Born in Detroit in 1942, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez came from a working-class background and dropped out of high school at the age of 16. Dividing his time between hanging around the university campus and playing assorted unconventional clubs and bars, he was introduced to Impact's Harry Balk, which led to the recording of his first single, "I'll Slip Away," in 1967. When Balk took off for a career as a creative director at , session players and ardent Rodriguez supporters and Mike Theodore put him under the direction of Clarence Avant. About to set up his label, the latter was genuinely impressed with the artist's take on Detroit street life and supplied Theo-Coff Productions with sufficient means to cut an album's worth of material. Naturally, Theodore and took up keyboard and guitar duties, in addition to employing second-wave for a rhythm section. Recording Rodriguez separately, they matched his voice and acoustic guitar afterwards to a sonic palette of various orchestrations and psychedelic effects. Being 's first release, the resulting Cold Fact was a stone-cold folk-rock classic with an otherworldly feel to it.
Though industry-wise it was met with positive reviews, commercially the album gathered only dust. Theories as to why it didn't catch on in the climate of socially conscientious albums like Cloud Nine and What's Going On range from either not being played by underground radio and thus not meeting its intended public, or insufficient marketing by , with whom had a promotion and distribution deal. Though subsequently concentrating on , Avant offered Rodriguez the chance to record a follow-up in London with Steve Rowland (renowned for Family Dog's "Sympathy"). When 1971's Coming from Reality met a similar fate as its predecessor, the artist left the music business to enroll at university when he wasn't working construction to support his family and wasn't heard from again until 1979, when, much to his surprise,
he was requested to do some small theater shows Down Under, coinciding with the chart success of Australian re-releases of his albums. Fast forward to 1998, when Rodriguez was even more amazed to find vast amounts of mainstream acceptance. Apparently, some South African fans had invested quite a bit of effort in tracking down their long-lost hero. Their excitement at finding him alive and well convinced Rodriguez to play arena-sized venues.
At last, in the 21st century, his genius was acknowledged across America and mainland Europe, his popularity re-sparked by hip-hop-loving-crate diggers like , whose mix compilation Come Get It, I Got It used Cold Fact's opening shot "Sugar Man" for its own eclectic musical journey. In 2008, Cold Fact became more easily available through a lovingly annotated re-release, followed in 2009 by Coming from Reality. To celebrate his umpteenth rediscovery, Rodriguez embarked upon a world tour, meeting old fans and a whole new generation of admirers. This renaissance was spurred by the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man and its compilation soundtrack. The success of the film earned Rodriguez a significant audience in the United States, and he began touring in North America, playing the songs he recorded in the '70s for a new and enthusiastic audience. Despite having a fan base in the United States, Rodriguez continued to live a quiet life in Detroit. He passed away on August 8, 2023, at the age of 81. ~ Quint Kik, Rovi
Climb Up On My Music
Rodríguez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From a bitter-sweet refrain
Have you ever kissed the sunshine
Walked between the rain
Well, just climb up on my music
And my songs will set ya free
Well, just climb up on my music
Well, there was a girl named Christmas
Did I tell ya she drank gold
She wasn't very hard to capture
But she was rather hard to hold
Well, just climb up on my music
And my songs will set ya free
Well, just climb up on my music
And from there jump off with me
Have you ever been in darkness
And your mind could find no peace
When you woke up after midnight
Found your swans have turned to geese
Well, just climb up on my music
And my songs will set ya free
Well, just climb up on my music
And from there jump off with me
The lyrics to Rodriguez's song Climb Up on My Music have a romantic and whimsical feel to them. In the first verse, the singer asks rhetorical questions about the experience of being moved by music and nature. He uses a metaphor of climbing up on his music to suggest that the power of his songs can uplift and liberate whoever listens to them. The music is portrayed as a vehicle through which listeners can escape their mundane lives and enter a world of dreams and adventures.
In the second verse, the singer tells a story about a girl named Christmas who has a quirk of drinking gold. She is easy to catch but difficult to keep. The story adds a surreal touch to the lyrics and reinforces the idea that the music world is a fantastical place where anything can happen. The singer again invites the listener to climb up on his music, implying that he is a guide or a mentor who can show the way to the enchanted realm.
The final verse delves deeper into the emotional aspects of music. The singer describes a feeling of being lost and anxious, and how the music can offer solace and comfort. The image of swans turning into geese indicates a transformation from beauty to ugliness, from hope to despair. Yet again, the singer offers an escape from this bleak reality by urging the listener to climb up on his music and jump off with him, implying a shared experience of joy and liberation.
Overall, the lyrics to Climb Up on My Music are poetic and evocative, drawing on images of nature, mythology, and surrealism to convey the power of music to transport and transform.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you ever had a fever, from a bitter-sweet refrain,
Have you ever felt the warmth and passion in music so strong that it became almost like a sickness, both beautiful and painful?
Have you ever kissed the sunshine, walked between the rain.
Have you ever experienced the highs and lows of life and found moments of beauty in both?
Well, just climb up on my music, and my songs will set you free,
The artist is inviting the listener to immerse themselves in his music, where they can find freedom from their troubles and worries.
Well, there was a girl named Christmas, did I tell ya she drank gold,
The artist introduces a metaphorical character, Christmas, who symbolizes something valuable and precious but ultimately unattainable.
She wasn't very hard to capture, but she was rather hard to hold.
While it may be easy to experience fleeting moments of joy or beauty, it can be challenging to hold onto them permanently or make them a consistent part of life.
Have you ever been in darkness, and your mind could find no peace,
Have you ever felt lost or alone in a dark place, where your own thoughts and fears consume you?
When you woke up after midnight, found your swans have turned to geese.
Have you ever experienced a sense of disappointment or disillusionment, where something that once seemed beautiful has lost its magic?
And from there jump off with me.
The artist invites the listener to take a leap of faith and join him on a journey, from which they can gain new perspectives and live more freely.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Sixto Diaz Rodriguez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tom Silberberg
I always find myself deliberately not listening to this song, as months pass I might find it by coincidence or whim, and try to reclaim that hazy feeling of bliss I experienced upon hearing it for the first time.
Ashir M
Me too
Narikeljinjira
agree
David R. Hatfield , Jr.
His best song that he hardly ever plays live
Ashir M
One of his best ones
Nicolas C.
Sixto for ever
håvard Lykke
Magisk !
Xfat Cat
The Perfect Death
Tom Silberberg
We will never know...
I like to imagine Xfat Cat typed this as he slowly drifted off to a peaceful eternal slumber. Content he was listening to a perfect song.
Ben Norman
what do you mean?