Terry Callier (24 May 1945 - 27 Oct 2012) was an American jazz, soul and fo… Read Full Bio ↴Terry Callier (24 May 1945 - 27 Oct 2012) was an American jazz, soul and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Callier, a childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield, began recording in 1963 but never reached stardom despite a series of regional hits in the 1960s and 70s and three outstanding albums for Cadet: 'Occasional Rain' (1972), 'What Color Is Love' (1973) and 'I Just Can't Help Myself' (1974). In 1983, he gained custody of his 12-year-old daughter Sundiata and decided to retire from music to look for a steadier income. He took classes in computer programming and landed a job at the University of Chicago in 1984. He re-emerged from obscurity when British DJs discovered his old recordings and began to play his songs in clubs in the early 1990s. Acid Jazz Records head Eddie Pillar brought Callier to play clubs in Britain beginning in 1991 and he began to make regular trips to play gigs during his vacation time from work.

In the late 1990s Callier began his comeback to recorded music, contributing to Beth Orton's Best Bit EP in 1997 and releasing the album Timepeace in 1998, which won the United Nations' Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement contributing to world peace. His colleagues at the University of Chicago never learned of Callier's life as a musician, but after the award the news of his secret life became widely known and subsequently led to his firing.[3][9]

As well as touring internationally, Callier continued his recording career, releasing five albums since Timepeace, including Lifetime (1999), Alive (2001), Speak Your Peace (2002) and Lookin' Out (2004). May 2009 saw his album Hidden Conversations featuring Massive Attack released on Mr Bongo records.[7][9] In 2001, Callier performed "Satin Doll" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. Callier died on October 27, 2012, after a long illness.

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Terry Callier Lyrics

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Angels of the morning
Children of the dawn
Heaven bless and keep you
Help you carry on

All the heart has hoped for
All that eyes can see
Meant for your salvation

And felicity

I have come to find you
And I must remind you
We R one

Angels of the evening
Children of the cross
Who can help us gather
All the things that we have lost

Lifetimes shifting phases
Dreams that we discern
Words of wealth and power
Oh, but that's not my concern

I have come to find you
And I must remind you
We R one

The stone clouds will be fading
Half the rainbow's in
There'll be a new beginning
For all of us, my friend

I have come to find you
And I must remind you
We R one

I have come to find you
And I must remind you
We R one

I have come to find you
And I must remind you

We R one
...

Overall Meaning

In the song "And I Love Her" by Terry Callier, we can see a deep expression of love from the singer towards his beloved. The first verse "I give her all my love, that's all I do" shows how devoted the singer is to his love. It is evident that he is head over heels for her, and whatever he does, it's all about her. The second line in this verse, "And if you saw my love, you'd love her too", shows how much the singer respects and loves his partner. According to him, his love is so amazing that anyone else who saw her would not be able to resist falling in love with her too.

In the second verse, the singer talks about how much his beloved gives him, saying "She gives me everything, and tenderly, the kiss my lover brings, she brings to me and I love her." Here, the singer wants to show how much he appreciates everything his love gives him. He treasures every little act of kindness from her and doesn't take anything for granted. In the chorus, "A love like ours could never die, as long as I have you near me", we can see how the singer feels like their love is eternal. There is no doubt in his mind about their love for each other, and he believes it will last no matter what happens.

Overall, the song "And I Love Her" by Terry Callier is a beautiful expression of love, devotion, and appreciation. It shows how an authentic love can never die and how both partners can give everything to each other with joy and happiness.

Line by Line Meaning

I give her all my love
I dedicate all my love to her, nothing else.

That's all I do
I don't have anything else to offer except for my love.

And if you saw my love
If you saw how much I love her, you'd understand.

You'd love her too
You would see how wonderful and deserving she is of my love.

She gives my everything
She is everything to me; my whole world revolves around her.

And tenderly
She treats me with utmost care and affection.

The kiss my lover brings
Her kiss is something so beautiful and special that only she can give it to me.

She brings to me
She gives me happiness and comfort that I could never find elsewhere.

And I love her
I love her with all my heart and soul.

A love like ours
The love we share is unique and special, one that is not easy to find.

Could never die
Our love will last forever because it is pure and true.