For the love of rock
Vol IV, Issue 9 – Cocaine (01 May 2019)
www.intheloveofrock.com
Name of song– Cocaine
Singer – J.J. Cale
Writer– J.J. Cale
Album- Troubadour
Release year-1977
Peak chart positions
# 1 – New Zealand Charts
# 2 – Switzerland
# 5 – Austria
# 10 – Sweden
# 22 – German chart
# 45 – Australia
Cocaine
J.J. Cale (John Weldon J.J. Cale) might be an unfamiliar name for many, but ‘not so impressive’ rock star was indeed an impressive star for many rock stars, including Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler among others. It would be a surprise for many that he had originally written the hits – “Cocaine” and “After midnight” for Eric Clapton. If the stars were valued by the number of people who were impressed by their songs rather than the chart success and fortune, then Cale would perhaps top the list amongst few others. Born and raised in Oklohama, USA, he had learned to play guitar at an early age and had joined Air Force where he mastered his technical skills of sound, ultimately building his own recording studio. He started his career as a studio engineer, finally starting to make his own albums. Undoubtedly, Cale deliberately avoided the limelight, but he has been considered as one of the most important figures in the history of rock music.
“Troubadour” was his fourth studio album, produced in 1977. It had two singles “Cocaine” and ‘Travellin’ light’. The album may not be his best one, but it definitely is one of his best ones.
“Cocaine” is a song taken from “Troubadour”, which was made famous by Eric Clapton in 1977 when he covered it for his album “Slowhand”. A charismatic song, with clever lyrics and fantastic craftsmanship by the guitar virtuoso, the song is undoubtedly one of the important rock songs in the history of rock. Eric Clapton’s version is slightly longer, with slight changes in the guitar solo, otherwise both the versions are almost similar and equally captivating.The song begins with the smoothly rocking guitar riff which hooks you right from the start till the end. With slow rocking drums, and mesmerizingly hovering bass, the song is definitely a prototype anti-drug rock song. Cale’s softly rough voice is another characteristic feature of the song. The guitar solo in the middle portion is wonderfully carved part which beautifies the song even more. Although apparently the lyrics describe the effects of the drug cocaine, in reality, it cleverly poses the anti drug theme; hallmark of an expert songwriter!
Yes, Eric Clapton made the song ‘Cocaine’ famous and helped elevate JJ Cale’s status as a songwriter, but when it comes to a beautiful old rock song, ‘Cocaine’ definitely spellbinds you, just like ‘Cocaine’, or any other drugs, as a matter of fact..…… Happy listening!!!Resources- Wikipedia.org, allmusic.com
Cocaine
If you want to hang out,
You’ve got to take her out, cocaine
If you want to get down,
Get down on the ground, cocaine
She don’t lie,
She don’t lie,
She don’t lie, cocaine
If you got bad news,
You want to kick them blues, cocaine
When your day is done
And you got to run, cocaine
She don’t lie,
She don’t lie,
She don’t lie, cocaine
If your thing is gone
And you want to ride on, cocaine
Don’t forget this fact,
You can’t get it back, cocaine
She don’t lie,
She don’t lie,
She don’t lie, cocaine
Lyrics link-http://www.metrolyrics.com/cocaine-lyrics-j-j-cale.html
Video link – https://youtu.be/cZ901kD9caY