Introduction
“Nadine (Is It You?)” is a song penned and performed by Chuck Berry, released as a single in February 1964. This release marked Berry’s return to the music scene following a prison term that concluded in October 1963.
Composition: After serving a one-and-a-half-year prison term, Berry recorded “Nadine” in November 1963 at the Chess studio in Chicago. This session, his first post-release, also produced another single, “You Never Can Tell.” The composition shares thematic similarities with Berry’s earlier hit “Maybellene,” both revolving around the pursuit of a girl, though “Nadine” depicts the pursuit on foot and by taxi. Berry explained to Melody Maker, “I took ‘Maybellene’ and from it got ‘Nadine.'” The lyrics stand out for their unusual use of similes, such as comparing the girl’s movements to a wayward summer breeze and navigating traffic like a mounted cavalier.
Chart Performance: Released on Chess (catalogue #1883), “Nadine” peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on the R&B chart, and #27 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side was “O Rangutang.”
Reception: “Allmusic” notes the song’s profound influence on Bob Dylan’s songwriting, particularly evident in Dylan’s 1965 album “Bringing It All Back Home.” Cash Box described “Nadine” as a “hard-driving, rhythmic pop-blues tear-jerker essayed with authority and feeling.” In the documentary film “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll,” where Berry performs “Nadine,” Bruce Springsteen praised the song’s lyrics. He singled out the lines describing seeing the girl and a “coffee-colored Cadillac,” stating, “I’ve never seen a coffee-colored Cadillac, but I know exactly what one looks like.”
Video
Lyrics
As I got on a city bus and found a vacant seat,
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street,
I shouted to the driver “Hey conductor, you must slow down
I think I see her please let me off this bus”Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, is that you?
Seems like every time I see you
Darling you got something else to doI saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walkin’ toward a coffee colored Cadillac
I was pushin’ through the crowd tryna get to where she’s at
And I was campaign shouting like a southern diplomatNadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, where are you?
Seems like every time I catch up with you
You are up to something newDowntown searching for ‘er, looking all around
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading up town
I caught a loaded taxi, paid up everybody’s tab
Flipped a twenty dollar bill, told him “Catch that yellow cab”Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, is that you?
Seems like every time I catch up with you
You are up to something newShe move around like a wave of summer breeze,
Go, driver, go, go on, catch ‘er for me please
Moving through the traffic like a mounted cavalier
Leaning out the taxi window, trying to make her hearNadine, honey is that you?
Oh, Nadine
Honey, is that you?
Seems like every time I see you
Darling, you are up to something new