Rosanne Cash — Radio Operator
Album: Black CadillacAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 315
Length: 3:16
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Radio operator, in a tiny foreign room
We can hear you now and later
Calling out and coming through
Radio operator, you're a voice so far from home
With a signal like a heartbeat
Not afraid but so alone
Where are the messages for me
The secret codes for parts unknown
I'll ride the signal to the world
And to the girl in San Antone
Radio operator, do you ever think of me
'Cause I'm a gleam on some horizon
Just too far away to see
Radio operator, there are still messages to send
From the future, from the present
And it never has to end
Where are the messages for me
The secret codes for parts unknown
I'll ride the signal to the world
And to the girl in San Antone
---- Instrumental Interlude ----
Radio operator, I am calling like a friend
From my future, from your memory
And it never has to end
This message will not end
We can hear you now and later
Calling out and coming through
Radio operator, you're a voice so far from home
With a signal like a heartbeat
Not afraid but so alone
Where are the messages for me
The secret codes for parts unknown
I'll ride the signal to the world
And to the girl in San Antone
Radio operator, do you ever think of me
'Cause I'm a gleam on some horizon
Just too far away to see
Radio operator, there are still messages to send
From the future, from the present
And it never has to end
Where are the messages for me
The secret codes for parts unknown
I'll ride the signal to the world
And to the girl in San Antone
---- Instrumental Interlude ----
Radio operator, I am calling like a friend
From my future, from your memory
And it never has to end
This message will not end
Comments (50)add comment
Rosanne Cash @ The Moore Theater, Seattle 5-1-10 by Kirk Stauffer
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirkstauffer/
© 2010 Kirk Stauffer Photography
All rights reserved Hannio wrote:
Funny thing if you talk to somebody who likes country they will tell that this is NOT country.
I dislike country (with a very few exceptions) as much as anybody here, but I would never be so illiberal, bigoted and selfish as to demand that none be played on RP.
Funny thing if you talk to somebody who likes country they will tell that this is NOT country.
Thanks, a great song from a versatile artist. I wonder if some of the same listeners using the impossibly vague label of "country" to categorize any North American music that's not rock, soul, jazz or Chicago blues are the same posters extolling the endless variety and depth of reggae? Yeah, I know about Willie.
lattalo wrote:
True, she reminds me of Lucinda Williams, she does her own thing.
Bill, I love Rosanne Cash and would love to hear more of her. I don't think
of her as just country, more like her own style.
of her as just country, more like her own style.
True, she reminds me of Lucinda Williams, she does her own thing.
Rest In Peace, radio operator. You are missed.
Misterfixit wrote:
Johnny and I talked about his military "career" one time back around 1995. Mr Cash was a Morse Code Intercept Operator for the US Air Force Security Service. He told me that the recruiter and testing people told him he had a "musical ear" — meaning that he could learn Morse Code easily. I mentioned that from my time in the military I learned that musicians are the best Morse Code operators. Anyway, I think we can assume that there is a lot in this song about Johnny Cash from the perspective of his daughter.
Cool. Love Cash Sr.'s music. This is not bad either. 6 out of the gate.
Johnny and I talked about his military "career" one time back around 1995. Mr Cash was a Morse Code Intercept Operator for the US Air Force Security Service. He told me that the recruiter and testing people told him he had a "musical ear" — meaning that he could learn Morse Code easily. I mentioned that from my time in the military I learned that musicians are the best Morse Code operators. Anyway, I think we can assume that there is a lot in this song about Johnny Cash from the perspective of his daughter.
Cool. Love Cash Sr.'s music. This is not bad either. 6 out of the gate.
Bill, I love Rosanne Cash and would love to hear more of her. I don't think
of her as just country, more like her own style.
of her as just country, more like her own style.
fredriley wrote:
Yep, I'd second that. Country and/or Western usually sparks an immediate reach for the mute button - eat your heart out, Pavlov :) - but it's all part and parcel of an "eclectic" playlist so I'd never ask for C&W to be barred from RP. The good thing about this station is the width of its output and the way it constantly surprises its listeners. If the playlist were to be narrowed to suit the tastes of some listeners it would be a poorer station, IMO.
Talking of mute buttons, Johnny Cash (which is what we called Durex machines when I was a teen ;-)) has just come on, so time to reach...
Yep, I'd second that. Country and/or Western usually sparks an immediate reach for the mute button - eat your heart out, Pavlov :) - but it's all part and parcel of an "eclectic" playlist so I'd never ask for C&W to be barred from RP. The good thing about this station is the width of its output and the way it constantly surprises its listeners. If the playlist were to be narrowed to suit the tastes of some listeners it would be a poorer station, IMO.
Talking of mute buttons, Johnny Cash (which is what we called Durex machines when I was a teen ;-)) has just come on, so time to reach...
I think I'd cast this differently. What is it about genres that is so off-putting that folks reach for the MUTE button? When you take a whole genre off your life's experience's table, you deprive yourself of opportunities to expand your knowledge and to learn something new. There are some magnificent and thoughtful artists that we might classify as country, including bluegrass, whose contribution to the artistic and cultural dialog is no less vital than, say, Jimmy Buffet or Metallica: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Roseanne Cash, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Clint Black, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Chris Hillman, Herb Pederson, Larry and Tony Rice, Alison Krauss, and the list goes on. I wouldn't reach for the MUTE button just because I heard a pedal steel or mandolin any more than I would if I heard the scratch of a turntable or an orchestral string section...
At a concert last summer, the talented Ms. Cash said she wrote this for her father as he was once a radio operator. Her music is always welcome on RP! We need to continue to engage with all types of music, not merely labeling her 'country' and being done with it!
fredriley wrote:
...The good thing about this station is the width of its output and the way it constantly surprises its listeners....
I third that. Music genre are how chimpanzees and record company executives would classify. No help in the personal quest for sublime sound.
...The good thing about this station is the width of its output and the way it constantly surprises its listeners....
I third that. Music genre are how chimpanzees and record company executives would classify. No help in the personal quest for sublime sound.
Hannio wrote:
Yep, I'd second that. Country and/or Western usually sparks an immediate reach for the mute button - eat your heart out, Pavlov :) - but it's all part and parcel of an "eclectic" playlist so I'd never ask for C&W to be barred from RP. The good thing about this station is the width of its output and the way it constantly surprises its listeners. If the playlist were to be narrowed to suit the tastes of some listeners it would be a poorer station, IMO.
Talking of mute buttons, Johnny Cash (which is what we called Durex machines when I was a teen ;-)) has just come on, so time to reach...
I dislike country (with a very few exceptions) as much as anybody here, but I would never be so illiberal, bigoted and selfish as to demand that none be played on RP.
Yep, I'd second that. Country and/or Western usually sparks an immediate reach for the mute button - eat your heart out, Pavlov :) - but it's all part and parcel of an "eclectic" playlist so I'd never ask for C&W to be barred from RP. The good thing about this station is the width of its output and the way it constantly surprises its listeners. If the playlist were to be narrowed to suit the tastes of some listeners it would be a poorer station, IMO.
Talking of mute buttons, Johnny Cash (which is what we called Durex machines when I was a teen ;-)) has just come on, so time to reach...
tnt_thomas wrote:
Poor tapestry - yuck, No Country! 
I dislike country (with a very few exceptions) as much as anybody here, but I would never be so illiberal, bigoted and selfish as to demand that none be played on RP.
I wish Bill would play My Old Man, Rosanne's song writing is great. I think her Dad was very proud of her. This CD is excellent by the way.
Why, RP, why oh why, do you feel the need to intersperse this femmy twangy garbage amid your otherwise perfect setlists?
Where are the messages for me
The secret codes for parts unknown
Ooooh. I like this.
cc_rider wrote:
Um, do you know who she's talking about?
c.
C,
I wouldn't have known otherwise. But from reading the other posts, she's singing about her father, Johnny Cash. Speaking of Johnny, did you (or anyone reading this) catch the documentary/concert of him at San Quentin? It was on CMT this morning.
Jack
cutterjudd wrote:
Her late father...was'nt he a radio operator in the Air Force....the late Johnny Cash.
Johnny and I talked about his military "career" one time back around 1995. Mr Cash was a Morse Code Intercept Operator for the US Air Force Security Service. He told me that the recruiter and testing people told him he had a "musical ear" -- meaning that he could learn Morse Code easily. I mentioned that from my time in the military I learned that musicians are the best Morse Code operators.
Anyway, I think we can assume that there is a lot in this song about Johnny Cash from the perspective of his daughter.
stickers11 wrote:
Great song, great arangement. Listen on a good stereo people...
I agree, great recording, great mixing, great instrumentation.
Jack_Jefferson wrote:
Radio operator sounds a little dated. Not many young people out there know what one is. If I were to ask my teenage nephew what a radio operator is, he'd probably say a person that turns the station and adjusts the volume. I wonder if she considered using 'Telephone Operator' instead.
Even telephone operator is getting outdated. Maybe she should change it to iPhone Operator or IM Operator.
cc_rider wrote:
Um, do you know who she's talking about?
c.
Her late father...was'nt he a radio operator in the Air Force....the late Johnny Cash.
Jack_Jefferson wrote:
Radio operator sounds a little dated. Not many young people out there know what one is. If I were to ask my teenage nephew what a radio operator is, he'd probably say a person that turns the station and adjusts the volume. I wonder if she considered using 'Telephone Operator' instead.
Um, do you know who she's talking about?
c.
tnt_thomas wrote:
Poor tapestry - yuck, No Country!
When I think of "country", I think of modern country music first - Shania Twain, Dixie Chicks, et al. The Cashes are certainly not country in that sense. I think RP's tapestry has just the right warp and weave of whatever kind of country they are, and a happy lack of "modern country".
rubenbeagle wrote:
country music is just one part of the great musical tapestry that makes up rp...thanks for including it!
Poor tapestry - yuck, No Country!
Of all the Cashs to come and go in the music industry, she's the most, ah, recent.
Quite unremarkable.
country music is just one part of the great musical tapestry that makes up rp...thanks for including it!
Oh, and great segue, Bill!
Little_Wing wrote:
June isn't her mother. She is from Johnny's first marriage. I think John Carter Cash was June and Johnny's only child together.
I call it soft adult pop rock with a twang.
Although I like Roasanne Cash. I have never heard her a lot in the past. And I think she really sounds like her Mom. Which is a very good thing. "I'm goin to Jackson.... 
Although I like Roasanne Cash. I have never heard her a lot in the past. And I think she really sounds like her Mom. Which is a very good thing. "I'm goin to Jackson.... Great song, great arangement. Listen on a good stereo people...
There's something in her style that reminds me of Lyle Lovett, which is not a bad thing, at least musically. Also sounds a little like Mary Chapin Carpenter, which is all to the good.
Radio operator sounds a little dated. Not many young people out there know what one is. If I were to ask my teenage nephew what a radio operator is, he'd probably say a person that turns the station and adjusts the volume. I wonder if she considered using 'Telephone Operator' instead.
I call it soft adult pop rock with a twang.
Although I like Roasanne Cash. I have never heard her a lot in the past. And I think she really sounds like her Mom. Which is a very good thing. "I'm goin to Jackson....
Although I like Roasanne Cash. I have never heard her a lot in the past. And I think she really sounds like her Mom. Which is a very good thing. "I'm goin to Jackson....
Funny thing if you talk to somebody who likes country they will tell that this is NOT country.
No argument. But that was not the point.