The Chicago-born singer-songwriter, was discovered by Kris Kristofferson. He collaborated with close friend John Prine throughout his career. His superb guitar ability (honed at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music) and creative songwriting ability led him to success in the 1970s folk scene. Often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, always unpredictable, Steve Goodman was the consummate performer whether in a small Chicago venue, Austin City Limits, or opening for Steve Martin (and often stealing the show!). Steve is probably best known for his song "City of New Orleans", which was later covered by Arlo Guthrie among others. He has also been covered by Jimmy Buffett and many others. Steve was the ultimate suffering Chicago Cub fan, writing the songs "Go, Cubs, Go" and the unfortunately very true "A Dying Cub Fans Last Request".
Steve's life was cut short in 1984 by leukemia, but fortunately an extensive catalog remains, including the recently released, "Live at the Earl" as well as the DVD "Steve Goodman Live at Austin City Limits and More."
Trust Me
Steve Goodman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell your fortune to the nearest dime
I can make you believe anything that
I want you to
So let me give you some free advice
There's people out here who won't
Treat you so nice, they're just biding
At you ... well what can you do?
You've got to trust me baby
It will be alright
Love and trust me baby
Everyday and night
If you can't trust me
How can I trust you
Fast, fast talkers trying to steal your heart
With facts and figures but they're not so smart
They run circles around you but
Runnin' is all they can do.
Oh, but I know what it means to stay alive
I know how to fall and still survive
If you need somebody who can teach
All these secrets to you
Well, here's what to do
You've got to trust me baby
It will be alright
Love and trust me baby
Everyday and night
If you can't trust me
How can I trust you
And you've got to trust me baby
Everyday and night
Trust me baby,
It'll be alright
Well, if you can't trust me
Tell me how can I ...
You've got to trust me baby
(Trust me)
Trust me baby
(Trust me)
Everyday and night
Oh, trust me baby,
It'll be alright
You can trust me baby (fade)
The song "Trust Me" by Steve Goodman is a warning to a lover to trust him and only him. He assures his lover that he can manipulate time and fortune and make her believe anything he wants. Goodman warns that there are people out there who won't treat her nice and are only waiting for a chance to take advantage of her. He urges her to trust him because he's one who knows how to stay alive and fall and still survive. He insists that if she can't trust him, he can't trust her.
Goodman employs the use of romantic language to express his concern for his lover. He uses endearing terms such as "baby" to get his message across. He also contrasts himself with the fast talkers who he describes as not so smart because they run circles around the one they are trying to deceive. He insists that he knows how to stay alive and therefore the lover should trust him to protect her from the people who are not so nice out there.
Overall, "Trust Me" is a declaration of love and loyalty. Goodman is assuring his lover that she can trust him to always be there for her and protect her from the dangers out there. He uses both direct language and metaphors to express his concerns and warns her to be careful whom she trusts.
Line by Line Meaning
I can turn back the hands of time
I have the ability to change things that have already happened
Tell your fortune to the nearest dime
I can predict your future with great accuracy
I can make you believe anything that I want you to
I am very persuasive and capable of making you believe anything I want you to
So let me give you some free advice
Allow me to offer some advice without any charge
There's people out here who won't treat you so nice, they're just biding their time 'til they can get a clean shot at you ... well what can you do?
There are people out there who are waiting for the perfect opportunity to take advantage of you or harm you and there may not be much you can do to prevent it
You've got to trust me baby, it will be alright
If you have faith in me, everything will work out in the end
Love and trust me baby, everyday and night
You must love and have confidence in me at all times
If you can't trust me, how can I trust you
If I cannot have faith in your trust, how can I expect you to believe in me?
Fast, fast talkers trying to steal your heart
There are people who will try to deceive you with their smooth-talking and win your heart over
With facts and figures but they're not so smart
These people may use data and statistics to fool you but they do not really know what they're talking about
They run circles around you but runnin' is all they can do
While they may appear to be outsmarting you, they are ultimately going nowhere and accomplishing nothing
Oh, but I know what it means to stay alive
I have a deep understanding of what it takes to survive and thrive in challenging situations
I know how to fall and still survive
I am experienced in taking falls or dealing with failures, but I have learned how to bounce back from them
If you need somebody who can teach all these secrets to you, well, here's what to do
If you are seeking knowledge of how to survive and succeed in life, I can be the one to teach you
Contributed by Abigail F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jayson Eubanks
Steve and John are writing music again. Love and miss you both.
Wayne Hosick
Yes he died young. But what he left behind will be here forever. Thank you Steve.
Tylor James
What a clever, funny tune. Steve Goodman...such a great guitar player, writer and performer!
John Douglas
So many musical greats died too young: Mozart, Schubert, George Gershwin, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, Coltrane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Laura Nyro, Jeff Buckley, and Steve Goodman. We can only imagine what their subsequent works would have sounded like.
Damon
Only a complete one off genius could come up with that song! Steve Goodman seemed to have touched everyone he met in a positive way...sooo sad leukemia took him from us at a young age.;(
Paul Carroll
In 1978 I went to see Steve Martins' Wild & Crazy Guy tour in Dallas. Steve Goodman came out as the unannounced warm up act. I had seen a few shows on PBS with Goodman, and was very pleasantly surprised to see Him. I felt like I was the only one there who knew who he was. Everyone was there to see crazy Steve Martin, not some unknown singer, and yet within a few songs His incredible charismatic stage presence had them in the palm of His hand. It was very impressive, and He did a very entertaining 30 min set. I'll never forget it, He made such a impact in His too short life. A few years later Steve Martin came on the Johnny Carson show and mentioned that He was doing a fund raising show to benefit Goodmans' wife and kids. I didn't know He was sick, or that He died. It was a shocking blow to hear. You feel so robbed when someone could have had a long career is abruptly gone. So sad. At least His music remains.
Observ45er
Wow! This is the first time I ever heard this one. I used to play around quite a bit with this, but only memorized my name backwards. There's actually two ways to do it. One way is to just write the letters backwards and pronounce it using standard pronunciation. The other way is to record it then reverse it and learn it that way it sounds better, but I was surprised that using the reverse spelling still sounds amazingly good.
I took up guitar in high school but never ran into Steve. I so much wish I had.. He was 2 years behind me in Maine, I graduated in 63.
.
Now I'll have to get some software again to play this in reverse to hear him talking forward again.
Carefully sounding out what he says the first time in the song you write that backwards and he says: "Look at me I'm talking backwards."
"straw-kab gni-klat me em-ta kool"
James Marks
Genius and never really got the credit he deserved. RIP Steve and your best buddy John!
Andrew Z
In-f**king-credible,. The man was not only a genius but also exceptionally talented. I only saw him once in person. I missed out and many others did too. I think his limited popularity was due to the fact that he was out of the mainstream and his repertoire was too diverse for people who only appreciated certain styles of music.
Ligia Lewis
What a sweet and joyful sense of humor . God blessed him . . .for as long as he was on this earth . He shared these blessings. Think oh him.
George Lewis, Sr