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".
The Dark End Of The Street
Ry Cooder Lyrics
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That's where we always meet
Hiding in shadows where we don't belong
Living in darkness, to right our wrong
You and me, at the dark end of the street
You and me
We have to pay for the love we stole
It's a sin and we know it's wrong
But our love keeps coming on strong
Steal away to the dark end of the street
They're gonna to find us, they're gonna to find us
Someday they may come along
And find us along someday
You and me at the dark end of the street
You and me
And when the daylight hours roll round
And if by chance we're both taken in
And taken down the town
But if we should leave before then
And just walk on by
Oh sweet baby, please don't you cry
Cause tonight we'll share the same dream
At the dark end of the street
You and me, you and me, you and me
At the dark end of the street
Ry Cooder's "The Dark End of the Street" is a poignant song, exploring the forbidden love between two individuals who are aware that society would not accept their love. They meet at the dark end of the street, in the shadows, where they do not belong. They are living in darkness to right their wrongs. They know that their love is a sin, but cannot fight its strength. The lyrics suggest that their love is tied by fate, as "that's where we always meet." The song implies that this love is the only thing that makes life worth living, for they would rather take the risk and meet at the dark end of the street than live without it.
The song speaks to the universal human experience of forbidden love, but also addresses the racial and social prejudices at the time of its release in 1967, where interracial relationships were heavily frowned upon. The fear of societal judgement is clear in the lyrics, as they mention they “have to pay for the love we stole” and “they’re gonna find us.” However, the song doesn't judge the couple, instead acknowledging the power of their love and their desire to be together, even if it means hiding in the shadows.
Line by Line Meaning
At the dark end of the street
We meet at a place that is foreboding and unwelcoming
That's where we always meet
We choose to meet here consistently, despite the risks
Hiding in shadows where we don't belong
We know we are doing something that goes against societal norms and must hide in secrecy
Living in darkness, to right our wrong
We know what we are doing is wrong but continue to do it, hoping to make things right somehow
You and me, at the dark end of the street
We are both participating in this secret meeting
I know time's gonna take it's toll
We know that eventually we will have to face the consequences of our actions
We have to pay for the love we stole
We understand that what we are doing is stealing love that doesn't belong to us and that we will pay a price for it
It's a sin and we know it's wrong
We acknowledge that we are breaking the rules and that what we are doing is immoral
But our love keeps coming on strong
Despite knowing it's wrong, our love for each other continues to grow stronger
Steal away to the dark end of the street
We continue to come back to this dangerous place to be with each other despite the risks
They're gonna to find us, they're gonna to find us
We know that eventually someone will catch us and we will have to face the truth
Someday they may come along
We anticipate that someday we will be caught
And find us along someday
We fear being found out by others
And when the daylight hours roll round
When it gets light outside and we have to leave our secret meeting spot
And if by chance we're both taken in
If we get caught by authorities
And taken down the town
We will suffer the consequences of our actions publicly
But if we should leave before then
If we get away before we are caught
And just walk on by
We can still pretend everything is alright and nothing happened
Oh sweet baby, please don't you cry
We comfort each other and ask for understanding
Cause tonight we'll share the same dream
We share the same longing to be together despite the risks
At the dark end of the street
In our secret meeting spot, full of shadows and danger
You and me, you and me, you and me
Just the two of us in this secret love affair
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Chips Moman, Dan Penn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind