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.
Superstar
Rita Coolidge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I fell in love with you
Before the second show
Your guitar
It sounds so sweet and clear
But it's just the radio
And you're not really here
Don't you remember you told me
You loved me baby
You said you'd be coming back
This way again baby
Don't you remember you told me you love me baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
I love you, I really do.
Loneliness is such a sad affair
And I can hardly wait
To sleep with you again.
What to say
To make you come again
Come back and play to me your sad guitar
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
Don't you remember you told me you love me baby
The song “Superstar” by Rita Coolidge is a melancholic tune that tells the story of a woman who had fallen in love with a musician who had captured her heart with his haunting melodies. As the song opens, she reminisces about their first encounter, “Long ago, so far away, I fell in love with you before the second show”. The musician’s guitar playing is what drew her to him, and his music was so sweet and clear that she couldn’t help but fall for him. However, the sad truth is that the romance was short-lived, and the musician is not really with her. His guitar sounds are only coming from the radio, and the memories of their time together are all she has left.
The chorus of the song is a plea for the musician to come back to her. She reminds him of the promise he made to her, that he loved her and would return to her someday. The woman is desperate to feel love again, as loneliness is a “sad affair.” She longs to be with him once more, and hears the sound of his “sad guitar” in her imagination, wanting nothing more than to be able to hear it for real.
Overall, the song is an emotive ballad that tells the story of a woman who fell deeply in love with a musician and how much she misses him. It speaks to the longing that people often have for those they care about that are no longer present in their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Long ago, so far away
I fell in love with you a long time ago, when you were far away from me.
I fell in love with you
I developed strong feelings of love towards you.
Before the second show
Even before you performed for the second time, I was in love with you.
Your guitar
The instrument you play.
It sounds so sweet and clear
The music you create using your guitar sounds pleasant and melodious.
But it's just the radio
The music that I am hearing is not really being played by you in person. It is coming through the radio.
And you're not really here
You are not physically present with me at the moment.
Don't you remember you told me
Do you recall what you said to me earlier?
You loved me baby
You expressed your love for me.
You said you'd be coming back
You promised to return and be with me again.
This way again baby
You said you would come back to me in this same manner.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
A term of endearment, expressing affection.
I love you, I really do.
I have genuine love for you.
Loneliness is such a sad affair
Feeling alone can be a depressing and unhappy experience.
And I can hardly wait
I am eager and looking forward to.
To sleep with you again.
To be intimate with you once more.
What to say
I do not know what words to use.
To make you come again
To entice you to come back to me once again.
Come back and play to me your sad guitar
Return to me and play your guitar, creating melancholic and pensive sounds.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
Calling out to my beloved.
Don't you remember you told me you love me baby
Do you recollect the time when you told me you loved me, my dear?
Contributed by Levi M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.