Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, New York, USA, to folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (they divorced while he was a child). He began to play the piano at age six, and by age thirteen he was touring with his sister Martha Wainwright, mother Kate, and aunt Anna as the McGarrigle Sisters and Family.
His song I'm A-Runnin', which he performed in the movie Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller (in which he also played a minor character), was nominated for the 1989 Genie Award for Best Original Song and earned him a nomination for the 1990 Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist.
He lived in Montreal with his mother for most of his childhood and briefly attended McGill University, where he studied both classical and 'rock' piano. Some of his songs feature his mastery of French. Wainwright still maintains a residence in Canada.
He came out as gay while still a teen.
Wainwright became interested in opera throughout his adolescent years (for instance, his track Barcelona features lyrics of Giuseppe Verdi). He also became an enthusiast of such performers as Édith Piaf, Al Jolson and Judy Garland.
After having been a fixture on the Montreal club circuit, Wainwright cut a series of demo tapes, one of which found itself in the hands of DreamWorks executive Lenny Waronker. The label signed him and he released the self-titled Rufus Wainwright album in the spring of 1998. This album received much critical acclaim in Canada, and was recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best albums of the year. Wainwright's second album, Poses (2001), brought similar acclaim.
Wainwright's first main exposure to the American public came as an opener to singer Tori Amos in 2001 and 2002. He garnered praise for his performance and began touring as a main act shortly afterwards. He has frequently toured as the opener for Sting and co-headlined with Ben Folds and Guster in the summer of 2004. He still often performs with his sister Martha Wainwright (now herself an emerging artist) on backup vocals. Despite a growing cult following and critical acclaim, Wainwright has experienced only marginal commercial success in the United States.
In addition to being a pianist, Wainwright is a guitarist, often switching between the two instruments when performing live; however, his mastery of the guitar does not approach his talent with the piano within the Piano rock genre. While some of his most moving songs feature just Wainwright with his piano, many of his songs display complex layering and harmonies, occasionally comprising hundreds of individual parts. Wainwright is an avid opera fan, and the influences on his music are evident, as well as his love of Schubert 'Lieder'; his music has been described as "Popera" (Pop Opera) or "Baroque Pop." His lyrics are filled with allusions to opera, literature, pop culture, and, more recently, politics (in songs such as Gay Messiah and Waiting for a Dream). Wainwright is a recovering crystal meth addict and a rape survivor; he uses the press to bring awareness to these societal problems.
His talent has been widely recognized and praised by such artists as Elton John, Morrissey, John Mayer, and Sting, and he continues to influence artists like Keane, Alanis Morissette, Scissor Sisters, and Ben Folds.
Wainwright's Want Two, from which four songs were released as the EP Waiting for a Want, was released by DreamWorks/Geffen on November 16, 2004. It is a companion to the 2003 release Want One. His latest, a live iTunes Sessions EP entitled Alright Already, was released March 15, 2005. A DVD entitled All I Want, featuring a biographical documentary, music videos, and live performances, was released on both sides of the Atlantic in summer 2005. The same year was also notable for two major contributions as solo vocalist to a pair of important records: the Mercury Prize winning I am a Bird Now and At This Time.
The pair of Want albums was repackaged as Want for a late November 2005 release to coincide with the start of a British tour. The version of Want One is that which contains the two extra songs Es Mus Sein and Velvet Curtain Rag. The Want (Want One and Want Two combined) package in the UK has two new extra tracks: Chelsea Hotel No. 2 and In with the Ladies, which replace Coeur de Parisienne — Reprise d'Arletty and Quand Vous Mourez de Nos Amours from 2004's augmented edition.
Rufus' fifth studio album Release the Stars was released by Geffen on May 15, 2007. The album was executive produced by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and featured Richard Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Martha Wainwright, Kate McGarrigle, Neil Tennant, Joan Wasser, Julianna Raye, Larry Mullins - pka Toby Dammit and Sian Phillips.[14]. It reached number 2 in the UK and debuted at number 23 in the USA. The first single of the album, "Going To A Town" was released on April 3, 2007 on the iTunes music store.
Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall is his sixth album. It is a live recording of his June 2006 tribute concert to Judy Garland. Backed by a 36-piece orchestra under the conduction of Stephen Oremus, Wainwright recreated Garland's April 23, 1961 concert, often considered "the greatest night in show business history." After overcoming many personal problems, her comeback performance of 25+ American standards spawned the double album, "Judy at Carnegie Hall."
As well as Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller, Wainwright has appeared in the films The Aviator and Heights. Rufus has music in the film Brokeback Mountain, for which he recorded The Maker Makes and King of the Road, as well as a minor cameo as a guitar player.
Wainwright released his sixth studio album All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu in March 2010. In stark contrast to the lush ornamentation of Release The Stars, the album is a simple voice and piano rendition of a song cycle that includes versions of three Shakespeare sonnets, and an excerpt from his 2009 opera Prima Donna.
The Lulu figure of the title is said by Wainwright to be "the dark, brooding, dangerous woman that lives within all of us", similar to the Dark Lady character in Shakespeare's sonnets. The first part of the title comes from the final couplet of William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 43" ("All days are nights to see till I see thee...").
The Man That Got Away
Rufus Wainwright Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The winds grow colder, suddenly you're older
And all because of the man that got away
No more his eager call, the writings on the wall
The dreams you've dreamed have all gone astray
The man that won you has run off and undone you
Don't know what happened, it's all a crazy game
No more that all-time thrill, for you've been through the mill
And never a new love will be the same
Good riddance, goodbye
Every trick of his you're on to
But fools will be fools, and where's he gone to?
The road gets rougher, it's lonelier and tougher
With hope you'll burn up, tomorrow he might turn up
There's just no letup, the livelong night and day
Ever since this world began, there is nothing sadder than
A one-man woman, looking for the man that got away
The man that got away
"The Man That Got Away" by Rufus Wainwright is a poignant rendition of the classic song that was made famous by Judy Garland. The opening lines of the song, "The night is bitter, the stars have lost their glitter, the winds grow colder, suddenly you're older, and all because of the man that got away," set the tone for the entire song. The song is about a woman who has lost the love of her life and is struggling to move on.
The lyrics use a lot of metaphors and symbolism to convey the emotions of the singer. The line "the stars have lost their glitter" refers to the loss of hope and optimism that the woman feels after losing her love. The winds growing colder symbolize the emotional distance that she feels from the rest of the world. The line "no more his eager call, the writings on the wall, the dreams you've dreamed have all gone astray" is a reference to the end of a relationship and the realization that everything that they had planned and hoped for will not come to fruition.
The chorus of the song, "Good riddance, goodbye, every trick of his you're on to, but fools will be fools, and where's he gone to?" is a mix of bitterness, anger, and sadness. The woman is trying desperately to move on from her loss, but her heart refuses to let go.
Overall, "The Man That Got Away" is a beautifully crafted song that captures the complexities of love and loss. The lyrics are powerful and relatable, and the melody is hauntingly beautiful.
Line by Line Meaning
The night is bitter, the stars have lost their glitter
The current situation is bleak and lifeless, as if even the stars in the sky have lost their shine.
The winds grow colder, suddenly you're older
Bad situations can make one feel the chill of the world, and as a result, seem to age them beyond their years.
And all because of the man that got away
The cause of this misery stemmed from a man who is no longer present in their life.
No more his eager call, the writings on the wall
The man who left used to be eager to talk, but now that he's gone, it's clear that he wasn't committed to the situation.
The dreams you've dreamed have all gone astray
The future that was imagined has been thrown off course by the absence of the man who left.
The man that won you has run off and undone you
The man that captured their heart has gone away, leaving a negative impact on their life.
That great beginning has seen a final inning
A once-promising start to a relationship has now come to a sad end.
Don't know what happened, it's all a crazy game
The person is unsure of what went wrong and is overwhelmed by how unpredictable relationships can be.
No more that all-time thrill, for you've been through the mill
The excitement and joy of being in love has been replaced by feelings of being worn out and jaded.
And never a new love will be the same
The person feels like no new relationship could ever live up to what they experienced with the man who left.
Good riddance, goodbye
While the person may miss the man who left, they are ultimately happy to be rid of him and say goodbye.
Every trick of his you're on to
The person is no longer fooled by the man's lies or games - they see right through them.
But fools will be fools, and where's he gone to?
Even though the person knows they are better off without the man who left, they can't help but wonder where he's gone to or if he's moved on to someone else.
The road gets rougher, it's lonelier and tougher
Going through life without the man who left will be harder now that they're gone and the road ahead seems more difficult.
With hope you'll burn up, tomorrow he might turn up
Despite the sadness, the person still holds out hope that the man who left might return and bring some consolation to their life.
There's just no letup, the livelong night and day
The pain and heartbreak from the man who left seems to be never-ending, and haunts the person both day and night.
Ever since this world began, there is nothing sadder than
Throughout history, there has been no greater sadness than that experienced by someone who has lost the love of their life.
A one-man woman, looking for the man that got away
The person who lost the man who left finds themselves still searching and hoping to be reunited with him once again.
The man that got away
A sad reminder of the man who left, and the impact that he had on the person's life.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Will Gamble
Your Voice has warmed and reached the most sublime luxurious tones as I replay and cry my heart out today !
Love,
Will G.
donna qiu
You are sounding better and better Rufus. Wish you always sound golden in the coming years as the legendary Leonard Cohen did until the very end.
jacqueline griffiths
Great version, definitely do the song justice. 💗
Will Gamble
Hearing this on my Birthday made the tears falls far more quickly ;all day and night through.
MsNight0wl
This wonderful session at Capitol Studios breathed exquisite new life into the Rufus Does Judy catalogue. Kudos and Bravo to all concerned.
Susan Wilber
And that, my friends, is how you deliver a song! Bravo, Rufus!!! 🥰
Sorcha McCarrey
one of the few singers i've heard do this other than judy that is actually capable of conveying the bit of tragedy in the song. you've got the voice! one of those heartbreak-addled voices that make you feel a bit tipsy just by listening to them, excellent
Sabine Weisbrodt
I like this song, but most I love your wonderful voice, thanks for your music, Rufus.
Maxered
WOW! So lovely, so powerful, so Rufus! 👏👏👏🎶🎵💖
Gloria Spratt
Love it