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).
Sefronia
Tim Buckley Lyrics
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And I was only wax in the spell of fire
Oh my coal black nigger
When black coal burns it ripens
She pried the whip out of her master's hand
And lashed at her own skin
So she'd be master, how could she know
This was just a dream born,
The lyrics to Tim Buckley's song "Sefronia" are quite cryptic but seem to speak to themes of power dynamics and magic. The first line "Sefronia shook the black cat's bone at me" suggests that Sefronia is practicing some kind of magic or casting a spell. The second line "And I was only wax in the spell of fire" further emphasizes Sefronia's power over the singer. The use of the word "wax" suggests that the singer is pliable and easily molded by Sefronia's magic.
The next two lines "Oh my coal black nigger, when black coal burns it ripens" are more difficult to decipher but could be interpreted as a metaphor for the transformative power of fire. The phrase "coal black nigger" is admittedly controversial and offensive to modern ears but likely reflects the racial dynamics of the time in which the song was written.
The final lines "She pried the whip out of her master's hand and lashed at her own skin, so she'd be master, how could she know this was just a dream born of a new knot in the bullwhip" seem to speak to the theme of power dynamics. Sefronia takes the whip from her master and whips herself, perhaps to gain control over her own body and power. However, the final line suggests that this sense of power may be illusory, a mere dream born of the same tool of oppression.
Overall, the song seems to be exploring themes of power and transformation, using imagery of magic and sorcery.
Line by Line Meaning
Sefronia shook the black cat's bone at me
Sefronia used a black cat's bone to put a spell on me
And I was only wax in the spell of fire
I was completely under the spell and had no control over myself
Oh my coal black nigger
Addressing a person or object that is black, with no derogatory intent
When black coal burns it ripens
Black coal becomes more valuable when it is burned
She pried the whip out of her master's hand
Sefronia took control of the whip from her master
And lashed at her own skin
She chose to hurt herself instead of being controlled by her master
So she'd be master, how could she know
She thought that by taking control, she would become the master without realizing the true consequences
This was just a dream born,
The idea of being the master was just a fantasy, not reality
Of a new knot in the bullwhip
The new knot in the whip symbolizes the desire for change and a break from the past
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BECKETT BUCKLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike Luke
This guy is from some other place, you can drown in the emotion. Incredible voice.RIP Tim and Jeff.
Chris Williams
This is so special. Beautiful, sensual, enigmatic. And that voice. Only he could sing this.
forest yves
I love his voice in this song - all the faces - real delight
Greg Decker
gorgeous. Tim Buckley, phenomenal artist. As was his son, Jeff Buckley.
Nino Dzamukashvili
yes, both of them !!!
Alma Vorhauer
This is the most beautiful love song ever for me, so sexy and such deep feeling WOW!
CHRISTOS
I am from the homeland of Ulysses (ΟΔΥΣΣΕΑΣ) and thanks for Tim backley I like it very much. From Thessaloniki city (GREECE)
Gage
A track that fits starsailor.
isa
I agree
Régis Desroches
I share the same comments.It's a real good good song !!! BONJOUR from FRANCE