After an education in the arts, music and drama, by the age of 15, Tzuke spent most of her time writing poems which she turned into songs and playing folk clubs, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. She went to Island Records to try and get a record deal and after she'd played two songs was asked if she had any more. She replied that she had twenty, which she didn't, and they asked her to come back and record them the following week. She didn't return, but their interest made her realise that she could have a career in music.
In 1977 Tzuke went to see managing director David Croker at Elton John's label 'Rocket Records' as their motto was "a label for artists". She played them a few songs, one of which was "Stay with Me Till Dawn" and was immediately signed to the new label. Judie and collaborator Mike Paxman spent the next six months or so recording her first album Welcome to the Cruise at Air Studios in London, with producer John Punter.
The first single was released in the summer of 1978, entitled "For You" and was greeted with great critical acclaim and substantial air-play but only reached the top 40.
This was to all change with the release of the Welcome to the Cruise album and the single "Stay with Me Till Dawn". The song stayed in the UK charts for 16 weeks, and she made three live appearances on Top of the Pops. The song became a firm favourite and is still played regularly on radio in the U.K. It has appeared on dozens of compilation albums and regularly appears in lists of all time most popular songs.
With the success of her debut album, Judie and Mike put together the first Judie Tzuke band. Paul Muggleton on guitar and backing vocals and Bob Noble on keyboards, along with bass player John Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich.
Tzuke and her band then toured for the next 18 months and made her second album Sportscar at Virgin's Manor studios, in Oxfordshire.
In 1980, Tzuke and her band toured America for three months as support to Elton John. The tour was well received, but during the tour Elton John decided to change the US distribution for his Rocket label from MCA to the new Geffin label. MCA consequently decided to stop all tour support and promotion for the acts on the Rocket label, which meant that Judie was playing to huge audiences, including 450,000 people in New York's Central Park, but no-one knew who she was and her records were not available in the shops.
She recorded her third album I Am the Phoenix, followed by another lengthy UK tour which culminated in appearances headlining the Glastonbury CND Festival and some summer festivals in Europe. She then made the decision to leave Rocket and to sign with Chrysalis Records.
Judie was by this time selling out halls all over the UK and in parts of Europe. Her next album Shoot the Moon was recorded mainly at Rockfield studios in Wales and was released in 1982.
During the spring tour two sell out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon (now The Carling Apollo) were recorded and later that year the acclaimed live album Roadnoise was released.
Judie, Mike and Paul wrote new songs and went to Mayfair studios in London to record her fifth album, augmenting her stage band with a number of other musicians.
Throughout the late 80s and 90s, Judie has continued to record and tour, and has set up her own record label. In addition, she is now successfully writing songs for other artists.
www.tzuke.com
Faith
Judie Tzuke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But not one changes anything and it’s not clear
Something stronger than me is turning these wheels
And I can’t keep ahead of the way that I feel
The way that I feel
Remembering the faces that passed me on my way
Always going somewhere well they are still today
But I can see it clearly, it’s time
To let go, freefalling now
But I won’t hit the ground
Armed with love I can turn around
Faith don’t let me down
What I’m trying to say is nothing stays the same
It’s like living in the moment never stepping out
A little trust is what it’s all about
Let go, freefalling now
But I won’t hit the ground
Armed with love I can turn around
Faith don’t let me down
’Cause I’ve been holding on to what I thought was mine
And I can see it clearly, it’s time
To let go, freefalling now
But I won’t hit the ground
Armed with love I can turn around
Faith don’t let me down
What I’m trying to say is nothing stays the same
It’s like living in the moment never stepping out
A little trust is what it’s all about
Let go, freefalling now
But I won’t hit the ground
Armed with love I can turn around
Faith don’t let me down
Faith don’t let me down
Don’t let me down...
The lyrics to "Faith" by Judie Tzuke highlight the struggle of letting go of our insecurities, fears, and doubts despite having many reasons to be confident and assured of ourselves. The song begins with the singer acknowledging that there are numerous reasons they should be standing tall, but none of those reasons change how they feel inside. It's as though there's a greater force at play that is turning the wheels of life, and they're struggling to keep up with the emotional turbulence that comes with it.
The second verse talks about how easily we can be distracted by the people around us who always seem to be on the move and heading somewhere. At times, we hold onto things that we think belong to us, but in reality, they don't, and eventually, we realize that we need to let go. The chorus talks about the freefall of letting go of things that we thought were ours and how faith is what keeps us afloat in these situations.
In the end, the song's message is that nothing stays the same, and the only way to move forward is by trusting in ourselves and having faith that everything will work out as it should. It's a reminder that even though we may feel lost, as long as we have faith, we will not hit the ground.
Line by Line Meaning
I can count a million reasons that I am standing here
I have plenty of reasons to be alive and standing on this ground.
But not one changes anything and it’s not clear
But none of them make any significant difference and it's not completely clear to me why I am here.
Something stronger than me is turning these wheels
There's an unseen force that is responsible for directing my life's course and I have no control over it.
And I can’t keep ahead of the way that I feel
I can't overcome the strong emotions that I experience and they always seem to overpower me.
Remembering the faces that passed me on my way
I can still recall the faces of those who crossed my path in life's journey.
Always going somewhere well they are still today
Most of them are still moving forward with their lives, always heading towards something new.
And I’ve been holding on to what I thought it was mine
I've been clutching onto things that I believed were meant for me.
But I can see it clearly, it’s time
But now I have realized that they are not and it's time to let go.
To let go, freefalling now
To finally release my grip, and let myself fall into the unknown.
But I won’t hit the ground
But I know that I won't hit rock bottom, because I have faith.
Armed with love I can turn around
With love as my weapon, I can turn my life around and make things better.
Faith don’t let me down
I have firm belief that faith will not disappoint me.
What I’m trying to say is nothing stays the same
Everything in life keeps changing, nothing remains static forever.
It’s like living in the moment never stepping out
It feels like living in the present, without ever venturing outside of my comfort zone.
A little trust is what it’s all about
All it takes is a little bit of trust in oneself and in the Higher Power to move past apprehensions.
Faith don’t let me down
My faith is the one thing that I have the most confidence in, so I hope it never lets me down.
Let go, freefalling now
I'm letting go of everything that doesn't serve me, and allowing myself to fall into the unknown.
Don’t let me down...
I have complete trust in my faith, and I hope it never disappoints me.
Contributed by Carter K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.