… Read Full Bio ↴Ruthie Foster is an American singer/songwriter of blues and folk music.
She is from Gause, Texas and from a family of gospel singers. She studied music at McLennan Community College and then worked in the US Navy, where she started performing. Her debut was released in 1997 and she has performed in North America, Europe and Australia. She has often been compared to Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin.
Real Love
Ruthie Foster Lyrics
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I'm just another head on your pillow
If only just tonight, girl
Let me hear you lie just a little
Tell me i'm the only man
That you ever really loved
Honey take me back
Deep in my memory
So very nice
Here, darlin', stands another bandit wantin' you
In and out your life, they come and they go
Your days and nights like a wheel that turns
Grindin' down a secret part of you
Deep inside your heart
That nobody knows
When you say comfort me
To anyone who approaches
Chalkin' up the hurt
We live and we learn
Well we've both lived long enough to know
We'd trade it all right now
For just one minute of real love
The lyrics of Ruthie Foster's song "Real Love" depict a complex, tumultuous relationship between two individuals. The song speaks to the singer's awareness that they are just another temporary lover in the life of the person they desire. While acknowledging this reality, they still ask for a moment of falsehood, of lies, to make them believe that they are the only one that their lover has ever truly loved. The singer longs to escape into their memories when the relationship was once "very right" and "so very nice." However, as they stand before the person they love, they confront the reality that they are not the only one who wants them. The lover is a "bandit" who has been pursued by many others before and, inevitably, will be pursued by many others after.
The relationship described here is deeply flawed and marked by hurt and pain. The person they love has a cycle of relationships, and their life is often characterized by a series of transient and unstable partners. Their relationship is like a "wheel that turns" and grinds down a secret part of them that nobody knows. The singer recognizes that their partner is searching for comfort and looking for an escape in the arms of each person that approaches them. Both of them have lived long enough to realize that this cycle of love and hurt is not worth it. They would trade all of it in for just one minute of real love, a love that is honest, true, and not based on deceit or lies.
Line by Line Meaning
Darlin', i know
I understand
I'm just another head on your pillow
I am just another one of your lovers
If only just tonight, girl
If only for a brief moment
Let me hear you lie just a little
Tell me what I want to hear
Tell me i'm the only man
Tell me that I am your only love
That you ever really loved
The only one you have truly loved
Honey take me back
Take me to a time
Deep in my memory
A memory that is dear to me
A time when it was all very right
A time that was perfect
So very nice
So wonderful
Here, darlin', stands another bandit wantin' you
I am one of many competing for your affection
In and out your life, they come and they go
They enter your life and leave quickly
Your days and nights like a wheel that turns
Your life is constantly moving and changing
Grindin' down a secret part of you
Wearing down a part of you that you keep hidden
Deep inside your heart
A part of you that few people will ever see
That nobody knows
A secret that you keep to yourself
When you say comfort me
When you ask someone to ease your pain
To anyone who approaches
To anyone who comes close to you
Chalkin' up the hurt
Keeping track of the pain you have endured
We live and we learn
We gain knowledge through experience
Well we've both lived long enough to know
We have both experienced enough to understand
We'd trade it all right now
We would give up everything at this moment
For just one minute of real love
For a brief, true moment of love
Contributed by Elliot H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.