The Big Light

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Well I had a little feeling to have a big night
And I woke up feeling small and not so brave and not quite right
I had to face the who am I and where is she and what did I do
But worst of all I had to face the big light

Chorus:
The big light came through my window and it opened up my eyelids
And it snapped them up like roller blinds and told me things that I did
I can't face another day and night of good ideas and complications
And I'm thankful that I didn't open another bottle of inspiration

When the hangover this morning had a personality
And I cast my shattered mind over selected memories
I didn't even touch the light switch so I knew I'd never see
The Haggard face that would be staring back at me

(Chorus)

Well I had a little feeling to have a big time
And I woke up to alarm bells like a big church chime
I had to face the who am I and who is she and what did I do
But worst of all I had to face the big light

(Chorus)

Oh when it’s time to go out and have a big night
Sooner or later you’ve got to face the big light

The Big Light
Written byDeclan MacManus
Performed byThe Costello Show
Produced byJ. Henry (T-Bone) Burnett & Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus with Larry Kalman Hirsch
MusiciansThe Little Hands Of Concrete - vocals, acoustic guitar
James Burton - electric guitar
Jerry Scheff - string bass
Ron Tutt - brushes & drums
RecordedJuly 1985, Ocean Way and/or Sunset Sound and/or Sound Factory, Los Angeles
ReleasedFebruary 21, 1986
AlbumsKing Of America, 1986
Length2:32

First known performance:
March 17, 1985, London, England
Last known performance:
December 2, 2022, Austin, TX
     (57 known performances)


Alternate versions

The Big Light (Live 1986)
Performed byElvis Costello & The Confederates
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, guitar
James Burton - lead guitar
Jerry Scheff - bass
Jim Keltner - drums
Mitchell Froom - keyboards
T Bone Burnett - guitar
T-Bone Wolk - guitar
Michael Blair - percussion
RecordedOctober 23, 1986, New York, NY
ReleasedJune 28, 1995
AlbumsKing Of America (Rykodisc/Demon reissue), 1995
King Of America (Rhino/Edsel reissue), 2005
Length3:08
King Of America1986 King Of America Album.jpg

Covers

Belle Monroe and Her Brewglass Boys Long Lonesome Day 2011 AllMusicCDbabyAmazon
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town 1987 AllMusic
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town / Boom Chicka Boom 2003 AllMusicAmazonAmazon.uk
Johnny Cash The Legendary Johnny Cash 2005 DiscogsAmazon
Johnny Cash The Legend 2005 AllMusicAmazon
Johnny Cash performed live, 1987-08-30, Peterborough, UK 1987 etree.org
Trevor Harrison The World Of Eddie Grundy 1996 AllMusic
Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2019 YouTube

Internal links

External links