Tangier was one of the stronger bands hard rock bands to come out of the la… Read Full Bio ↴Tangier was one of the stronger bands hard rock bands to come out of the late 80's. Not built on pretense or makeup, their songs were honed from their obvious influences of Bad Company, Free, and Zeppelin to Johnny Winter. Tangier released three albums with different line-ups while they progressed and honed their style.. The debut was more AOR, but their sound gradually evolved until they became a very impressive bluesy rock band with hailing back to their blues based roots.
Tangier formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in the clubs with bands such as Cinderella, who would later help the group out by having Tangier open for them on occasion. The first album comprised of Bill Mattson (vocals), Doug Gordon (guitar), Rocco Mazzella (guitar), Mike Kost (bass) and Mark Hopkins (drums) and is relatively hard to find these days. Around the songwriting of Doug Gordon, It wouldn't be until the follow-up, released some four years later with Gari Saint (guitar), Garry Nutt (bass) and Bobby Bender (drums), that the band finally received overdue recognition and a major label deal with ATCO records. However Four Winds failed to match the success of their Philly cohorts, and Tangier was forced to go back to the drawing board once again.
Separating with both Mattson and Saint, the band brought in vocalist/guitarist Mike LeCompt in an attempt to start fresh. LeCompt's gruff soulful vocals brought a heavier edge to the band, but by this time the tide had changed and the Seattle sound was all the rage. The band separated shortly thereafter.
In 2013, Rock Candy Records re-released a remastered "Four Winds" with a 14 page CD insert, new pics and and fresh bios. A really nice package of a one of the strongest albums to come out of the era.

Sweet Surrender
Tangier Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Verse 1:
High steppin' walkin' out tonite
Walkin' tall, feelin' right
Won't you give me, a little tender mercy
You dig a hole no you can't climb out
I can't hear you till you scream and shout
I'm gettin' mean, i'm gettin' down and dirty

Refrain:
Clock strikes twelve.
Baby I can tell you
Can feel the heat
You can't hide nothin' in the wishin' well
Till you give it to me

Chorus:
Sweet surrender, Sweet sweet
Sweet surrender, Sweet sweet
Sweet surrender.

Baby blue, why ya wink a lot
Hard to ctach, show me wht you got
Ridin' high, you're the talk of the town
Rollin' in like a hurricane
Strike a match, lights my flame
Won't you feed the fire

Refrain:
Clock strikes twelve.
Baby I can tell you
Can feel the heat
You can't hide nothin' in the wishin' well
Till you give it to me

Lead

Chorus:
Sweet surrender, Sweet sweet

Sweet surrender, Sweet sweet
Sweet surrender.

Overall Meaning

The song "Sweet Surrender" by Tangier is about a confident and determined man who is looking for a little bit of tenderness from his lover. He's walking tall and feeling right, and he's ready to get down and dirty. He wants his lover to open up to him and give him everything she's got, without holding anything back. He can feel the heat, and he knows that she can't hide anything from him.

The refrain talks about how the clock strikes twelve, which could indicate that time is running out for the relationship. The wishing well reference implies that the lover may be keeping secrets, but the only way to keep the relationship alive is to give everything to the singer. The chorus then adds to this theme of surrender, with the repeated refrain of "sweet surrender" indicating that the singer wants nothing less than complete surrender from his lover.

The second verse describes the lover, with the singer praising her beauty and confidence. She's the talk of the town, but she's also hard to catch. The singer wants her to feed the fire, to ignite his passion and desire. Overall, the lyrics of "Sweet Surrender" are about the passion and intensity of a relationship, with the singer wanting nothing less than complete surrender from his lover in order to keep the relationship alive.

Line by Line Meaning

High steppin' walkin' out tonite
I am confidently leaving for tonight's adventure

Walkin' tall, feelin' right
I am walking confidently and feeling great

Won't you give me, a little tender mercy
Please be kind to me

You dig a hole no you can't climb out
You have created a problem that you cannot solve

I can't hear you till you scream and shout
I will not listen to you until you make a fuss

I'm gettin' mean, i'm gettin' down and dirty
I am becoming aggressive and ready for a fight

Clock strikes twelve.
It is now midnight

Baby I can tell you
I can sense something about you

Can feel the heat
There is a strong passion in the air

You can't hide nothin' in the wishin' well
You cannot keep secrets forever

Till you give it to me
You need to reveal your secrets to me