This is one of those tracks I didn’t hear on the radio much growing up, but when I finally caught it, it stuck. It feels like a road song, not romantic, just moving forward. The keyboard hook is what pulls me back every time.
This showed up on the album Watch in 1978, but the song had already lived a life before Manfred Mann’s Earth Band got to it. It was written by producer John Simon and Robbie Robertson, and first recorded by John Simon in 1970. Like a lot of Mann’s best work, the band took an overlooked track and rebuilt it into something that felt bigger and more direct.
The album was a studio album, but with two live songs. This is one of them, and the other was Dylan’s Mighty Quinn. This version runs on momentum. and the groove is steady. Chris Thompson handles the vocals with control, letting the melody carry the weight. Then Mann’s keyboards come in, especially the Minimoog lines, which give the track its identity.
It fits the late 70s; I’m worn out by the road, theme, without spelling everything out. The band keeps their performance grounded. No over-the-top excess, just steady music. The song became one of their biggest live and chart successes, especially in Europe, and helped define this period of the band. Like their version of Blinded by the Light, it shows how Manfred Mann had a knack for finding songs and reshaping them without losing their core.
The song peaked at #6 in the UK in 1978. The album Watch peaked at #33 in the UK, #83 on the Billboard Album Charts, #29 in New Zealand, and #85 in Canada.
Davy’s On The Road Again
Davey’s on the road againWearing different clothes againDavey’s turning handouts downTo keep his pockets cleanAll his goods are sold againHis word is good as gold againSays if you see JeanNow ask her please to pity me
Jean and I we’ve moved alongSince that day down in the hollowWhen the mind went drifting onAnd the feet were soon to follow
Davey’s on the road againWearing different clothes againDavey’s turning handouts downTo keep his pockets cleanSaid his goodbyes againWheels are in his eyes againSays if you see JeanNow ask her please to pity me
Downtown is a big townGonna set you back on your heelsWith a mouth full of memoriesAnd a load of stickers for the windshield
Shut the door, cut the lightDavey won’t be home tonightYou can wait till the dawn rolls inYou won’t see our Davey again
Davey’s on the road againDavey’s on the road againDavey’s on the road again
Wearing different clothes againDavey’s turning handouts downTo keep his pockets cleanAll his goods are sold againHis word is good as gold againSays if you see JeanNow ask her please to pity me
Jean and I we’ve moved alongSince that day down in the hollowWhen the mind went drifting onAnd the feet were soon to follow
Davey’s on the road againWearing different clothes againDavey’s turning handouts downTo keep his pockets cleanSaid his goodbyes againWheels are in his eyes againSays if you see JeanNow ask her please to pity me
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Awesome! 😎
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Pretty decent tune. I don’t ‘know’ it yet somehow it does sound vaguely familiar… must’ve heard it a time or two on some classic rock station. Mannfred was a little like a male Linda Ronstadt in the ability to , as you say, find obscure songs (usually) to cover and pretty much make their own.
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I heard it a while back but even then it did sound familiar…we might have heard it when we were younger. It did hit #6 in the UK… I really liked it though.
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Manfred Mann was a lot like Vanilla Fudge, as their cover songs were more successful than their originals. Both acts were able to turn relatively unknown or less-successful original songs into hits.
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I’m sure other artists loved when they covered their songs. They did a great job although…I still like Bruce’s version of Blinded By The Light more…just a personal preference…but Manfred Mann did a great job and the reason it’s remembered is because of them…they helped him a lot by covering it.
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I mostly knew Manfred Mann from “”Doo Wah Diddy and a few other singles up to “Quinn the Eskimo”. I didn’t realize both Klaus Voorman and Jack Bruce played with him in those days.
Their “Smokestack Lightning” is the closest I’ve heard to Howlin’ Wolf himself, whether you think that’s good or bad.
Thanks for getting me to listen to some later stuff.
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It was like…two different bands. You can hear the seventies change them from earlier.
Well…again you threw a new one at me. I never heard their version…I agree….that is pretty authentic especially for a British band…that is awesome. Thanks again!
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I liked the Earth Band as well as Manfred Mann 🙂
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Yeah, this is nice, it flows along nicely, then takes a breath, rebuilds and gets back in the fastish lane again. One I don’t think I’d heard before but there is, as others have said, a familiarity to it. (I wonder if my younger brother David has heard it? I’ll have to ask him next time we catch up.)
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Yea….when I first heard it I thought I’d heard it before…or maybe it’s familiar to another song? I do like it and I like this version of Manfred Mann
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And again- great lyrics.
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