In their early years, Whitesnake played in a hard-edged blues rock and heavy metal influenced style. By the mid-80s, the band had moved towards a more commercially friendly arena rock and pop metal ethos, garnering them major hits such as "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Now You're Gone", "Slide It In", "Still of the Night", and the iconic tune "Here I Go Again" (arguably their 'signature song'). They were named the 85th greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.
Whitesnake were active primarily in the 80s, but they still tour, albeit with an entirely new line-up (bar Coverdale), to this day. Some of the most famous musicians who have joined the band for a time include Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Bernie Marsden, Micky Moody, Rudy Sarzo, John Sykes, Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Tommy Aldridge, and Steve Vai.
The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple. This is not only because three past members of the band were once in Deep Purple but also because of their sound and influences. Later, the band took on a sound more in line with the hair metal style popular in the mid to late 80s, but they never truly left their heavy, blues rock roots behind
Formed in 1978 by David Coverdale after leaving Deep Purple, Whitesnake were originally a straightforwards heavy rock group with Jon Lord and Ian Paice from Deep Purple in the band. Despite a few album releases and constant touring, Whitesnake was unable to attain any significant commercial success in America, though becoming popular in the U.K., Europe, and Japan. Their critical reviews as well for their albums were somewhat mixed.
After acquaintance with Chris Cuttler, Fred Frith and most importantly, young guitarist John Sykes, David Coverdale decided to turn to a slicker, more commercially viable sound. Whitesnake made their first major splash in the States in 1984 with the album 'Slide It In', featuring the self-titled single as well as rock tracks "Slow An' Easy" and "Love Ain't No Stranger". All three of them gained major airplay and were eaten up by fans. Sykes was not involved in any of the song writing for 'Slide It In', though re-did some of Micky Moody's guitar work in the American remastering of the U.K. version of the album.
Three years later, thanks to radio-friendly, Zeppelin-ish songwriting and MTV friendly Tawny Kitaen's automobile acrobatics, Whitesnake became superstars with the album 'Whitesnake' (titled '1987' in Europe, and 'Serpens Albus' in Japan). Containing the U.S. smash hits "Here I Go Again", "Is This Love", "Still of the Night" and others, the album eventually sold over 10 million copies. Coverdale replaced the entire band for the subsequent tour, ditching Sykes for guitarists Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell. Also joining the band at this point were bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge.
Campbell left shortly after the tour (going on to replace Steve Clark in Def Leppard. Vandenberg, despite penning most of the material on the follow-up album, was unable to record due to a freak wrist injury. Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai was brought in to record all of the guitar parts for Slip of the Tongue, which was released in the spring of 1989. Despite going platinum, the album did not reach the stratospheric heights of Whitesnake (entitled 1987 in Europe, and Serpens Albus in Japan). With a divorce looming, and the alternative 'grunge' movement threatening to destroy the melodic rock movement, Coverdale dissolved Whitesnake.
In the late 90s, David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg finally recorded together again. Initially intended to be a Coverdale solo effort, the Whitesnake name was eventually attached (much like the Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath projects of the late 80s). The resulting products were a new studio album entitled Restless Heart, and the live acoustic set, Starkers In Tokyo.
In the early 2000's Coverdale relaunched Whitesnake fully with an entirely new lineup centred around guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich (previously of Winger and Lion/Dio). This Whitesnake embarked on tours across the globe, releasing the "Live In the Still of the Night" DVD and "Live... In the Shadow of the Blues" on CD in 2006. A new studio album, "Good to be Bad", was released in 2008 reaching the top 10 in the UK album charts.
Over the last few years Coverdale has been involved in a remastering project which has seen all albums from 1978's Trouble, to 1989's Slip of the Tongue reissued with bonus material.
Whitesnake released Forevermore, on March 25, 2011 in Europe, and on the 29th in North America. They have released a number of scheduled 2011 tour dates on their website, with six scheduled UK tour dates and other European dates. In February 2011, Whitesnake was announced as one of the headliners to play the annual Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, on Memorial Day weekend. A digital single for the song 'Love Will Set You Free' was released, along with a video for the song, on February 21.
The album Forevermore was released as a special edition 'Snakepack' through Classic Rock magazine on 25 March, a full 3 weeks before its commercial release. The fan pack includes the full, official new album Forevermore, a 132-page magazine, poster and pin badge. On 20 March 2011, Whitesnake announced that Brian Ruedy would play keyboards on the Forevermore World Tour.
The album did not chart highly upon its official release in the UK (number 33, possibly due to the copies released as part of the aforementioned Classic Rock Snakepack, which are not eligible for the charts). It did, however, show signs of Whitesnake's slow rebuild of support in the US with the album charting at number 49 - the band's highest charting album since the 80s.
Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach are Whitesnake longest standing guitar players, both being in the band 10 years by 2012.
Whitesnake are set to embark on their farewell tour in May 2022, beginning in the UK and Ireland with Foreigner and Europe. In July 2021, the group announced the addition of multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick to their ranks, turning Whitesnake into a septet for the first time. Later that November, Michael Devin parted ways with the band. He was replaced by Tanya O'Callaghan, marking the first female musician to join the band.
Website: http://www.whitesnake.com/
Till the Day I Die
Whitesnake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chill me to the bone,
An' thoughts of summer breezes
Turn my heart to stone
That's when I need a hand to guide me,
When it's more than I can bear
A shoulder I can cry on,
Someone to lead me there
An' give me love,
Give me love,
Give me love
Till the day I die,
Till the day I die
Slowly I awaken
To the Weavers plan for me,
To drift upon the waters
Of my own uncertainty,
To look for a companion
Who will share my destiny,
A guiding hand to understand
An' walk to road with me
An' give me love,
Give me love,
Give me love
Till the day I die,
Till the day I die
I want to be the master of my destiny,
I never want to crawl an' beg for no sympathy,
When everything I have is yours,
An' all I ask of you
Is give me love.
Give me love,
Give me love
Till the day I die,
Till the day I die
I never want to be the first
To show I'm down,
But, I'm never gonna wear the frozen smile of a clown
When everything I have is yours
And all I ask of you
Is give me love
Give me love,
Give me love
Till the day I die,
Till the day I die
Give me love,
Give me love,
Give me love.
'Til the day I die
Give me love,
Give me love,
Give me love.
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
The lyrics of Whitesnake's song Till the Day I Die are an expression of someone's search for love and companionship. The harsh, cold winter winds are a metaphor for the trials and difficulties of life that make the singer feel lonely and lost. The mention of summer breezes turning his heart to stone suggests that even the memories of better times can't bring him comfort. But he finds solace in the thought of a helping hand, someone to guide him through the tough times and support him emotionally.
The second verse speaks of the uncertainty and randomness of life, often leaving us bewildered and looking for someone to share the journey with. The singer craves understanding and someone who will walk the road of life with him. The line, "To look for a companion who will share my destiny" reinforces his belief that destiny has a role to play in finding companionship.
The chorus, repeated throughout the song, is a plea for love till the end of his life. He wants to be the master of his own destiny, but also wants someone to share it with. He acknowledges that he might fall down, but doesn't want to hide his pain behind a frozen smile like a clown. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, a final statement of his need for love till the end of his life.
Line by Line Meaning
When ice cold winds of winter
During the harsh winter season
Chill me to the bone,
Feeling extremely cold and uncomfortable
An' thoughts of summer breezes
Thinking of warm, comfortable summer days
Turn my heart to stone
Feeling desolate and alone in winter
That's when I need a hand to guide me,
When feeling alone and in need of help
When it's more than I can bear
When it is overwhelming and difficult to handle
A shoulder I can cry on,
Someone to comfort and console
Someone to lead me there
Someone to guide and support
An' give me love,
Love and support
Give me love,
Affection and care
Give me love
Emotional support and encouragement
Till the day I die,
Until the end of my life
Slowly I awaken
Gradually becoming aware
To the Weavers plan for me,
To the purpose or destiny assigned by fate
To drift upon the waters
To move aimlessly without direction
Of my own uncertainty,
Feeling unsure and unconfident
To look for a companion
Seeking a partner
Who will share my destiny,
Finding a person to share life's journey
A guiding hand to understand
Someone to help comprehend and navigate life
An' walk to road with me
Someone to walk alongside in life
I want to be the master of my destiny,
Desiring to control one's own life
I never want to crawl an' beg for no sympathy,
Rejecting the idea of needing pity from others
When everything I have is yours,
Giving one's all to another person
Is give me love.
Only asking for love in return
I never want to be the first
Avoiding initiating actions
To show I'm down,
To reveal vulnerability or defeat
But, I'm never gonna wear the frozen smile of a clown
Rejecting the idea of hiding true emotions behind a fake smile
Give me love,
Again, asking for love and care
Give me love,
Love and support
Give me love
Unconditional emotional support and affection
Till the day I die,
Until the end of life
Lyrics ยฉ Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID COVERDALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Spooked Horse
Back in high school, 1981, New Jersey....me and my buddy cut out of school and took the bus over to New York City to buy this album. We stopped and got some weed and went back to my room. We played this album 4 times and got stoned off our rockers, Great memory. My buddy Marty was taken by covid, last year. Best buds, till the day I die.
Jon Shaw
Oh man, what a story, takes me back...in 81 I was 15 and me and my mates used to drink cider on a Friday night in the park and listen to this album all summer long...Great memories.
Spooked Horse
@Jon Shaw right on!
Gimi
Reminds me of my story which unlike yours mine happened in 1997โฆ me and my friend where heart broken and we would be closed up in our dorm in the dark room listening โSoldier of Fortuneโ on the repeat. Two weeks later everything changed ๐
SW
What a great band ๐
Ramon Ballester
Nice song. Wonderful Lord's solo.
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Jari Liitola
One of their best.
That 80's Pastor Dude
My favorite Whitesnake song.
Rodrigo Arteaga
Epic song