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
Turning Stones
Judie Tzuke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the sun always comes up too soon
Sometimes I read by the sky
But the daylight leaves a cloud in my eye
A candle in my hand
I can see to touch the land
Where it is written in bones
Turning stones
Turning stones
The truth we learn by turning stones
Turning stones
Turning stones
The truth we learn by turning stones
Turning stones
Turning stones
The truth we learn by turning stones
Turning stones
Turning stones
The truth we learn by turning stones
Turning stones
Turning stones
Turning stones...
The lyrics from Judie Tzuke's song Turning Stones are imbued with an introspective and reflective tone. The opening lines reflect a sense of inner contemplation and indicate how the singer may be someone who likes to read a lot at night. The phrase "the sun always comes up too soon" indicates how time may be passing away too quickly for the singer's liking. The second line also reflects a sense of losing oneself in something enjoyable or beneficial, only for it to be cut off too soon. The next set of lyrics talks about reading by the sky, and subtlely hints at the idea of feeling distracted or lost when surrounded by too much light. The daylight leaving a "cloud in my eye", is suggestive of the singer losing her focus when surrounded by too much light. She may prefer the darkness to focus better.
The next two lines reflect a sense of determination and purpose, as the singer carries a candle in her hand to see to touch the land. The phrase "where it is written in bones" suggests an innate knowledge that we carry in our bones, within us. The phrase "the truth we learn by turning stones" indicates how one has to put in effort and determination to uncover the truth. The idea of "turning stones" is suggestive of how one has to search hard to find the answers that lie hidden underneath. The repetition of the lines "turning stones" is reminiscent of the cyclical nature of searching for answers, that one has to keep going and keep turning the stones. The singer is reflective yet resolute in her desire to find the truth.
Line by Line Meaning
Some nights I read by the moon
There are times when I spend the night reading, by the light of the moon
But the sun always comes up too soon
However, daylight arrives earlier than I'd like it to
Sometimes I read by the sky
At times, I choose to read during the daytime, under the open sky
But the daylight leaves a cloud in my eye
But the glare of the sun is uncomfortable and makes it hard for me to see
A candle in my hand
Holding a candle
I can see to touch the land
By the dim light of the candle, I can see the ground beneath my feet and physically touch it
Where it is written in bones
This is where the secrets of the past lie, engraved in the bones of those who have come before us
The truth we learn by turning stones
By uncovering and examining the hard, physical evidence of the past, we gain valuable insights and understanding about ourselves and our world
Turning stones
Repeating the process of uncovering and examining the evidence of the past
Contributed by Ryan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.