Song Lyric Sunday: Robert Cray, “I Wonder”

Song Lyric Sunday, Song of the Day 1 Minute

Jim got another prompt from Melanie for this week’s songfest: "amaze, astonish, curious, shock, surprise, wonder." The result: more blues!

"I Wonder" was from Robert Cray’s fourth album, Strong Persuader (1986). He wrote it, as he did most of his songs at this point. Cray was influenced primarily by Howlin’ Wolf, but here he sounds a lot like Otis Rush, both his singing and his guitar playing. There are also hints of Buddy Guy in both. Or maybe it’s the other way around. No matter: when I first heard this album, I said "this is what I’ve been waiting for!" Incredible guitar playing, great lyrics, Young Bob’s soulful voice… the blues was back. It actually had never left, but damn…

Am I a long way from your heart,
I wonder,
Is this where love is, heartache starts,
I wonder,

I wonder if you ever think about me,
And how good our old loving used to be,
Sometimes,
Sometimes I wonder

When you left with one last curious look,
I wonder,
I tried to call you,
You changed the number on me,
I really wonder

You tell me things to get me where you want me to be,
How come I feel you’re getting the best of me,
Sometimes,
I wonder

I hear a car coming round the corner,
I hear footsteps on my front porch,
I see a shadow from the light above,
I hear a voice,
Oh it’s not yours

Why does this happen,
What’s going on,
I wonder,
Could this be a dream,
Or has Bob gone crazy,
I wonder,

How come I feel your taking advantage of me,
Why can’t I get you out of me,
Sometimes,
Sometimes I wonder

They say that time will heal my broken heart,
I wonder,
Could it be that I’m blind,
All alone in the dark,
I wonder

I can’t help feeling this way,
If I could leave, I’d surely leave today,
Sometimes,
I wonder

It seems to me you still wanna be around
But when I see you, all hell starts breaking down,
Sometimes,
I wonder

mm hmm
I really wonder.

Lyrics courtesy AZLyrics.com

 

That’s Song Lyric Sunday (and Song of the Day) for June 19, 2022.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

11 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: Robert Cray, “I Wonder””

  1. Pingback: The Last Week of June 2022 Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  3. It’s been a while since I heard him. He was a great port in the storm in the synth heavy 80s.

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    1. “Smoking Gun” was like a breath of fresh air after all the synths and excesses of the ’80’s. I mean, he didn’t even use any effects; he had slight reverb on his amp, but no whammy or stomp boxes. Busted a hell of a lot of strings…

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      1. That is what I liked about him. Just straight ahead playing…I was surprised he was getting played because of that…not because of his talent.

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    1. Guys like Robert Cray took the old formula and mixed in some more modern elements and really revived interest in the blues. I was really excited when I heard him for the first time.

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  5. Thanks for sharing this Robert Cray song today John. I just read that he is actually 5 months younger than I am and he has accomplished so much more than I ever will.

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