Buckley often regarded his tenor voice as an instrument, a talent most noticeable on his albums Happy Sad, Lorca, and Starsailor. His first marriage was to Mary Guibert, with whom he had a child, musician Jeff Buckley. They divorced in 1968 and after this Buckley would meet with his son only once more. Buckley married second wife Judy Brejot Sutcliffe in 1970 and adopted her son, Taylor.
Born in Washington DC, Buckley,an Irish-American, lived for 10 years in Amsterdam, New York, before moving to southern California, initially to Bell Gardens and later settling in Anaheim in 1965. His experiences with music were through his family, artists such as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland being particular favorites in the household. During his childhood, Buckley was a fan of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole and Miles Davis, although country music was his foremost passion. Reflecting this, at the age of 11 Buckley learned how to play the banjo, an instrument which his mother had bought to occupy him following a bout of mumps. He attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California, and, amongst others, made friends with Don Gordon, Larry Beckett, Jim Fielder (original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears) and future wife, Mary Guibert. He was an accomplished high school athlete, becoming a quarterback for the school team in addition to getting a place on the baseball team. During this period playing as quarterback, Buckley broke the first two fingers on his left hand but they never fully returned to normal and made guitar playing more difficult. At the age of 15, Buckley abandoned the banjo and moved on to the guitar, playing with Princess Ramona & The Cherokee Riders, a country and western band. However, the lead singer saw Buckley was uninterested and instead suggested he apply himself to the emerging 1960's folk scene.
Buckley's career began with his 1966 debut Tim Buckley, its mix of pop and folk rock drawing on popular influences of the time. His popularity peaked with second album Goodbye and Hello, a more mature record with avant-garde influences and political sentiments. In the three years that followed Buckley was at his most prolific and experimental, producing four albums of varying styles. Happy Sad and Blue Afternoon showed Buckley's folk roots while Lorca veered to more avant-garde styles. The final album of this period, Starsailor, is a mix of jazz, funk and avant-garde styles, representing his continual evolution in genre. This period, while garnering some critical success, proved disastrous for his record sales as the disparity of his styles caused his fan-base to all but disappear.
Following this Buckley changed genres again, with 1972 release Greetings from L.A., which incorporated the funk, rhythm and blues and soul sounds of the early 1970s in to his music. However, this release and the following album Sefronia did not match up to the success of his previous work. In 1974, having alienated much of his fan-base and squandered money made at his peak, Buckley released Look at the Fool, which was neither well received by the public nor the majority of critics. By this point Buckley had grown disillusioned with the music industry and his drug abuse of the past seven years had affected him.
In spite of this, in early 1975, desperate for musical recognition and an escape from poverty and obscurity, Buckley dropped his drug dependencies and engaged the musical press regarding a live album comeback. Buckley began performing material drawn from his whole career as a response to the desires of his audience, desires he had always spurned in the past. However, Buckley relapsed and on June 28, 1975, he overdosed on heroin. His wife Judy, having earlier put him in bed, was unable to rouse him and paramedics pronounced him dead on arrival. He was 28 years old and was survived by his wife and adopted son Taylor, and his biological son, Jeff (who also died at a young age).
Ashbury Park
Tim Buckley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It takes to heal
Lord I don't understand the reason why
It goes this far along
But I know I would never believe
That you ever lose
A single thing
As long as you remember
Lord it all stays with you
Oh I'll always be
Behind the dream you've had
And not that way
I'll sing though I don't understand
Who is awake
Oh, la dee dee
In Tim Buckley's song "Ashbury Park," the singer reflects on the passing of time and the healing process that it can bring. He admits that he doesn't understand why certain things take so long to heal, but he believes that as long as you hold onto your memories and dreams, you never truly lose anything. The second verse seems to address someone specific, maybe a lover or friend, who has moved on and left the singer behind. Nevertheless, he remains loyal and supportive, even if he doesn't understand what they're going through. The final "Oh, la dee dee" feels like a bit of a shrug, acknowledging the mystery of life and its complexities.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh the time it takes
The amount of time it takes to heal
It takes to heal
The process of healing from emotional pain
Lord I don't understand the reason why
Expressing confusion about why healing takes so long
It goes this far along
The healing process has been ongoing for a while
But I know I would never believe
Acknowledging skepticism towards losing something valuable during the healing process
That you ever lose
Believing that nothing can truly be lost
A single thing
Nothing at all
As long as you remember
If one remembers, nothing is truly gone
As long as you have your dreams
Holding on to aspirations and hopes aids the healing process
Lord it all stays with you
Everything that has happened remains with the individual, being a part of them
Oh I'll always be
He will always be
Behind the dream you've had
Supporting the aspirations of a loved one
And not that way
Not getting in the way of those dreams
I'll sing though I don't understand
Expressing willingness to support even if not fully comprehending
Who is awake
An unclear statement, possibly implying a lack of certainty or direction
Oh, la dee dee
A nonsensical statement, potentially concluding the confusion and uncertainty expressed in the previous line
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: TIM BUCKLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind