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".
One Meat Ball
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A litle man walked up and down,
To find an eating place in town.
He read the menu through and through,
To see what fifteen cents could do.
One meat ball,
He could afford but one meat ball.
He told the waiter near at hand,
The somple dinner he had planned.
The guests were startled one and all,
To here that waiter loudly call,
One meat ball,
One meat ball,
This here gent wants one meat ball.
The little man felt very sad,
For one meat ball ia all he had,
And in his dreams he hears that call,
Ya get no bread with one meat ball.
One meat ball,
One meat ball,
Ya get no bread with one meat ball.
Ry Cooder’s song One Meat Ball is a poignant tale about a little man who walks up and down the town in search of an affordable eating place. He studies the menu at several places but finds that his budget is too meager to afford anything he would like to have. At last, he comes across a diner where a simple dinner could be had for just fifteen cents. He tells the waiter his modest plans, which surprises and amuses the other guests, who overhear the waiter loudly announcing his order of one meatball. The little man is saddened by his plight but in his dreams, he hears the same refrain – ya get no bread with one meatball.
On one level, the song’s lyrics portray the harsh reality of poverty and hunger in the post-Depression years. Here is a man who can barely afford a meal, and that too consists of just one meatball. The song implicitly comments on the economic and social disparities that prevailed during that period, where the rich could indulge in extravagant feasts while numerous people struggled to have a square meal.
On another level, ‘One Meat Ball’ is a classic example of dark humor woven into a tragedy. One Meatball’s chorus brings out the waiter’s indifference and adds a sardonic touch to the proceedings. Despite the painful situation, the song’s lilting music and humorous lyrics make the listener chuckle, perhaps drawing from the human tendency to find amusement in miserable situations.
Interesting facts about Ry Cooder's song One Meat Ball:
Line by Line Meaning
A litle man walked up and down,
A man who is not very big, walked back and forth, possibly tired or hungry.
To find an eating place in town.
He was trying to find a place to get some food.
He read the menu through and through,
He looked at the menu very carefully, possibly to see what he could afford.
To see what fifteen cents could do.
He only had fifteen cents, so he was trying to see what he could get for that amount of money.
One meat ball,
He could only afford one meatball.
One meat ball,
He continued to say he could only afford one meatball.
He could afford but one meat ball.
He didn't have enough money to buy anything else, only one meatball.
He told the waiter near at hand,
He told the waiter who was close by.
The somple dinner he had planned.
He had planned on having a simple dinner.
The guests were startled one and all,
The other people in the restaurant were surprised and maybe even shocked.
To here that waiter loudly call,
They were surprised to hear the waiter loudly say.
This here gent wants one meat ball.
That the man only wanted to have one small piece of meat.
The little man felt very sad,
The small man was filled with sadness.
For one meat ball ia all he had,
All he had was one meatball.
And in his dreams he hears that call,
Even in his dreams he still remembers the waiter saying he could only have one meatball.
Ya get no bread with one meat ball.
He realized that he wouldn't get any bread with just one meatball.
One meat ball,
He repeats again that he can only have one meatball.
One meat ball,
He continues to emphasize that he can only have one meatball.
Ya get no bread with one meat ball.
Reiterating that he won't get any bread with just one meatball.
Contributed by Jeremiah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.