Born in West Virginia, saxophonist Marion Meadows – w… Read Full Bio ↴Marion Meadows
Born in West Virginia, saxophonist Marion Meadows – whose ethnic mix is Native American, African American and Caucasian – he grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, where he began playing clarinet and studying classical music at eight years old. His passion for different types of music led him to appreciate numerous jazz musicians, including Stanley Turrentine, Sidney Bichet, Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins, and he naturally gravitated to the soprano sax in his high school years. Fortunately for the smooth jazz fans who have embraced his sweet and funky soprano sound over the last decade, Meadows decided to take a few very important trips to Europe during his junior and senior years. He had dreamed of being either a veterinarian or zoologist, and assumed he would enroll in college as a pre-med major. Playing the sax was just a hobby until he saw the way audiences reacted to him and his student cohorts in Holland, Italy and Austria.
“The first trip was with my high school band and the second was a graduation gift to me and a few other guys playing over there in a big band setting,” he says. “It was exciting seeing positive newspaper articles about my playing in Italy, receiving all sorts of accolades and feeling the excitement of interaction with the crowd. It was a tremendous rush, and lit the fire.”
After studying jazz with Anthony Truglia, Meadows attended Berklee College of Music, where he majored in arranging and composition. He later went to the SUNY Purchase School for the Arts, where he studied under Ron Herder. “I got a lot of sideman jobs in college, and I have always said I got a graduate degree playing clubs,” adds Meadows, who perfected his craft studying with Joe Henderson, Dave Liebman and Eddie Daniels. “Not long after I finished school, (well-known jazz drummer) Norman Connors recorded my song ‘Invitation’ and then asked me to join his band. I later produced his Passion album with him. Things just fell into place.”
Meadows first hit the airwaves in 1991 with For Lovers Only, but his career really began one day in the late ‘80s at New York’s Grand Central Station. He had been a sideman with Connors for three years with only vague notions of eventually going solo. Then one day, as the oft-told story goes, he was waiting for a train, pulled out his horn and began playing under the huge dome. His sweet sound caught the attention of fellow traveler, TV composer Jay Chattaway, who was so impressed that he hooked Meadows up with legendary keyboardist Bob James. James signed Meadows to a deal with his TappanZee label, and though Meadows’ first recording went unreleased, the experience put him on the road to his eventual success.
Meadows hooked up with numerous artists and musicians and became a well known sideman in his own right, recording or performing over the years with Brook Benton, Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Hyman, Jean Carne, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Angela Bofill, Will Downing and Native American flute player Douglas Spotted Eagle, among many others. In the late ‘80s, Meadows stretched his usual pop/jazz boundaries as a member of a New York avant-garde band called the Aboriginal Music Society. He was performing in Japan when he got the call that RCA Records was interested in signing him to a solo deal, based on his first album which he had recorded and financed himself. Meadows became a staple of the smooth jazz format with his subsequent recordings, which include Keep It Right Here (1993), Forbidden Fruit (1994) and Body Rhythm (1996).
After moving from his home in Connecticut to Phoenix, Arizona, Meadows signed with Heads Up International and released Another Side of Midnight (1999). A contemporary tribute to city life, his label debut was considered by critics to be his strongest work to date. His subsequent heads Up discography has been equally successful on an artistic as well as commercial level: Next To You (2000), featured a mix of R&B-influenced jazz coupled with sensual Latin rhythms; In Deep (2002), a neo-soul blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop, brimmed with sophisticated arrangements and impressive tenor/soprano playing; Players Club (2004) paid tribute to Meadows’ fellow musicians with a seamless mix of contemporary jazz and soulful R&B. All four Heads Up recordings have been well received by his ever-growing, always loyal fans. Dressed To Chill, scheduled for release on May 23, 2006, is the latest chapter in Meadows’ satisfying tradition of cool sophistication.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of projects, both my own and group efforts,” says Meadows, “and my main objective is to keep growing as an artist and engage the fans who have invested so much emotion in my music and my career. Aside from that wonderful sense of live communication, the real magic for me happens in the studio when I put on those headphones and begin to play. That’s where the ideas just start to flow. Everything else in my musical life comes out of that moment.”
Come Back To Me
Marion Meadows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Came across the letter you wrote
Said you needed time away
That was so long ago
All my life I've waited
To see your smile again
In my mind I hated
Not able to let go
Come back to me
I'm beggin' you please
Come back to me
I want you to
Come back to me
I'm beggin' you please
Come back to me
Lord knows that I have tried
To live my life as one
Friends tell me to hold on
Tough times don't last for long
My abandoned heart
Just doesn't understand
My undying love for you
Won't let me wait
Come back to me
I'm beggin' you please
Come back to me
I want you to
Come back to me
I'm beggin' you please
Come back to me
I want you to
Come back to me (come back to me)
Come back
I want you to
Come back to me
Come back
Please come back to me
I miss you so much
Wherever you are I love you
All my life I've waited
To see your smile again
In my mind I hated
Not able to let go
Not able to let go
Hooh, huh, I won't let you go
No no no
The lyrics of the song "Come Back to Me" by Marion Meadows express the longing and desperation of someone who has been separated from their loved one for a long time. The opening lines describe the singer sorting through an old drawer, coming across a letter written by the person they are missing. The letter explains that they needed to take time away, but this was a long time ago, and the singer is still waiting for their loved one to come back. The subsequent lines convey the singer's frustration and sadness as they try to let go but fail miserably. Even though they've been advised to move on, their heart is still beating for their partner.
The chorus serves as a plea to the absent lover to return home. The singer begs, "Come back to me, I'm begging you, please," reiterating the immense depth of their love for the lost one. They repeat this phrase several times, underscoring the desperation and urgency of their desire to reunite. The subsequent lines reveal that the singer's love is unwavering, as they explain how their love has been a constant throughout their lives. The song ends with the singer expressing their undying love and proclaiming that they won't let go.
Overall, the lyrics of "Come Back to Me" are powerful, providing an emotional insight into the heart of someone who is longing for their lost love. The pain and yearning expressed in the lyrics, coupled with the smooth and mellow tones of Meadows's saxophone, create a moving and heartfelt song.
Line by Line Meaning
Looking through my old drawer
While sorting through my old possessions, I stumbled upon something that brought memories of you flooding back
Came across the letter you wrote
I found the letter you wrote where you expressed the need for time apart
Said you needed time away
You communicated that you had to take a break from us
That was so long ago
It feels like it happened a lifetime ago
All my life I've waited
I have been waiting for your return ever since then
To see your smile again
I yearn to bask in your happy presence once again
In my mind I hated
Deep inside I was angry that this separation had to occur
Not able to let go
I haven't been able to move on even after all this time
Come back to me
I implore you to return to me
I'm beggin' you please
With all my heart, I'm requesting you to come back
Lord knows that I have tried
Although it was difficult, I tried to cope with your absence
To live my life as one
I attempted to continue living my life alone
Friends tell me to hold on
My loved ones offer words of encouragement to not give up hope
Tough times don't last for long
They remind me that the difficult phase will eventually pass
My abandoned heart
My heart that was left behind
Just doesn't understand
My heart cannot comprehend why you had to leave
My undying love for you
My love for you is unwavering, even in your absence
Won't let me wait
It is not possible for me to wait any longer without you
Please come back to me
I plead with you to come back to me
I miss you so much
I deeply miss you and wish for your return
Wherever you are I love you
No matter where you are, my love for you remains unaltered
Hooh, huh, I won't let you go
I refuse to let you go
No no no
No amount of persuasion can convince me of letting you go
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Terry Lewis, James III Harris, Janet Jackson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Craig Scott
on Suede
Smooth ...........................