Originally from New York, Elliott grew up in a Jewish family and had always wanted to be a cowboy. Pressured by his parents to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor, Elliott resisted and inspired by the rodeos he attended at Madison Square Garden, he ran away from home at the age of 15 and joined the J.E. Ranch Rodeo. Although he was only with the rodeo for three months (before his parents tracked him down and he was sent home), Elliott was exposed to his first singing cowboy, a rodeo clown who played guitar and banjo and sang songs.
Returning home, Elliott taught himself to play guitar and started busking for a living. Eventually he hooked up with Woody Guthrie and lived with him as a kind of student.
With banjo player Derroll Adams, he later toured Great Britain and Europe and had a lasting effect on the music scene there. By 1960, he had made three folk albums for the British label, Topic. Playing in the small clubs and pubs of London by day, he would then take his act to the smart, west end night clubs. Upon arriving back in the U.S., Elliott discovered he had become well-known within the folk scene.
Elliott's greatest influence was Woody Guthrie. Guthrie's son, Arlo, has said that because of his dad's illness and early death, he never really got to know him. Arlo acknowledged that he learned his dad's songs and musical style through Elliott.
Elliott's musical style influenced Bob Dylan so heavily that Dylan's first gig in New York City was billed as "Son of Jack Elliott." While Dylan rose to prominence through his compositions, Elliott continued as an interpretive troubadour, bringing old songs to new audiences in an idiosyncratic manner.
Elliott appeared on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and played Longheno de Castro in Dylan's Renaldo and Clara.
Jack Elliott's style is distinctive in its use of excellent guitar technique matched with laconic, humorous storytelling and an emotional intensity in the singing.
Elliott's nickname is due not to his travel habits, but rather to the countless stories he would relate before answering the simplest of questions. Folk singer Odetta claims that it was her mother who gave him the name by remarking, "Oh Jack Elliott, yeah, he can sure ramble on!"
He was famously parodied in on the BBC in the 1960s by Kenneth Williams as Rambling Syd Rumpo who was a recurring character on Round the Horne. His claims of authenticity as a folk artist (despite being a Jewish doctor's son from New York City) and disparagement of other folk artists were also parodied by the Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) in A Mighty Wind both in the name of their "hit" Ramblin' and in their claims that their version was more authentic than the New Main Street Singers's version.
Jack Elliott's first recording in 20 years, "South Coast", earned him his first Grammy in 1995. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1998. Ramblin' Jack's long career and strained relationship with his daughter Aiyana were chronicled in her 2000 documentary, "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack".
At 75, he has recently changed labels and released "I Stand Alone" on the Anti- label, with an assortment of guest backup players including members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; again, an idiosyncratic collection of little-known music delivered with humor and intensity. He is on record as saying his intention was to title the album "Not For The Tourists" because it was recorded in response to his daughter's request for songs he loved but never played in concert. When she asked why he did not play them in public, he replied "These songs are not for the tourists".
Cocaine
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
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Police come and they knock me down
Cocaine, all around my brain
Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make
Cocaine, all around my brain
She's got a shotgun, says she's gonna kill me dead
Cocaine, all around my brain
Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain
You take Sally and I'll take Sue
Ain't no difference between the two
Cocaine, all around my brain
Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain
Cocaine's for horses and it's not for men
Doctor says it kill you but it doesn't say when
Cocaine, all around my brain
Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain
Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain
The lyrics of Ramblin' Jack Elliott's "Cocaine" describe the singer's dependency on the drug cocaine and the consequences it brings. The song opens with the singer and his partner going uptown, only to be stopped and knocked down by the police. The use of cocaine has clouded his mind, and it's affecting his life. He repeatedly requests his partner to come help him overcome his addiction, as it's affecting his physical and mental health.
The chorus chants, "Cocaine, all around my brain," which suggests that the drug has created an addiction in the singer's mind. The next verse portrays the entrance of the singer's partner dressed in red, holding a shotgun towards him, intending to kill him off. She too is affected by the drug, and it creates tension between the couple. They both are hooked onto the drug, and their relationship is tattered because of it.
The final verse highlights the danger of cocaine addiction. While it's used on racehorses as a stallion stimulant, it's lethal for humans in the long term. It could lead to cardiac arrest, seizures, and strokes. The singer knows and acknowledges that he needs to stop using the drug, but it's become an obsession, and it's destroying his life.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time my baby and me we go uptown
Whenever my significant other and I venture into the city
Police come and they knock me down
Law enforcement officers arrive and physically assault me
Cocaine, all around my brain
The powerful drug is consuming my thoughts and senses
Hey baby, you better come here quick
My partner, please rush to my side immediately
This old cocaine's about to make
This cocaine is quickly approaching a boiling point
Yonder come my baby she's dressed in red
My loved one approaches, clad in vibrant crimson
She's got a shotgun, says she's gonna kill me dead
She wields a firearm and threatens to end my life
You take Sally and I'll take Sue
We'll each choose a different accomplice
Ain't no difference between the two
There is no distinction between the options
Cocaine, all around my brain
I am still consumed by the drug's effects
Cocaine's for horses and it's not for men
Cocaine is meant for animals and not people
Doctor says it kill you but it doesn't say when
Medical professionals warn of the drug's lethal effects but cannot predict their timeline
Hey baby, you better come here quick
Again, I implore my partner to urgently aid me
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
The drug's effects are becoming nauseating
Cocaine, all around my brain
The drug maintains its hold on my cognitive faculties
Hey baby, you better come here quick
Once more, I beseech my beloved to attend to me with haste
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
I am on the verge of a physical reaction to the substance
Cocaine, all around my brain
The drug remains pervasive in my consciousness
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: TOM RUSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind