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".
Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
With our one motor gone
We can still carry on
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
What a show, what a fight
Boys, we really hit our target for tonight
Look below, there's our field over there
With our one motor gone
We can still carry on
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
With our full crew on board
And our trust in the Lord
We're comin' in on a wing and a prayer
The lyrics for Ry Cooder's song Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer is about a plane that is experiencing some technical difficulties with their motor, however they are determined to make it to their destination no matter what. The song begins with the line "Comin' in on a wing and a prayer," and it is repeated several times throughout the song. This phrase is a reference to pilots who are flying with a lot of courage and hope, despite the odds being against them. The second line 'With our one motor gone, we can still carry on' shows that they are determined to continue with their journey despite their plane not functioning at optimal capacity.
The song progresses with the crew of the plane expressing their excitement at hitting their target for the night which is evident in the line "What a show, what a fight, boys, we really hit our target for tonight." They also mention that they are singing as they limp through the air with the hope of making it to their destination. The third verse talks about the crew putting their trust in the Lord as they have a full crew on board. The passengers and crew are hopeful that they will be able to make it to the ground safely despite the engine failure, and hence the lyrics about relying on the Lord for their safety. In conclusion, this song is a powerful tribute to the bravery and determination of pilots during World War II.
Line by Line Meaning
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
We're landing in a difficult situation and hoping for divine intervention to get us through
Comin' in on a wing and a prayer
We're landing with very little control and relying on fate to guide us through
With our one motor gone
Despite the loss of one of our engines, we are still able to continue flying
We can still carry on
We are determined to continue our mission despite setbacks
What a show, what a fight
We've had a challenging and intense experience
Boys, we really hit our target for tonight
We successfully completed our mission's objectives
How we sing as we limp through the air
We're trying to keep our spirits up despite the difficult conditions we're facing
Look below, there's our field over there
We can see our destination in sight
With our full crew on board
We have everyone we need to make it to our destination
And our trust in the Lord
We have faith that we will make it through this difficult journey with the help of a higher power
We're comin' in on a wing and a prayer
We're relying on divine intervention to help us make a successful landing
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HAROLD ADAMSON, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind