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".
Police Dog Blues
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my life I've been a travellin' man
All my life I've been a travellin' man
Stayin' alone and doing the best I can
I ship my trunk down to Tennessee
Ship my trunk down to Tennessee
I had a gal, I couldn't get her off my mind
I had a gal, I couldn't get her off my mind
She passed me up saying she didn't like my kind
Scared to bother around the house that night
I'm scared to bother around the house that night
Got police dogs cravin' for a fight
His game is rambling when he gets the chance
His game is rambling when he gets the chance
He leaves his mark on everybody's pants
Guess I'll travel, guess I'll let her be
Guess I'll travel, guess I'll let her be
Before she sets that police dog on me
The lyrics of "Police Dog Blues" by Ry Cooder are a rendition of a song by Arthur Blake. The song describes the life of a travelling man who is constantly on the move, unable to settle down. As he travels from place to place, he ships his trunk down to Tennessee, where he is unsure of what fate awaits him. He reflects on his past love, a woman who he couldn't seem to get off his mind, but who rejected him because she didn't like his kind. As night sets in, he becomes scared to stay around her home lest the police dogs get set on him. Despite wanting to stay, he decides to let her be and continue travelling.
The song captures the essence of a wandering lifestyle where one is constantly seeking adventure and new experiences, but carrying with them the heartbreak of past relationships. The man described in the song is a loner who struggles to find connections and has learned to embrace solitude as a way of life. The mention of the police dogs is a symbol of his fear of being trapped or imprisoned by conventional life, and his decision to continue travelling even when he doesn't want to is a testament to his resistance to being tied down.
Line by Line Meaning
All my life I've been a travellin' man
I have spent my entire life traveling from place to place.
Stayin' alone and doing the best I can
I have traveled alone and tried to make the most out of every situation.
Ship my trunk down to Tennessee
I sent my belongings to Tennessee.
It's hard to tell 'bout a man like me
It is difficult to judge my character and intentions due to my wandering lifestyle.
She passed me up saying she didn't like my kind
A woman I desired rejected me because of my lifestyle and/or personality.
Got police dogs cravin' for a fight
I fear that police dogs are waiting to attack me if I venture near the woman who rejected me.
His game is rambling when he gets the chance
My favorite activity is traveling whenever possible.
He leaves his mark on everybody's pants
My presence and influence leave a lasting impression on those I encounter.
Guess I'll travel, guess I'll let her be
To avoid conflict with the woman and the police dogs, I will continue traveling and leave her behind.
Before she sets that police dog on me
I fear that the woman will sic her police dogs on me if I linger in the area too long.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ry Cooder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind