Here’s a lovely track from one of Lyle Lovett’s best albums, 1989’s Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.
This album picked up where Lovett’s Pontiac left off, splitting its focus between traditional country, jazz and blues. ‘Nobody Knows Me’ falls in the album’s second half with the rest of the country songs.
The song starts off as an ode to the familiarity that comes with a loving relationship but the second verse gets darker, when the singer confesses to a love affair that he entered into as casually as he takes cream in his coffee.
And I like to sleep late on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby
And I like eggs over easy
With flour tortillas
And nobody knows me like my baby
And nobody holds me
And nobody knows me
Nobody knows me like my baby
But it was a dream made to order
South of the border
And nobody knows me like my baby
And she cried man how could you do it
And I swore that there weren’t nothing to it
But nobody knows me like my baby
And nobody holds me
And nobody knows me
Nobody knows me like my baby
And I like cream in my coffee
And I hate to be alone on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby
Such a beautiful song from a great album. Thank you iTunes fairy for landing on Lyle!
This is always the song I think of when I reflect on Lyle’s delivery of lyrics. The way he stretches out and emotes that chorus…. Makes this one of the most poignant and powerful lyrics despite their utter simplicity. Yes, thank you, iTunes fairy for the gift of Lyle.
Ditto to the iTunes fairy 🙂