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".
Never Make Your Move Too Soon
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thought you would wonder where I am
Called up your number all night long
No consolations on the telephone
Ran out and caught that midnight flight
Thought a little loving would make everything all right
But, no!
Landlord said you'd moved away
It's too bad, baby, you might have made your move too soon
I think you might have made your move too soon, girl
Now, look here
Left me out here with a Keno card
Life in Vegas really ain't so hard
Ran it up to about fifty grand
Cashed it in and held it in my hand
That kinda money gets the word around
And makes a lost love come up found
I hear you knocking, baby, at my door
You ain't living here no more
I tried to tell you before
But you made your move too soon
Now I'm gonna play!
All right, now I'm just going to tell you one more thing
Well, I've been from Texas down to Tokyo
Okinawa back to Ohio
Never tried to make the news
I'm just a man that loves to play the blues
Take my guitar everywhere
Now, if you people don't like it, I really don't care
Crowd jumps up and the band falls down
Love to see us rolling into town
Because the people know, well, we never make our move too soon
Never make your move too soon
Ya made your move too soon, girl
Ya made your move too soon, baby, babe
I think ya made your move too soon
Let's hear it for all the chickens that died in the heat wave
Two millions chickens, God almighty
In Arkansas, down in Oklahoma, by God
Texas, Arizona
In "Never Make Your Move Too Soon," Ry Cooder tells a story of a man pining for a lost love. The song begins with the singer explaining how he flew to Birmingham to reconcile with his lover but instead found out that they had moved away and left him with their bills to pay. The singer continues by saying how he then traveled to Las Vegas where he won fifty grand and became famous for playing the blues. He ends the song by stating that the moral of the story is that one should never make their move too soon when it comes to love.
One possible interpretation of the lyrics is that Cooder is commenting on the transience of relationships and how people often jump from one relationship to another without fully committing to any of them. The line "never make your move too soon" can be seen as a warning against trying to force a relationship before both parties are ready to commit fully.
Line by Line Meaning
Three days of snow out in Birmingham
I've been away from you for too long.
Thought you would wonder where I am
I expected you to miss me and call me back.
Called up your number all night long
I tried to reach you, but you were not answering.
No consolations on the telephone
I felt lonely and depressed since I couldn't talk to you.
Ran out and caught that midnight flight
I hurried to catch the plane and come back to you.
Thought a little loving would make everything all right
I believed that our love could solve everything and we would be happy again.
But, no!
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Landlord said you'd moved away
I found out that you left the place and didn't tell me anything.
And left me all your bills to pay
Moreover, you didn't pay the rent or the bills, and I have to cover for you.
It's too bad, baby, you might have made your move too soon
You acted recklessly and impetuously, and your decision was wrong and harmed us both.
Left me out here with a Keno card
I was stranded in Vegas, and the only thing I had was a winning card.
Life in Vegas really ain't so hard
Living in Vegas is not that bad, and I can find my way around with some money.
Ran it up to about fifty grand
I won fifty thousand dollars.
Cashed it in and held it in my hand
I exchanged the card for the money and held it in my hand.
That kinda money gets the word around
Everyone hears about my luck and my money.
And makes a lost love come up found
People that were gone or lost can come back, attracted by the money.
I hear you knocking, baby, at my door
Now that I have the money, you suddenly show up.
You ain't living here no more
But, you cannot come back to live with me since you left and didn't pay the bills.
I tried to tell you before
I warned you that your actions would have consequences.
But you made your move too soon
You didn't listen to me, and your decision led you to miss out on the money and me.
Never tried to make the news
I never wanted to be famous or popular.
I'm just a man that loves to play the blues
I am a simple man that likes to play music, and that's what makes me happy.
Take my guitar everywhere
I carry my guitar with me wherever I go, and it's always with me.
Now, if you people don't like it, I really don't care
I play for my own pleasure, and I don't care if others don't like it.
Crowd jumps up and the band falls down
The audience appreciates and enjoys our performance, and we feel great.
Love to see us rolling into town
We like to tour and travel, visiting different places and playing music.
Because the people know, well, we never make our move too soon
They recognize our experience and expertise, and we always know when and how to do things.
Ya made your move too soon, girl
You acted too fast and impulsively, and you missed your chance.
Ya made your move too soon, baby, babe
You made a mistake, and now you have to face the consequences.
I think ya made your move too soon
In my opinion, your decision was premature and ill-advised.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Nesbert Jr. Hooper, Will Jennings
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind