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".
Poor Man
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He lives way up a road that's lost in time
Don't know his name or where he's coming from
Only thing you know
He's a real gone cat, this friend of mine
He don't have no uptown friends that drive a Cadillac
But he's got cool threads and a beat up car
Cause he's a real cool cat
Yeah, he's a real gone cat, this friend of mine
La Loma boys will run with you
Do anything that you want 'em to
And if you need a friend 'cause you're feeling blue
Palo Verde girls never let you down
Na, na, na, na, na
Living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na, na, na, na, na
Living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Firme guys in their firme cars
Underneath the moon and stars
The city lights way down below
What's that sound? What's that light?
Streaking down through the night
What's it mean? It's a red cloud over Chavez Ravine
Orale, UFO, come gliding low
Se cayo, up Chavez road
Space vato, square cat
Say, "Caramba, partners, where's the party at?"
I heard about the cool jerk and the alligator
And I heard about Tokay Wine, Mary Jane, and lil' Julian Herrera
I wanna learn to dance, make romance
These La Bishop girls might take a chance
My friend say, "No, be cool, bro'
If you want to dance slow
Learn to ask a mi hermana con respeto"
UFO's got a radio
Lil' Julian singing soft and low
Los Angeles down below
DJ say, we got to go, where?
To El Monte, El Monte, El Monte, pa El Monte
Na, na, na, na, na
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na, na, na, na, na
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na, na, na, na, na
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na, na, na, na, na, na
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
El Monte, El Monte
Come El Monte, come on, pa El Monte
Oh, the UFO got a radio
Na, na, na, na, na
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
The song "Poor Man" by Ry Cooder is a tribute to a friend of his who lives in a remote location that is frozen in time. Cooder describes his friend as a real gone cat, which means someone who is cool, stylish, and unique in a good way. Although Cooder doesn't know his friend's name or where he's from, he knows that he's a good guy with a beat-up car and cool threads. His friend doesn't have any uptown friends who drive Cadillacs, but he has many downtown friends who ride around with him in the back. Cooder highlights the unity and loyalty of his friend's group of friends, the La Loma boys and Palo Verde girls, who will always have each other's backs.
The song continues with a bunch of references to different people, places, and things that are a part of the culture of the poor man's world that Cooder's friend inhabits. It mentions firme guys in their firme cars, the city lights down below, and even a UFO that lands on Chavez Road one night. There are also allusions to popular songs, dances, and drinks like the Cool Jerk, Tokay Wine, and Mary Jane. Throughout the song, Cooder seems to be celebrating the simple pleasures of life and the bonds between people who are often overlooked or marginalized. He emphasizes that even though they don't have much, they are living in their own version of Shangri-La, a mythical paradise where everything is perfect.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell you 'bout a friend of mine that you don't know
I'm going to introduce you to a friend of mine that you're not familiar with
He lives way up a road that's lost in time
He lives in a remote area that seems like it's stuck in the past
Don't know his name or where he's coming from
I don't know his name or his background
Only thing you know
The only thing you can be certain of is that
He's a real gone cat, this friend of mine
He's a really cool guy, my friend
He don't have no uptown friends that drive a Cadillac
He doesn't associate with wealthy people who drive fancy cars
But he's got cool threads and a beat up car
He dresses stylishly and drives an old, decrepit car
All his downtown friends like me, ride around in the back
All of his friends from the downtown area, like me, ride in the backseat of his car
Cause he's a real cool cat
Because he's a really cool guy
La Loma boys will run with you
The guys from La Loma will hang out with you
Do anything that you want 'em to
They'll do anything you ask them to
And if you need a friend 'cause you're feeling blue
And if you need a friend when you're feeling sad
Palo Verde girls never let you down
The girls from Palo Verde are always reliable
Na, na, na, na, na
This is a part with no lyrics, just sounds
Living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Living in poverty, but finding happiness anyways
Firme guys in their firme cars
Cool guys in their cool cars
Underneath the moon and stars
Enjoying the night sky
The city lights way down below
The lights of the city in the distance
What's that sound? What's that light?
What is that noise? What is that light in the sky?
Streaking down through the night
Moving quickly through the dark sky
What's it mean? It's a red cloud over Chavez Ravine
What could it mean? It's a red cloud over the Chavez Ravine area
Orale, UFO, come gliding low
Hey, here comes a UFO, flying low
Se cayo, up Chavez road
It crashed along Chavez Road
Space vato, square cat
An alien man, a cool guy
Say, 'Caramba, partners, where's the party at?'
Saying, 'Wow, guys, where's the party?'
I heard about the cool jerk and the alligator
I've heard about the popular dance, and a type of crocodile
And I heard about Tokay Wine, Mary Jane, and lil' Julian Herrera
And I've heard about Tokay Wine, marijuana, and a musician named Julian Herrera
I wanna learn to dance, make romance
I want to learn to dance and find love
These La Bishop girls might take a chance
These girls from La Bishop might be willing to take a risk
My friend say, 'No, be cool, bro'
My friend tells me to stay cool
If you want to dance slow
If you want to dance slowly
Learn to ask a mi hermana con respeto
Learn to ask my sister with respect
UFO's got a radio
The UFO has a radio
Lil' Julian singing soft and low
Julian Herrera singing softly
Los Angeles down below
Los Angeles is visible in the distance
DJ say, we got to go, where?
The DJ says, 'We have to go, but where?'
To El Monte, El Monte, El Monte, pa El Monte
To El Monte, to El Monte, to El Monte, let's go to El Monte
Na, na, na, na, na
This is a part with no lyrics, just sounds
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
Living in poverty, but finding happiness anyways
El Monte, El Monte
Let's go to El Monte
Come El Monte, come on, pa El Monte
Let's go to El Monte
Oh, the UFO got a radio
The UFO has a radio
Na, na, na, na, na
This is a part with no lyrics, just sounds
Livin' in a poor man's Shangri-La
Living in poverty, but finding happiness anyways
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gene Aguilera, Ry Cooder, William Anthony Garcia
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
KA D
We all know that Ry is a great player, but I never hear anyone give him any credit for his singing. The guy's a terrific, soulful singer.
allan woods
i do
Nicholas Sgouros
So true
John Wilcox
If you look at the credits of most of the movies made in the 80s up into the early 2000s, you will see that Ry Cooder was person who scored the music to most of them. He has quietly made his mark musically for more than 50 years. A true troubadour of our time.
David Charcas
How can we know in times such as this? Ry is is crying a planitive wail how can a man?
Ron McCormick
In my humble opinion; he's a badass singer, one hell of a writer, and a master of the slide guitar.
Denis
What a legend, I just watch this over and over !
Jefferson Johnson
This is the soundtrack of my life from the 1970's to forever. Been drunk, lost, in and out of love, sleepin' in the backseat of my 55 buick, on the side of the road in the middle of the night, in the tank, and curled up inside my head, and this music has been a constant. If Ry had a thousand albums out, it still would never be enough. Screw golf and Disneyland, this, THIS, is heaven! Amen.
D. McFadden
Same for me since the 1990s, so glad I discovered this then!
yama penny
@D. McFadden
CONGRATULATIONS 👍