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.
Movin' on
John Hiatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I see her everywhere I go
Sometimes I see my father too
Pourin' over blueprints that he drew
He made his way with sweat and brains
So I could ride this first class train
Well, he didn't even know where to
Only knew it wouldn't be long
Sing a song about the big ship goin' down
Grandma cried, Grandpa too
Then we went to town to get some ice cream
See a picture show
Come back and take a swim in the lake's moon glow
Well, I knew then there were no watery graves
Just tears and laughter and moonlight on the waves
Then the cryin' of the mornin' loon
Pretty soon summers' gone
Always movin' on
My wife's mama lyin' in a dyin' bed
They've anointed her with oils and some words are being said
Somethin' about the soul bein' present eternally
Does that mean I'll be seein' you , babe
And will you be seein' me
Twilight's dimmin' down another day
Been some moments I didn't wanna let slip away
As if they wouldn't, as if I could
Stay in a place where time just stood
Like wood and steel in a watery grave
No tears no laughter, no moonlight on the waves
Well there's no place like that, it's true
Right here's where you and I belong
Always movin' on
Always movin' on
The lyrics of John Hiatt's song Movin' On address the cyclical nature of life and the inevitability of change, a reoccurring theme throughout the song. Hiatt reflects on moments from his past, such as seeing his parents at work and play, and coming to terms with the loss of loved ones. He comes to the realization that memories of laughter, tears, and the passage of time are what bind him to the present and propel him forward. Hiatt suggests that life is a journey of self-discovery and growth that is often experienced through losses and gains, and the acceptance of the impermanence of all things.
The first verse focuses on Hiatt's father, who worked tirelessly to provide a better life for his family. Hiatt acknowledges the sacrifices his father made throughout his life and their effects on his own. The second verse speaks of visiting his grandparents, acknowledging the joys and sorrows of love and loss. The final verse expresses Hiatt's thoughts on the concept of eternity and how it relates to his loved ones' passing. The song ends with Hiatt reframing the concept of a watery grave, claiming that time spent living is more valuable than any physical place or possession.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll see my mother again I know
Although my mother has passed away, I feel her constant presence and believe that I will see her again one day.
I see her everywhere I go
My mother's memory is always with me and I am constantly reminded of her presence in my life through the people and things around me.
Sometimes I see my father too
In addition to my mother, I also feel the presence of my father who worked hard to provide for me so that I could have a comfortable life.
Pourin' over blueprints that he drew
My father was a hardworking man who spent a lot of time designing and planning so that he could provide for me and create a better future for our family.
He made his way with sweat and brains
My father worked hard and used his intellect to build a life for himself and his family, and I am proud of his accomplishments.
So I could ride this first class train
My father's hard work and dedication allowed me to enjoy the comfort and luxury of a first-class train ride, something that he may not have been able to experience himself.
Well, he didn't even know where to
Despite his hard work and planning, my father was uncertain about what the future would hold, but still persevered to give me a better life.
Only knew it wouldn't be long
My father may not have known exactly what the future held, but he knew that his hard work would pay off and that he would create a better life for his family.
Always movin' on
Throughout his life, my father kept moving forward and striving for a better future, and passed that mentality on to me.
Sing a song about the big ship goin' down
Although there may be moments of sadness and tragedy, there is always a way to find joy and positivity through music and storytelling.
Grandma cried, Grandpa too
Even in sad moments, families can come together and share their grief and find comfort in each other's support and presence.
Then we went to town to get some ice cream
Despite the sadness and grief, life goes on and simple pleasures like getting ice cream can bring joy and comfort.
See a picture show
Entertainment like movies can provide a welcome escape from the struggles and challenges of everyday life.
Come back and take a swim in the lake's moon glow
Nature can also provide solace and comfort, and simple activities like swimming in a calm lake under the moonlight can be a peaceful escape.
Well, I knew then there were no watery graves
Through experiencing different moments in life, I have come to realize that some fears and worries are unfounded and that there is much more joy and beauty in the world than I may have initially believed.
Just tears and laughter and moonlight on the waves
Life is full of ups and downs, but there is beauty in both laughter and tears, and even in moments of sadness there can still be moments of peace and wonder.
Then the cryin' of the mornin' loon
I am reminded of the simple beauties of nature, like the sound of a loon crying in the morning, that can bring peace and calm to my life.
Pretty soon summers' gone
Time passes quickly and moments of joy and beauty can slip away if we do not appreciate them while they are here.
My wife's mama lyin' in a dyin' bed
Like my parents and grandparents, my wife's mother is nearing the end of her life and we are grappling with the changes and challenges that come with that.
They've anointed her with oils and some words are being said
As she approaches the end of her life, we are finding comfort and meaning in religious rituals that honor and support her journey.
Somethin' about the soul bein' present eternally
Through these rituals, we are reminded that the soul lives on even after the body has passed, and that there is comfort in the idea that our loved ones are always with us in some way.
Does that mean I'll be seein' you , babe
This idea of the eternal soul and staying connected to loved ones is comforting, but also brings up questions about what comes after death and whether we will see our loved ones again in some form.
And will you be seein' me
The uncertainty around death and what comes after is scary, but also brings up the possibility of continued connection with those we have lost.
Twilight's dimmin' down another day
Time continues to march on, and each day brings both beauty and struggle in different measures.
Been some moments I didn't wanna let slip away
Through the ups and downs of life, there are certain moments of joy and beauty that we want to hold onto forever and never let slip away.
As if they wouldn't, as if I could
Despite our desire to hold onto these moments forever, time continues to pass and we must learn to accept that change is inevitable.
Stay in a place where time just stood
While it is tempting to want to freeze our happiest moments in time, we know that we must continue moving forward and making the most of the time we have.
Like wood and steel in a watery grave
The idea of being trapped or stuck in one place, whether physically or emotionally, can be suffocating and prevent us from truly living our lives.
No tears no laughter, no moonlight on the waves
When we are trapped or stuck, we miss out on the range of emotions and experiences that make life worth living.
Well there's no place like that, it's true
The idea of being trapped in one place without the ability to keep moving forward seems unbearable and goes against our natural instinct to keep evolving.
Right here's where you and I belong
Despite the challenges and changes that life brings, we know that we belong in the present moment and must keep moving forward in order to fully experience everything that life has to offer.
Always movin' on
Throughout our lives, we will always face uncertainty and change, but we must keep moving forward with hope and determination in order to create a better future for ourselves and those around us.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN R HIATT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind