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).
Stone in Love
Tim Buckley Lyrics
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Just like the fox--he chase the rabbit down,
Well I've been wantin' you woman,
But it ain't no habit,
No don't you come too near me,
'Cause I'm a liable to grab it:
'Cause I'm a stone in love,
I can almost taste it, I can almost taste it,
Born not to waste it Lord,
Oh, now baby; I got midnight fever,
You're young enough to catch me,
And you're old enough to tease me,
When we start shakin'
Down to the bone,
I get so crazy
I can't leave you alone;
Oh, now woman a we're gonna roll you,
We're gonna' shake it on down to the bone;
We're gonna party, honey
All night long
'Til the folks next door move back to Cocomo
In this song, Tim Buckley uses a variety of metaphors to talk about his deep and intense feelings for a woman he desires. The opening lines liken his pursuit of her to the cyclical nature of day and night or the predator-prey relationship between a fox and rabbit. He admits that he has been wanting her for a long time, but it's not just a passing fancy; his love for her is strong and resilient. He warns her not to come too close or he might act on his impulses, because his love for her is like an unyielding, ungovernable force.
In the next verse, Buckley uses a metaphor of "midnight fever" to describe the intensity of his desire for her. He sees her as someone who is both youthful and mature, and is therefore able to both excite and tease him. When they start dancing, it's as if they both become crazed, moving "down to the bone" and unable to stop. The chorus repeats the metaphor of a "stone in love," emphasizing the idea that this is a deep and unyielding emotion that can't be ignored or dismissed.
Line by Line Meaning
Just like the sun chase the moon around,
Just as the sun follows the moon's path around the earth, I keep chasing you, and I can't stop doing it.
Just like the fox--he chase the rabbit down,
Just as the predator hunts its prey, I pursue you relentlessly without ever stopping.
Well I've been wantin' you woman,
I desire you, and I have wanted you for a long time now, since I have laid eyes on you.
But it ain't no habit,
It is more than just a habit or a passing interest, and I have strong feelings for you.
No don't you come too near me,
You should stay away from me since my feelings for you might be uncontrollable.
'Cause I'm a liable to grab it:
I am likely to act on my desires if you come too close to me.
'Cause I'm a stone in love,
I'm a man who is head-over-heels in love with you and can't resist your appeal.
I can almost taste it, I can almost taste it,
I'm so close to experiencing the joy of being with you, and it's literally within my reach.
Lord I'm a and I was born not to waste it, mmm..,
I believe that my love for you is so powerful and strong that I was born to act on that and not let it go to waste.
Born not to waste it Lord,
I believe that my love for you is a rare, valuable thing that shouldn't be wasted.
Oh, now baby; I got midnight fever,
I have developed an intense urge or need to be with you that is keeping me up even during the middle of the night.
You're young enough to catch me,
You are young and beautiful, and I hope that you can reciprocate the same level of intensity and passion that I feel for you.
And you're old enough to tease me,
Despite being young, you also know how to tease and flirt with me, driving my desire for you even higher.
When we start shakin',
When we start dancing passionately together, getting in sync with one another.
Down to the bone,
Moving so rhythmically and fluidly in sync together that it feels like we're moving with the flow from the inside out.
I get so crazy
I am filled with an intense desire for you, and I can't control my emotions.
I can't leave you alone;
I just cannot stop being around you and acting on my desire to be with you.
Oh, now woman a we're gonna roll you,
We're going to let ourselves go and let our desire for one another guide us as we move and dance together.
We're gonna' shake it on down to the bone;
We're going to dance so hard that we strip ourselves down to our most essential core selves, nothing more than our raw emotions and desire for one another.
We're gonna party, honey
We're going to celebrate our passions and desires for one another by going all out and partying nonstop.
All night long
We're going to keep the passion and energy going from dusk until dawn, without any rest or lull.
'Til the folks next door move back to Cocomo
We're going to continue to party and make noise for the entire night until the neighbors eventually leave and go away, unable to stand us any longer.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TIM BUCKLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind