The son of Theresia and Nore S. Nordine, a contractor, Ken Nordine was born in Cherokee, Iowa. The family later moved to Chicago, where he attended Lane Technical College Prep High School and the University of Chicago. He has three sons with his wife Beryl, whom he married in 1945. During the 1940s, he was heard on The World's Great Novels and other radio programs broadcast from Chicago. One of which, Honore de Balzac's short story “Une passion dans le désert”, was recorded for the 1955 album Passion in the Desert. In 1955 he provided the voiceover on Billy Vaughn's version of Shifting Whispering Sands, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. He subsequently attracted wider attention when he recorded the aural vignettes on Word Jazz (Dot, 1957). Love Words, Son of Word Jazz (Dot, 1958) and his other albums in this vein feature Nordine's narration over cool jazz by the Fred Katz Group featuring Chico Hamilton recording under an alias.
Nordine began performing and recording such albums at the peak of the beat era and was associated with the poetry-and-jazz movement. However, it has been observed that some of Nordine's writings "are more akin to Franz Kafka or Edgar Allan Poe" than to the beats.[5] Many of his word jazz tracks feature critiques of societal norms. Some are lightweight and humorous, while others reveal dark, paranoid undercurrents and bizarre, dream-like scenarios. Nordine's DVD, The Eye Is Never Filled, (2005) provides a flow of abstract visuals to accompany the audio tracks.
In 1990 Nordine was approached by Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead to be the anchor for their New Year's Eve radio broadcast from Oakland, California. For the broadcast he recorded some improvisations with Garcia, drummer Mickey Hart and Egyptian musician Hamza El-Din. This subsequently lead to an album Devout Catalyst, released on the Grateful Dead's own label in 1991 and Upper Limbo in 1993 and appearances with the band such as their show at Rosemont, Illinois in March 1993.
Nordine hosted a weekly radio program and maintains residences in Chicago, Illinois, and Spread Eagle, Wisconsin.
In 2007 he was a performer at the David Bowie curated High Line Festival in New York.
Nordine appeared as the narrator, credited as "The Stranger", in Philip Kaufman's 1967 underground comedy Fearless Frank. He was also Linda Blair's vocal coach for her role in The Exorcist.
Nordine narrated several films for classroom use, made by Coronet Instructional Films in the 1950s. In at least one, Developing Your Character, he appears on screen.
On television, Nordine did a series of readings on a show titled Faces in the Window on WNBQ, and Fred Astaire danced to Nordine's "My Baby" on a TV special. Nordine's past radio series were Now Nordine and Word Jazz.[15]
Nordine worked with author Maurice Sendak on Sesame Street, providing the narration for the animated segments "Bumble Ardy" and "Seven Monsters".
Nordine provided the voiceover for NewTek's Video Toaster demo reels, such as the 1991 "Revolution".
Discography
1955 – Passion in the Desert (FM)
1957 – Word Jazz (Dot)
1958 – Son of Word Jazz (Dot)
1958 – Love Words (Dot) – also released as The Voice of Love (Hamilton)
1959 – Next! (Dot)
1960 – Word Jazz Vol. II (Dot)
1967 – Colors (Philips)
1967 – Ken Nordine Does Robert Shure's Twink (Philips)
1979 – Stare with Your Ears (Snail)
1984 – Triple Talk (Snail)
1986 – Grandson of Word Jazz (Snail)
1991 – Devout Catalyst (Grateful Dead)
1993 – Upper Limbo (Grateful Dead)
2001 – Transparent Mask (Asphodel)
2005 – The Eye Is Never Filled (DVD, Snail)
Compilations
1959 – My Baby (Dot)
1968 – The Classic Collection: The Best of Word Jazz Vol. 3 (Dot)
1971 – How Are Things in Your Town?[20] (Blue Thumb)
1990 – Best of Word Jazz (Rhino)
2005 – You're Getting Better: The Word Jazz Dot Masters (Hip-O Select)
Guest appearances
1955 – The Shifting Whispering Sands – Billy Vaughn (Dot) (credited as Ken Nordene on this release)
1957 – Concert in the Sky – Teddy Phillips and His Orchestra (Decca)
1958 – Sounds in Space (RCA Victor SP-33-13)
1962 – Radio Rebus (US Army Recruiting Service)
1968 – H. P. Lovecraft II – H. P. Lovecraft (Philips) – "Nothing's Boy"
1997 – Fun for the Whole Family – Lord Runningclam (Bottom Heavy) / 1998 (Moonshine Music) – "Faces in the Night" and "Flibberty Jib"
1998 – Sound Museum – Towa Tei (Elektra) – "The Sound Museum"
2000 – A Dub Plate of Food Vol. 2 – DJ Food (Ninja Tune)
2000 – Kaleidoscope – DJ Food (Ninja Tune) – "The Ageing Young Rebel"
2000 – Xen Cuts – Various Artists – DJ Food (Ninja Tune) – "The Ageing Young Rebel"
2002 – Cago – Dead Man Ray (Virgin) – "Blue Volkswagen 10:10 AM"
2007 – Excellent Italian Greyhound – Shellac (Touch & Go) – "Genuine Lulabelle" [uncredited]
2012 – The Search Engine DJ Food – "All Covered In Darkness"(sampled vocal)
Compilation tracks
1959 – Deejay's Choice: 25 Top Album Performances on Dot (Dot) – "My Baby"
1959 – Excerpts from the Original Soundtrack of Another Evening with Fred Astaire (Chrysler) – "My Baby"
1965 – A Child's Introduction to the Classics (Childcraft/Wing) – "Barber of Seville"
1973 – Original Early Top 40 Hits (Paramount) – "The Shifting Whispering Sands, Part 1" with Billy Vaughn
1988 – Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films[20] (A&M)
1991 – Train of Thought: Stories, Music & Eclectic Audio Entertainment, Vol.1 (Com Audio) – "Mr. City"
1992 – The Beat Generation box set (Rhino) – "Reaching Into In" and "Hunger Is From"
1993 – A Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute (Koch) – "A Cage Went in Search of a Bird"
1994 – Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 2 (Asphodel) – "Flesh," "Green" and "Yellow"
1995 – All Day Thumbsucker Revisited (Blue Thumb/GRP) – "Roger"
1995 – Chop Suey Rock (Hot & Sour) – "Hot" as Ken Nordine and His Kinsmen
1995 – Monster Sounds and Boppin' Tracks (Marginal) – "Strollin' Spooks"
1997 – Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (Mercury) – "The Conqueror Worm"
1999 – The Annoying Music Show's The Annoying Music Show CD
2000 – The Annoying Music Show's The Annoying Music Show Holiday CD – "Ken Nordine Says Jim Nayder's Name"
2002 – The Best of the Beat Generation (Rhino) – "My Baby"
Related recordings
1951 – Incredible But True Radio (Columbia)
tears
Ken Nordine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Knowing I was in above my head
For all that I could see I never saw the truth.
Now I'm alone.
Heaven only knows how much I'm missing you,
Knowing I had heaven in my hands.
Tears are mixed with rain.
Keeper of my flame.
Time and tide is on my side,
It stands forever.
There will be nights of love
And, yes, there will be tears.
I will not sleep tonight.
There will be tears tonight.
I will not sleep tonight.
There will be tears.
The silent telephone, the turning of the key.
You're still inside of me, I'm not ashamed.
For all that I can do, I can't forget your face.
I call your name.
Heaven only knows what I've been crying for,
What I'm crying for.
And all I've done to keep this love alive.
Even through my tears,
Tears are mixed with rain.
Keeper of my flame.
I will pray you're on my side,
We stand forever.
There will be nights of love
And, yes, there will be tears.
I will not sleep tonight (oh oh).
There will be tears tonight.
I will not sleep tonight (oh).
There will be.
Soon there will be tears
Rolling down my world.
Keeper of my flame.
Time and tide is on my side,
It stands forever.
There will be nights of love
And, yes, there will be tears
I will not sleep tonight.
There will be tears tonight
I will not sleep tonight.
There will be tears...
The song "Tears" by Ken Nordine is about a person who starts out as someone who prefers to work behind the scenes but eventually finds himself alone and missing someone he once had. In the beginning of the song, the person acknowledges that he was in over his head and never saw the truth of the situation. Now, he is left with only tears and rain mixed together. The person is also the keeper of a flame that symbolizes his love for someone else, and they stand forever despite the tears that come with their love.
Throughout the song, the person is filled with grief and can't forget the face of the person he misses. He calls their name and even though he has done everything in his power to keep their love alive, he is still crying for them. Despite the tears, the person holds onto hope that they will stand together forever, and there will be nights of love in the future.
Overall, the song "Tears" by Ken Nordine is a heart-wrenching portrayal of unrequited love and the sadness that comes with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I started out to be the man behind the scenes
At the start of the relationship, I wanted to be the support and not the center of attention
Knowing I was in above my head
Realizing that I was getting into something more complicated than I thought
For all that I could see I never saw the truth.
Despite observing everything, I failed to see what really mattered
Now I'm alone.
Having lost the connection, I am now alone
Heaven only knows how much I'm missing you,
I miss you beyond measure, and only Heaven knows how much
Knowing I had heaven in my hands.
I had the best thing possible, but didn't realize it at the time
And there will be tears,
This ordeal will result in tears
Tears are mixed with rain.
I can't differentiate between the tears I shed and the rain that falls
Keeper of my flame.
Despite everything else, my love for you remains
Time and tide is on my side,
I have time on my side, as well as the natural rhythm of life
It stands forever.
This love will remain forever
There will be nights of love
We will have more nights where we love each other
And, yes, there will be tears.
But tears will also be present
I will not sleep tonight.
I will be restless tonight
There will be tears tonight.
I know that there will be tears tonight
The silent telephone, the turning of the key.
The absence of your phone call, and the sound of your absence
You're still inside of me, I'm not ashamed.
You still occupy a place of prominence in my thoughts, and I'm not embarrassed to admit it
For all that I can do, I can't forget your face.
Despite my efforts, your face remains etched in my memory
I call your name.
I yearn for you and call out your name
Heaven only knows what I've been crying for,
Only Heaven knows what has caused me to cry
What I'm crying for.
I don't even know the reason for my tears
And all I've done to keep this love alive.
I've done all I can to keep this love thriving
Even through my tears,
Despite my tears
Tears are mixed with rain.
I can't distinguish between my tears and the raindrops that fall
I will pray you're on my side,
I will pray that you're in support of me
We stand forever.
Together, we will always stand
Soon there will be tears
Tears are on the horizon
Rolling down my world.
My world will be awash with tears
There will be tears tonight
I know that there will be tears tonight
I will not sleep tonight.
I will be restless tonight
There will be tears...
This ordeal will result in tears
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave
Written by: BARRY GIBB, MAURICE GIBB, ROBIN GIBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@itzawrap
Nordine the master wordsmith. Grew up with his word jazz playing on the radio at night in Chicago.
@b00gi3
Love Ken Nordine - and this is an amazing album I hadn't heard. Thank you for sharing this!
@ResinBabes
I hear this and I think of his LEVI's commercials from the '80s.
@franksgattolin8904
Used to listen to Ken N. a long time ago, loved his reading of Twink.
@donhillsmanii5906
This is something else cool to find on YouTube
@Earo16
This is some of the strangest stuff I've heard in a while
@jwpretd
If anyone has a copy of the booklet they're willing to sell, I'd be very happy to know about it. I gave mine to a friend who adored it, but she died long ago and I've never been able to find another copy.
@benjaminprice18
37:18 Lampshades