Born in Los Angeles, California on 15th March 1947, Cooder first attracted attention in the 1960s, playing with Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band, after having worked with Taj Mahal in The Rising Sons.
He was a session guitarist on various recording sessions with the Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969; Cooder's contributions most notably appear on the Stones' Beggars Banquet where he shares a prominent credit with pianist, Nicky Hopkins on the back cover. He continued to appear on the succeeding albums, Let It Bleed, and Sticky Fingers, on which he contributed the haunting slide guitar solo to "Sister Morphine". Cooder is reputed to have taught Keith Richards to play in open-G tuning, now a Richards hallmark, as well as to have written the open-G signature riff of "Honky Tonk Women". He was briefly considered to fill the departed Brian Jones' place in the Rolling Stones, but reportedly Cooder and Keith Richards did not get along very well. For some time after the sessions, Cooder accused Keith Richards of "ripping him off" musically, but now refuses to talk about his experiences with the Stones. Cooder played slide guitar for the 1970 film Performance, which contained Mick Jagger's first solo single, "Memo from Turner" on which Cooder played guitar.
Throughout the 1970s Cooder released a series of Warner Brothers albums that showcased his guitar work, to some degree. In this respect, Cooder's guitar work on these records is not unlike the guitar playing of Robbie Robertson on the Band's albums: Both virtuosos emphasized song over solo. Cooder's 1970s albums spotlight, more than anything, a wide-ranging taste in music. Cooder has been seen as almost a musicologist, exploring bygone musical genres with personalized and sensitive, updated reworkings of revered originals. Cooder's 1970s albums (with the exception of Jazz) cannot be neatly pigeonholed by genre, But - to generalise broadly - it might be fair to call Cooder's first album blues; Into the Purple Valley, Boomer's Story, and Paradise and Lunch, folk + blues; Chicken Skin Music and Showtime, a unique melange of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian; Jazz, 1920s jazz; Bop till You Drop 1950s R&B and blues; and Borderline an eclectic mix of Tex-Mex with blues, R&B, and country and Get Rhythm, with more rock-based excursions.
Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks, of which perhaps the best known is that for the 1984 Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas. Ry Cooder based this soundtrack, and the haunting title song "Paris, Texas" on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)", which he described as "The most soulful, transcendent piece in all music from the US." His other film work includes Walter Hill's The Long Riders (1980) and Southern Comfort (1981).
In recent years, Cooder has played a role in the increased appreciation of traditional Cuban music, due to his collaboration as producer in the Buena Vista Social Club (1997) recording, which was a worldwide hit. Wim Wenders directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, Buena Vista Social Club (1999) which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000. Cooder worked with Tuvan throat singers for the score to the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.
Cooder's solo work has been an eclectic mix, taking in dust bowl folk, blues, Tex-Mex, soul, gospel, rock, and almost everything else. He has collaborated with many important musicians, including the Rolling Stones, Little Feat, the Chieftains, John Lee Hooker, Gabby Pahinui, and Ali Farka Toure. He formed the Little Village supergroup with Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, and Jim Keltner.
Cooder's 1979 album Bop till You Drop was the first popular music album to be recorded digitally. It yielded his biggest hit, a disco/R&B cover of Elvis Presley's 1960s recording "Little Sister".
Alimony
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me do they look like me
All my friends said, don't you worry
Said they'll testify for me
Well, I wonder which of my friends had it in for (c) me
Alimony, alimony, alimony is killing me
I don't want six extra children
When ain't but two that look like me
Alimony is killing me
Please, have mercy, judge your honor
I'm as poor as I can be
Ain't had money in my pockets
Since way back in fifty three
Can't you cut down all my payment ?
Alimony is killing me
Alimony, alimony, alimony is killing me
Alimony, alimony, alimony is killing me
Ry Cooder's song "Alimony" is a soulful and melancholic reflection on the burden of alimony payments. The song's narrator laments his financial struggles in the aftermath of a divorce, as he is forced to keep up with payments that he cannot afford. The opening lines of the song are a contemplative question asked to himself - does anyone else look like him? The singer further wonders which of his friends might have turned against him in his divorce proceedings. The chorus of the song is a plaintive repetition of the word "alimony," which serves to underline the theme of financial hardship that permeates the lyrics.
The singer makes a desperate plea to the judge, begging for mercy and a reduction in his payments. He stresses that he cannot afford to take care of six children, when only two look like him. The final verse is a heartbreaking confession of the singer's poverty, as he explains that he has had no money in his pockets since 1953. The repetition of the phrase "alimony is killing me" throughout the song creates a sense of despair and hopelessness, as the singer is trapped in a cycle of financial struggle.
Overall, "Alimony" is a poignant and emotional song that captures the emotional and financial toll of divorce and alimony in a raw and honest way. Cooder's soulful guitar playing and plaintive vocals perfectly embody the theme of hardship and struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at this one, look at that one
The singer is asking if his friends notice any similarities between him and other people.
Tell me do they look like me
The singer is asking if his friends notice physical similarities between him and other people.
All my friends said, don't you worry
The singer's friends reassured him that he had nothing to worry about.
Said they'll testify for me
The artist's friends offered to provide evidence in support of the artist.
Well, I wonder which of my friends had it in for (c) me
The artist suspects that one of his friends betrayed him.
Alimony, alimony, alimony is killing me
The cost of supporting his ex-wife is making it difficult for the singer to financially support himself.
I don't want six extra children
The singer is suggesting that his ex-wife is taking money from him to support children who may not be his.
When ain't but two that look like me
The artist believes that only he and two of his children share a resemblance.
Please, have mercy, judge your honor
The artist is asking the judge presiding over his case to be lenient.
I'm as poor as I can be
The artist is currently experiencing financial hardship.
Ain't had money in my pockets
The singer has been financially struggling for some time.
Since way back in fifty three
The artist has been financially struggling since 1953.
Can't you cut down all my payment ?
The singer is requesting that his alimony payments be reduced.
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN MC LAUGHLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind