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".
Fernando Sez
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I need money and that's no lie
Fernando sez my car is trash and he wants cash
My car is old but it's still good
I wouldn't change it baby if I could
I really like that old Cadillac
Fernando sez he won't give it back
Never liked no Jap Cars ain't startin' up now
The whole world's gone crazy anyhow
Public transportation gets me down
Might end up in a bad part of town
Fernando sez it's understood
No offense your credit ain't good
You white folks had it it's all gone now
Never had no rhythm anyhow
Fernando sez take a clue Fernando sez you're overdue
Fernando sez take in mind Fernando sez it's cash on the line
The lyrics of Ry Cooder's song Fernando Sez speak to the theme of economic inequality and the experience of living paycheck to paycheck. The singer of the song, who is recording again for the sake of making money, needs his old Cadillac to maintain his livelihood. However, his mechanic, Fernando, wants to take advantage of the singer's financial need and extract cash from him by refusing to release the Cadillac. The singer defends himself by asserting his fondness of the old Cadillac and his skepticism towards Japanese cars. However, Fernando dismisses his argument and reminds him of his poor credit score and the reality of the changing world. The singer, feeling helpless and pressured, eventually concedes and agrees to pay cash, indicating his susceptibility to financial extortion and his lack of power in the face of economic inequality.
The song critiques the system of capitalism, which punishes the vulnerable and disempowered, leaving them with limited choices and no leverage to negotiate their dignity or respect. The song highlights the powerlessness of people who must compromise their integrity to make ends meet and face exploitation and predatory behavior from people in positions of power like Fernando. Ultimately, the song points to the insidious effects of poverty on individual lives and the importance of examining and challenging the systemic inequalities that perpetuate it in society.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm recording again and you know why
I'm making music again because I need to make money.
I need money and that's no lie
I'm not lying when I say I need money.
Fernando sez my car is trash and he wants cash
Fernando doesn't like my car and wants me to pay for it.
My car is old but it's still good
My car may be old, but it still works well.
I wouldn't change it baby if I could
I wouldn't change my car even if I could afford a new one.
I really like that old Cadillac
I have a soft spot for my old Cadillac.
Fernando sez he won't give it back
Fernando isn't going to return my car anytime soon.
Never liked no Jap Cars ain't startin' up now
I've never liked Japanese cars and they're not starting up now.
The whole world's gone crazy anyhow
The world is crazy right now.
Public transportation gets me down
I don't like public transportation.
Might end up in a bad part of town
I'm worried I might end up in a dangerous part of town.
Fernando sez it's understood
Fernando thinks it's clear what's going on.
No offense your credit ain't good
Not trying to be rude, but your credit score isn't good.
You white folks had it it's all gone now
You white people had it good, but now it's gone.
Never had no rhythm anyhow
White people can't dance.
Fernando sez take a clue
Fernando thinks I should take a hint.
Fernando sez you're overdue
Fernando thinks I'm overdue for something.
Fernando sez take in mind
Fernando wants me to keep something in mind.
Fernando sez it's cash on the line
Fernando wants me to pay in cash.
Contributed by Austin C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
norigibson
One more example of Ry's true talent.
Robert Lynch
Great musician!
twangbarfly
Laughed my backside off all the way through this vid - great music, great video - Thanks!
James Mack
You gotta love songs like this ! Any time you might begin to think there is nothing funny or ridiculous to bring humor into our lives, Surprise ! Yes, there is !
Baroque Violin
Hilarious! Thanks for sharing!
rockin' duck blood brothers band
i loved all these signs a lot, especially the 3rd one: no trespassing, violators will be shot, survivors will be shot again. i'm sure nobody will trespass on his or her land.
MyMoppet52
I love Ry Cooder but am not familiar with this song. I am still not familiar with this song because I am laughing so hard at your video. This has been great! I will listen to Ry again and look at your video on rough days. Thank you. p.s. I loved all the signs, especially 'there is absolutely nothing the next 22 miles", 'the sunshine state' covered in snow, and "the birthplace of George W. Bush. We apologize". Perfect!!! Thanks again.
Chief Whitenoise
"curved yellow fruit 40c" - my favorite 🙂
MyMoppet52
Wanted to give you an update. I shared your video with my daughter, best friend, and aunt as their Mother's Day card. I wasn't being cheap. I knew they would enjoy your video more! Thanks.
Marie-Claire Hooker
STUPENDA !!!!