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".
Women Will Rule The World
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How different the ladies of long ago to the modern women that we all know
If you observe you are bound to see that sex has changed entirely
A long ago their one ambition in life, was to be a mother and a wife
Now they go out imitating the males by smoking cigarettes and drinking cocktails
Girls used to like to be school teachers, gradually becoming stenographers
There is no limit to their ambition, they've even gone in for aviation
And if you men don't assert control your women will rule the world
Play a bridge!
Now they say anything that your man can do, they also can achieve too
And they've openly boasted to do their part in the literature and art
We will next hear of them as candidates for the president of these United States
And if you men don't assert control your women will rule the world
Now you hear on the radio and TV of a great national calamity
Story of tragic proportion coming from the White House in Washington
The facts in the case are clearly stated the president is being cruely dominated
By a international conspiracy that threatens world peace and security
In Raymond Quevedo's "Women Will Rule The World," the singer comments on the significant changes in women's roles over the years. The song emphasizes the transformation of women's goals, ambitions, and behaviors throughout history. According to Quevedo, women in the past used to aim to be only mothers and wives. However, he notices a significant shift in women's desires towards achieving their goals, pursuing careers in professions such as lecturers, authors, and engineers. He adds that women have even entered male-dominated fields such as aviation.
The chorus of the song reveals a warning to men who do not assert control over their women, as women could end up ruling the world. The song implies that men's power and influence on women tend to diminish as women become more independent and self-reliant. The bridge of the song serves as a break from the narrative and works as a musical interjection.
The last verse depicting a great national calamity shows how, even at the time of the song's composition, the idea of women holding positions of power was still not fully embraced. The verse suggests that the idea of women as leaders or being in control could be a threat to world peace and security.
Line by Line Meaning
How different the ladies of long ago to the modern women that we all know
Women have changed over time and are now different from their counterparts of the past
If you observe you are bound to see that sex has changed entirely
If you pay attention, you will notice that gender roles have changed completely
A long ago their one ambition in life, was to be a mother and a wife
Back in the day, most women only wanted to be wives and mothers
Now they go out imitating the males by smoking cigarettes and drinking cocktails
Nowadays, women copy men by indulging in smoking and drinking cocktails
Girls used to like to be school teachers, gradually becoming stenographers
In the past, girls aimed for teaching jobs, and later took up stenography
We next hear of them as lecturers, authors and engineers
Today, women can be found as professors, writers, and engineers
There is no limit to their ambition, they've even gone in for aviation
Sky's the limit for women now, as they even pursue careers in aviation
And if you men don't assert control your women will rule the world
If men don't step up, women will have the upper hand in society
Now they say anything that your man can do, they also can achieve too
Women assert themselves and claim that they can do whatever men can do
And they've openly boasted to do their part in the literature and art
Women proclaim their involvement in the fields of literature and art
We will next hear of them as candidates for the president of these United States
Soon, we might see women running for president of the USA
Now you hear on the radio and TV of a great national calamity
News reports indicate a major problem affecting the nation
Story of tragic proportion coming from the White House in Washington
There's a heartbreaking news from the White House in Washington DC
The facts in the case are clearly stated the president is being cruely dominated
Reports reveal that the president is being cruelly controlled by someone
By a international conspiracy that threatens world peace and security
This conspiracy has international implications that threaten peace and security around the globe
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BRETT JAMES, DEAN SAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind