Coolidge's early career was as a backing vocalist, for artists such as Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, and Leon Russell. Her performance of "Superstar" on the Cocker/Russell Mad Dogs and Englishmen album helped gain her attention. She became known as "The Delta Lady" and inspired Leon Russell to write a song of the same name for her. It was during this time that she met Kris Kristofferson; the two married in 1973. With him, she recorded several duet albums which sold well, and earned them a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1974 for From the Bottle to the Bottom, and in 1976 for Lover Please.
In 1997, Coolidge was one of the founding members of Walela, a Native American music trio, that also includes Coolidge's sister Priscilla and Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield. The trio released albums in 1997 and 2000. Walela means hummingbird in Cherokee.
Endless Nights
Rita Coolidge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gonna be another cold December on the back streets of Tokyo
There a light from a broken window
From the street you would never know
One face from another, only strangers on the back street of Tokyo
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
Where nothing′s real
In long endless nights
There's a lady with frown expression that forever has left behind
Underneath the stairway, in an alley, I feel that I know her
When I tell her my heart′s confession
I can see thete's a tear in her eye
She said that I'm reminder of lover she′s trying to get over
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
And all memories die
Where nothing′s real
In long endless night
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
And all memories die
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
And all memories die
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
And all memories die
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
And all memories die
The lyrics of Rita Coolidge's "Endless Nights" are a poetic description of life on the backstreets of Tokyo. The opening lines describe the approach of nightfall, and the shadows that begin to appear as the sun goes down. The setting is in Tokyo in the month of December, implied to be a rough area of the city. The song speaks of how difficult it is to differentiate one person from the other, as they all appear as strangers.
Then the song takes a turn as it speaks of the "endless nights," where hearts get high and time stands still. These are the moments where all memories die, and nothing seems real. The singer seems to be addressing a lady, whom he meets under the stairway in an alley. He confesses his love to her and notices that a tear comes to her eye as he reminds her of a lover she is trying to get over. The endless nights where hearts get high seem to be the moments when people are trying to escape the reality of their lives or their heartaches.
In short, the lyrics portray the loneliness and struggles of life on the backstreets of Tokyo, and the endless nights are the brief moments of escape from harsh reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Slowly the sun goes down, watching shadows began to crawl
As the sun disappears, shadows are created that seem to move on their own.
Gonna be another cold December on the back streets of Tokyo
Tokyo's back streets will experience another cold winter month.
There a light from a broken window
A broken window is emitting light
From the street you would never know
The light can only be seen from close proximity.
One face from another, only strangers on the back street of Tokyo
In the crowded streets of Tokyo, it's hard to differentiate individuals.
Endless nights where hearts get high
When time stands still
And all memories die
Where nothing's real
In long endless nights
The endless nights create an atmosphere in which people feel intense emotions, while their perception of reality fades away and memories lose their meaning.
There's a lady with frown expression that forever has left behind
There is a lady with a permanent frown on her face, constantly stuck in the past.
Underneath the stairway, in an alley, I feel that I know her
In an alley near a staircase, there is a woman whose face is familiar.
When I tell her my heart's confession
I can see thete's a tear in her eye
When I confess my love to her, I see a tear in her eye.
She said that I'm reminder of lover she's trying to get over
She tells me that I remind her of a past lover she is trying to move on from.
Writer(s): Goodrum Randy, 小田 和正, 小田 和正
Contributed by Annabelle V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.