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".
That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a miracle what love can do
All the joys romance can bring
Come smiling down on a heart that's true
When love is real, you can't turn it around
It's like a river running down to the sea
This old world turns around for lovers like you
It's not The Way Love Turned Out For Me.
People in love build a house they can share
Takes a long time to get it just right
But a fire can start in the kitchen somewhere
And burn that little house down overnight
That flame burning bright in your heart
I believed that you turned it on just for me
Another man held that fire
Burned our house to the ground
That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me.
People turn out for the big show
Pretty flowers turn out in the spring
And the light turns out in the kitchen
When somebody pulls on the string
But there's no light burning in my kitchen
And no doors open up with my key
And I ain't got no one to turn to
That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me.
In "That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me," Ry Cooder sings about how love can be both a source of great joy and deep pain. The beginning of the song describes the excitement and happiness that love can bring to a person's life. The singer recognizes that love is powerful and can change everything in a person's life. Unfortunately, not everyone's experiences with love are positive. In the second verse, the singer describes how love can also be destructive, destroying everything that two people have built together. In the final verse, the singer speaks of loneliness and heartbreak after love has ended, and how it can be difficult to find the light and love again after such a loss.
This song is a powerful reminder that love can be both wonderful and incredibly challenging. Love can bring us great joy, but it is not always easy to find and keep. Sometimes love can break our hearts and leave us feeling alone and lost. Despite its bittersweet message, "That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me" is a beautiful and moving song that reflects the complex nature of love and relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Brand new day, brave new man
A new day brings new hope, and a brave and strong man who is willing to embrace love.
It's a miracle what love can do
The transformative power of love is incredible and can perform miracles in one's life.
All the joys romance can bring
Being in love can bring incredible happiness and joy into a person's life.
Come smiling down on a heart that's true
When a person's heart is pure and genuine, love will come and bless them with happiness.
When love is real, you can't turn it around
True love cannot be manipulated or changed. It is pure and always stays true to itself.
It's like a river running down to the sea
True love flows effortlessly and naturally, just like a river that flows to the sea.
This old world turns around for lovers like you
For true lovers, the world is a beautiful and wondrous place, full of endless possibilities.
It's not The Way Love Turned Out For Me.
However, for the singer, love didn't turn out the way he had hoped and dreamed.
People in love build a house they can share
Two people in love create a solid foundation that they can build their future on.
Takes a long time to get it just right
Building a strong and lasting relationship takes time, effort, and patience.
But a fire can start in the kitchen somewhere
Unfortunately, a relationship can easily fall apart due to small, unexpected conflicts or problems.
And burn that little house down overnight
These small issues can become so big that they can completely destroy the foundation of the relationship in a short period of time.
That flame burning bright in your heart
The passionate love and desire that a person feels for someone else.
I believed that you turned it on just for me
The singer believed that his partner's love for him was genuine and true.
Another man held that fire
The singer's partner fell in love with someone else and left him behind.
Burned our house to the ground
The relationship was completely destroyed by the new love interest.
People turn out for the big show
People are often excited and interested in major events or milestones in life, such as weddings and anniversaries.
Pretty flowers turn out in the spring
Springtime brings new life, beauty, and freshness into the world.
And the light turns out in the kitchen
The warmth and light of love can be found in the heart of a home, the kitchen, where people often gather.
When somebody pulls on the string
However, when things fall apart and someone pulls the wrong string, love can quickly disappear.
But there's no light burning in my kitchen
For the singer, his heart is empty and devoid of love.
And no doors open up with my key
He has no partner or loved one to share his life with, and no way to unlock the doors of his closed heart.
And I ain't got no one to turn to
He is lonely, lost, and has no one to reach out to for help or comfort.
That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me.
For the singer, his experience with love was painful, disappointing, and full of heartbreak.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVE M L HALL, QUINTON CLAUNCH, RY COODER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind