Ryland "Ry" Peter Cooder (b. 1947) is a guitarist, singer and composer from… Read Full Bio ↴Ryland "Ry" Peter Cooder (b. 1947) is a guitarist, singer and composer from the United States. He is known mostly for his slide guitar work, his passion for American roots music, and for his collaborations with the Rolling Stones, the Buena Vista Social Club and many other musicians from countries all around the world.

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".

Medley: Fool For A Cigarette / Feelin Good
Ry Cooder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Sidney Bailey)/(J.B. Lenoir/Jim Dickinson)

Uhm, I'm a fool for a cigarette
Lord, I'm fool for a cigarette
When you've finished choke it 'cause I wanna smoke it
Lord, I'm fool for a cigarette

Mind when you throw your cigarette

Mind when you throw your cigarette
When you've finished choke it 'cause I wanna smoke it
Lord, I'm fool for a cigarette

Lord, I'm fool for a cigarette
Uhm, I'm fool for a cigarette
When you've finished choke it 'cause I wanna smoke it
Lord, I'm fool for a cigarette

Feelin' good, feelin' good
All the money in the world spent onl feelin' good
Well, the wino met me on the streets
Said, "Help me on to some Sneakin' Pete
Please, help me brother, I wish you would
'Cause I feel so bad and I wanna feel good"
Feelin' good, feelin' good
All the money in the world is spent on feelin' good

Well, you see them folks all dressed so fine
Dancing, drinking champagne and wine
They'd pinch your pockets now if they could
'Cause they ain't doing nothing but feelin' good
Feelin' good, feelin' good
All the money in the world is spent on feelin' good

Red, yellow, black or tan
Makes no difference: a man's a man
They oughta live together now if they could
Then the whole wide world would be feelin' good
Feelin' good, feelin' good
All the money in the world spent on feelin' good

Feelin' good, feelin' good
All the money in the world spent on feelin' good

Overall Meaning

The first part of the song, "Fool for a Cigarette," is a blues number that speaks of the singer's addiction to cigarettes. The lyrics describe the singer as a "fool" for a cigarette and ask the person smoking to save the butt so that they can smoke it when they're finished. In this classic blues style, the lyrics are simple but meaningful and are sung over a steady, repetitive guitar riff. The song is about addiction and surrendering to one's vices, in this case, smoking.

The second part of the song, "Feelin' Good," is a commentary on the human condition and the constant search for pleasure and satisfaction. The lyrics criticize the rich and their preoccupation with hedonistic pursuits, such as dancing, drinking champagne, and taking pleasure in the luxuries money can provide. The song also touches upon the issue of racial inequality, suggesting that if people of all races could live together in harmony, the world would be a better place. Overall, the song is a reflection on the nature of human experience and the search for happiness and fulfillment.

Medley: Fool For A Cigarette / Feelin GoodRy Cooder Lyrics

Medley: Fool For A Cigarette / Feelin Good
Ry Cooder Lyrics