lying or exaggerating the truth. The singer offers to listen and support them, promising not to bring them down or keep them there once they've opened up.
The song explores the idea that sometimes lying can be beneficial, as it allows the person to express their emotions and begin to move past their pain. At the same time, crying and expressing pain can also lead to being kept down, as others might use that pain to control or manipulate the person. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the assurance that the singer won't keep the person down and will support them through their struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
Getting dark and it feels like trouble
It is getting late and something ominous is in the air.
Heating up just like the fallin′ evening rain
The tension is rising like the heat before a storm and the discomfort sets in like falling rain.
Tongues so sharp they could burst any bubble
The people talking are critical and their words could pop any sense of happiness or contentment.
Nobody wants to talk about all that pain
No one wants to address the hurt and suffering that is taking place.
They're all having fun playing with your feelings
The people around you are enjoying manipulating and toying with your emotions.
You can′t control it, it just breaks your heart
The situation is beyond your control and it leaves you feeling heartbroken and helpless.
Dirty double crosses done with underhanded dealings
The people involved are being deceitful and dishonest in their actions towards you.
When all you ever wanted was a place to start
You just wanted an opportunity to begin something great and now things have gone awry.
Come on and cry to me baby
Please confide in me and let out your emotions.
You can even lie to me baby
I don't need the truth; I just want to comfort you.
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I may not be able to fix everything, but I am here for you.
I swear I won′t keep you down
I will not contribute to dragging you further down when you are already struggling.
Memories of Highway 19, they still haunt you
You still carry the pain from the past experiences on Highway 19.
Babies on hips made out of motorcycle parts
The children in that area were raised in harsh and dangerous conditions.
Broken windows and crushing blows that taunt you
You are haunted by the damage that has been done to you and the area, which has not been repaired.
Not one damn thing in the yard that starts
There is nothing in the area that gives hope or a starting point for improvement.
I wonder why love is always looking for its own goals
The people involved in love tend to focus on their own desires and needs, rather than a shared future.
Or is that just what hurt people do
Maybe hurt people inadvertently neglect their relationships and prioritize their own goals.
Find the ones who injured them the utmost
Hurt people may seek out those who caused them trauma because they believe those same people can also heal them.
Practically beg ′em to make their dreams come true
They may feel so desperate to be healed that they will plead with their abusers to make everything right again.
Sometimes something good can come from lying
In some cases, lying can protect someone from further harm or discomfort.
′Cause sometimes when they got you so down
When you are feeling low and helpless, lying can be a way to regain some control over the situation.
Somethin' worse can come from crying
Crying can exacerbate the pain and make things worse, depending on the situation.
′Cause sometimes they just wanna keep you down
Some people may take pleasure in seeing others suffer and will do what they can to keep them in that state.
Writer(s): John Hiatt
Contributed by Dylan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@cheyennereeves99
Getting dark and it feels like trouble
Heating up just like the fallin' evening rain
Tongues so sharp they could burst any bubble
Nobody wants to talk about all that pain
They're all having fun playing with your feelings
You can't control it, it just breaks your heart
Dirty double crosses done with underhanded dealings
When all you ever wanted was a place to start
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down
Memories of Highway 19, they still haunt you
Babies on hips made out of motorcycle parts
Broken windows and crushing blows that taunt you
Not one damn thing in the yard that starts
I wonder why love is always looking for its own goals
Or is that just what hurt people do
Find the ones who injured them the utmost
Practically beg 'em to make their dreams come true
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down, yup!
Sometimes something good can come from lying
'Cause sometimes when they got you so down
Somethin' worse can come from crying
'Cause sometimes they just wanna keep you down
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down
@maddmax9735
Let me correct your incorrect lyrics. Sorry to sound like an ass but you got some lyrics wrong on this song. Ive seen him in several times in person and you got the lyrics wrong. IVe corrected the lyrics and put them in CAPS cheyenne reeves6 months agoGetting dark and it feels like trouble
Heating up just like "BEFORE AN" evening rain
Tongues so sharp they could burst any bubble
Nobody wants to talk about all that pain
They're all having fun playing with your feelings
You can't control it, it just breaks your heart
Dirty double crosses done with underhanded dealings
When all you ever wanted was a place to start
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down
Memories of Highway 19, they still haunt you
Babies on hips "AND MEN" made out of motorcycle parts
Broken windows and crushing blows that taunt you
Not one damn thing in the yard that starts
I wonder why love is always looking for its own "GHOSTS"
Or is that just what hurt people do
Find the ones who injured them the utmost
Practically beg 'em to make their dreams come true
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down, YEP!.... (NOT YUP!)
Sometimes something good can come from lying
'Cause sometimes when they got you so down
Somethin' worse can come from crying
'Cause sometimes they just wanna keep you down
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down
@maddmax9735
** CORRECTED LYRICS** I am correcting some of the wrong lyrics posted on this song. I have seen Hiatt sing this song in person and going to see him again on 11/22/19 @ City Winery in Nashville. (we'll be in the balcony table 2) I put the corrected lyrics in CAPS. Getting dark and it feels like trouble
Heating up just like BEFORE AN evening rain
Tongues so sharp they could burst any bubble
Nobody wants to talk about all that pain
They're all having fun playing with your feelings
You can't control it, it just breaks your heart
Dirty double crosses done with underhanded dealings
When all you ever wanted was a place to start
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down
Memories of Highway 19 still haunt you
Babies on hips AND MEN made out of motorcycle parts
Broken windows and crushing blows that taunt you
Not one damn thing in the yard that starts
I wonder why love is always looking for its own GHOSTS
Or is that just what hurt people do
Find the ones who injured them the utmost
Practically beg 'em to make their dreams come true
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down, YEP!.....(not Yup!)
Sometimes something good can come from lying
'Cause sometimes when they got you so down
Somethin' worse can come from crying
'Cause sometimes they just wanna keep you down
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
Come on and cry to me baby
You can even lie to me baby
I'm probably gonna let you down but
I swear I won't keep you down, yeah
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down
@richmcdonald4808
The most underrated songwriter of our time.
@Infonaut23
Such a fantastic, grit-honest tune. KIller lines too. You can feel it in your bones.
@coffee9304
Why can I only press the good button👍 once?
@dougwalker3333
He's been the soundtrack of most of my adult life, and he's even seeing me into my "golden" years.
@christophelethimonnier3182
A national treasure.
@walterhundley8908
One of the greatest musicians to ever live. One of the greatest songwriters ever. Surely underrated
@shakuntaladevimatahari5047
Always love John Hyatt. I have most of his album. What a talented musician he is!!❤️❤️❤️
@hankarmstrong3681
Got my New CD today "The Eclipse Sessions" and a Greatest Hits from my wife for Christmas. Merry Christmas John Hiatt and a BLESSED New Year. I'll try to stop talking about your music. F that.
@Endresgarden1
This, my friends, is a real love song.
@normajohnson2437
I love to listen to this song. Wow those lyrics. Wonderful art work.