Judie Tzuke (born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956, in London) is an English singe… Read Full Bio ↴Judie Tzuke (born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956, in London) is an English singer/songwriter. She is most well known for her 1979 hit "Stay With Me Till Dawn", which reached no.16 on the UK Singles Chart.

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.
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Love on the Border
Judie Tzuke Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

This could have been your life
It could have been shorter but love was on order
You get a lousy deal
Just another time warp
Just another hour from your door

It's the chance you take
The past is catching up with you again

When's it going to find us
aching again for

Love on the border papers in order
Where are the guards that stop your entry
Love in the pocket, nothing can knock it
Now i can see the gates are open

You're making dark moves
I feel like a player in an all night card game
It takes a man to kill
every last lifeline
Every past connection

It's the chance you take
The past is catching up with you again
When's it going to find us
aching again for

Love on the border papers in order
Where are the guards that stop your entry
Love in the pocket nothing can knock it
Now i can see the gates are open
All the bonds are broken

We could live in the same world
We could learn respect for ourselves
We could walk through every barrier
You know i know you know i know
i'm aching again for

Love on the border papers in order
Where are the guards that stop your entry
Love in the pocket nothing can knock it

Now i can see the gates are open
All the bonds are broken

Overall Meaning

"Love on the Border" by Judie Tzuke is a song about the risks and sacrifices of pursuing love. The song opens with the lines "This could have been your life / It could have been shorter but love was on order." These lines suggest that the singer is taking a chance on love, even though it could potentially end up hurting her. The lyrics continue to describe the difficulty of this decision, noting that it feels like an all-night card game and that every connection from the past must be severed to pursue this new love.

The chorus of the song is all about the quest for love in a boundary-filled world. The singer talks about needing papers in order and wondering where the guards are that could stop her from entering into this love. She extols the virtues of keeping love in her pocket and the freedom she feels when she can see that the gates are open.

The final line of the song suggests that the singer believes that love is worth all of the effort and risks, because "all the bonds are broken." Though it's not clear if she is referring to bonds within herself or bonds between herself and a partner, it's clear that she believes that love has the power to heal and set her free.

Line by Line Meaning

This could have been your life
The current situation could have been your reality

It could have been shorter but love was on order
Your life could have been different, but love was an integral part of it

You get a lousy deal
You have received a bad outcome

Just another time warp
This is just another instance of time moving too quickly

Just another hour from your door
This situation is not far away from you

It's the chance you take
The risks are part of the process

The past is catching up with you again
Your past mistakes are influencing your current situation

When's it going to find us
When will we face the consequences

Aching again for love on the border
Longing for love that lies beyond the constraints

Papers in order
Necessary documentation is properly prepared

Where are the guards that stop your entry
Where are the obstacles that prevent you from moving forward