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".
Dark End Of The Street
Ry Cooder Lyrics
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That's where we always meet
Hiding in shadows where we don't belong
Living in darkness, to right our wrong
You and me, at the dark end of the street
You and me
We have to pay for the love we stole
It's a sin and we know it's wrong
But our love keeps coming on strong
Steal away to the dark end of the street
They're gonna to find us, they're gonna to find us
Someday they may come along
And find us along someday
You and me at the dark end of the street
You and me
And when the daylight hours roll round
And if by chance we're both taken in
And taken down the town
But if we should leave before then
And just walk on by
Oh sweet baby, please don't you cry
Cause tonight we'll share the same dream
At the dark end of the street
You and me, you and me, you and me
At the dark end of the street
"Dark End of the Street" is a soul ballad that tells the story of two lovers who meet secretly at nighttime in the shadows of a desolate road, where they don't belong. The song describes the clandestine meetings of the couple as they try to hide their forbidden love from society. The song takes an honest look at the reality of love that has been deemed immoral by society but still exists. The song highlights the feeling of guilt and shame that comes with the wrong kind of love, but it's not something that can easily be dismissed.
Throughout the song, the singer talks about stealing away to the dark end of the street, where the couple can be together without the prying eyes of society. The lyrics suggest they have already stolen something, a love that is forbidden. They know that someday they will be found out, and they will have to pay for the love they stole, but for now, they will make the most of their time together. The final verse offers a glimmer of hope that they may escape from the judgment of society and walk away from the darkness of the street they have been lurking on.
Line by Line Meaning
At the dark end of the street
We meet at a dimly lit place where we feel out of place
That's where we always meet
We consistently come to this place to meet each other
Hiding in shadows where we don't belong
We conceal ourselves in the darkness where we don't fit in
Living in darkness, to right our wrong
We reside in the obscure place to make up for our wrongdoing
You and me, at the dark end of the street
It's just the two of us who meet at this deserted place
I know time's gonna take it's toll
I understand that the consequences of our actions will catch up to us eventually
We have to pay for the love we stole
We will have to face the price for the love we've taken without permission
It's a sin and we know it's wrong
We are aware that our actions are immoral
But our love keeps coming on strong
Despite knowing that it's not right, our love for each other prevails
Steal away to the dark end of the street
Let's sneak away to our usual meeting spot
They're gonna to find us, they're gonna to find us
We fear the possibility of being discovered
Someday they may come along
There's a chance that someone may stumble upon us
And find us along someday
And catch us in the act someday
And when the daylight hours roll round
When the sun comes up
And if by chance we're both taken in
If we both get caught
And taken down the town
And brought down for our actions
But if we should leave before then
But if we manage to escape before we are caught
And just walk on by
And move on with our lives
Oh sweet baby, please don't you cry
Don't worry and don't be sad
Cause tonight we'll share the same dream
Because tonight, we'll dream the same dream together
At the dark end of the street
At our clandestine meeting place
You and me, you and me, you and me
It's just you and me, forever and always
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Chips Moman, Dan Penn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind