This song was on Blood On The Tracks, a brilliant album by Bob released in 1975. This wasn’t a hit but it was a great song. The album though was a hit…peaking at #1.
As with other Dylan songs, the words keep me in this one. I also like the way he sings it…he sings it like he has lived it. People tell me it’s a sin, To know and feel too much within, I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring, She was born in spring, but I was born too late, Blame it on a simple twist of fate.
This album was made when he was having trouble with his wife Sara. Dylan denies the album is about the two of them.
In Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of all time in the early 2000s, Blood on the Tracks came in at Number 16.
Jacob Dylan about Blood on the Tracks: ‘When I’m listening to ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues,’ I’m grooving along just like you. But when I’m listening to Blood on the Tracks, that’s about my parents.’
From Songfacts
This song is from Blood on the Tracks, the 15th studio album by Bob Dylan, which made the album charts at #1 in the US and #4 in the UK. Blood on the Tracks is also legendary amongst Bob Dylan fans and critics, regarded as one of the high points of his career and standard against which future Bob Dylan albums were compared.
Dylan’s son Jakob Dylan has stated that the songs from Blood on the Tracks are “his parents talking.” Although Dylan denies that the album content is autobiographical, most of the lyrics have a confessional nature.
Covers of “Simple Twist of Fate” include Joan Baez (1975), The Jerry Garcia Band (1991), Concrete Blonde (1994), Sean Costello (2005), The Format (2005), Bryan Ferry (2007), Jeff Tweedy (2007), and Stephen Fretwell (2007). The Jeff Tweedy cover was also used on the soundtrack for the film I’m Not There .
A Simple Twist Of Fate
They sat together in the park As the evening sky grew dark She looked at him and he felt a spark Tingle to his bones ‘Twas then he felt alone And wished that he’d gone straight And watched out for a simple twist of fate
They walked along by the old canal A little confused, I remember well And stopped into a strange hotel With a neon burnin’ bright He felt the heat of the night Hit him like a freight train Moving with a simple twist of fate
A saxophone someplace far-off played As she was walkin’ on by the arcade As the light bust through a beat-up shade Where he was waking up She dropped a coin into the cup Of a blind man at the gate And forgot about a simple twist of fate
He woke up, the room was bare He didn’t see her anywhere He told himself he didn’t care Pushed the window open wide Felt an emptiness inside To which he just could not relate Brought on by a simple twist of fate
He hears the ticking of the clocks And walks along with a parrot that talks Hunts her down by the waterfront docks Where the sailors all come in Maybe she’ll pick him out again How long must he wait? One more time, for a simple twist of fate
People tell me it’s a sin To know and feel too much within I still believe she was my twin But I lost the ring She was born in spring But I was born too late Blame it on a simple twist of fate
The title alone is worth a listen or two. Loretta had some great song titles.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard Country Charts in 1967. The song also earned Lynn her very first Grammy nomination for Best Country & Western Performance.
The song was written by Loretta Lynn and Peggy Sue Wright. Peggy Sue Wright is Loretta’s younger sister.
Loretta Lynn: “I looked at what she had on paper, and I kind of knew what she was trying to say. It’s like when there’s twins, the old saying is, ‘What one can’t think of, the other one can.’ I’ve always had this feeling with Peggy that I am kind of inside her head. Maybe it’s because she means so much to me. We can look at each other and know what the other is thinking. Sometimes it’s not good to be like that, but when the song was finished, we both thought it was great.”
From Songfacts
In her first #1 country hit, Loretta Lynn is fed up with her alcoholic husband who gets drunk with his buddies and comes home expecting to get frisky with his neglected wife. Lynn could certainly relate to the scenario, as almost all of the turmoil in her nearly 50-year marriage was caused by her husband’s alcoholism, but a different marriage inspired the song. Her sister Peggy Sue was struggling with the same issues in her first marriage and brought the song idea to Lynn, who fleshed it out. Peggy Sue was following Lynn’s path as an aspiring singer who was trying to carve out a career while raising children and making her marriage work.
Peggy Sue, who went on to marry singer/songwriter Sonny Wright, released her debut album, Dynamite!, in 1969.
In 1967 Lynn’s brother Jay Lee Webb released the answer song “I Come Home A-Drinkin’ (To a Worn Out Wife Like You),” which peaked at #21 on the country chart.
Lynn became the first female country singer to have a gold-certified album when Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind) earned the honor in 1970, with over 500,000 copies sold.
Tammy Wynette covered this on her debut album, Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad, in 1967.
Gretchen Wilson sang this on the 2010 album Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn.
This was used on the 2007 Friday Night Lights episode “I Think We Should Have Sex.”
Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)
Well you thought I’d be waitin’ up when you came home last night You’d been out with all the boys and you ended up half tight But liquor and love they just don’t mix leave the bottle or me behind And don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind
No don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind Just stay out there on the town and see what you can find ‘Cause if you want that kind of love well you don’t need none of mine So don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind
You never take me anywhere because you’re always gone And many a night I’ve laid awake and cried here all alone Then you come in a kissin’ on me it happens every time No don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind
No don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind Just stay out there on the town and see what you can find ‘Cause if you want that kind of love well you don’t need none of mine So don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind No, don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind
This song was probably the first song that made me aware of The Velvet Underground. This song was on the album Loaded. Lou Reed wrote this song and the album was an attempt to write more of a commercial album.
This was Reed’s attempt at writing a hit for the Velvet Underground, who were highly influential, but commercially doomed. Loaded was the band’s last album, and the title was a reference to the record company mandate that the album be “Loaded with hits.”
The album was released on November 15, 1970. Loaded was ranked 110 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
From Songfacts
The Velvet Underground leader Lou Reed wrote this song as a surreal look at the life of a rock star. Reed included the song in his live sets; it appeared on his album Live at Max’s Kansas City in 1972 and on another live album, Rock n Roll Animal, in 1974. The version on Rock n Roll Animal, which was recorded at a New York show on December 21, 1973, features the twin-guitar work of Steven Hunter and Dick Wagner, who Reed employed to rock out his songs on tour.
Released as a single, this live version of the song heralded a new sound for Reed, one he quickly abandoned when he fired Hunter and Wagner at the end of the tour and disavowed the album. Reed released his intentionally awful Metal Machine Music album the following year, while his bygone guitarists joined Alice Cooper on tour, with Wagner becoming Cooper’s songwriting partner. In our interview with Dick Wagner, he explained: “He claims that he didn’t like the Rock n’ Roll Animal album, but at the time he sure loved it. A lot of the songs were from the Velvet Underground days, and I wanted to take them out of that placid performance of the songs and make it more for the concert stage and the stadiums, so I did some majestic arranging with some of the songs – that’s what I do. Within the context of the band and how to deliver the songs, it really worked. I guess Lou doesn’t really like it that much, but that’s kind of a lie.”
There was a great deal of acrimony during recording of the album, and Reed left before it was finished. In his absence, “Sweet Jane” was edited down, with a wistful coda removed from the song. This angered Reed, who told Rolling Stone magazine that if he knew they were going to press on with the album, “I would have stayed with them and showed them what to do.” The full version of the song can be heard on the album Live at Max’s Kansas City, recorded in 1969.
This song appears on the album 1969: The Velvet Underground Live, which was released in 1974. This is the double album with the famous gatefold revealing a leggy model in sparkling go-go boots and hot pants showing some can, on a vibrant green background; very sought-after by today’s VU collectors. There, “Sweet Jane” has a significantly different chord progression and lyrics; it was still a work-in-progress. Captured on the bootleg recording of Lou Reed’s last night performing live with The Velvet Underground, which happened through the tail end of the Loaded sessions, is one Jim Carroll. As told in The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side, Carroll can be heard ordering a Pernod and discussing the drug Tuinal. Carroll would later write The Basketball Diaries.
Reed did a parody version on his 1979 album Live – Take No Prisoners.
The original lyrics were, “Jane in her corset, Jack is in his vest, and me I’m in a rock n’ roll band.” Lou changed them to “Jack is in a corset, Jane is in a vest” to portray the wackiness of rock stars.
Mott the Hoople covered this on their All the Young Dudes album, which was also produced by David Bowie – Reed fully endorsed this cover and even did a reference vocal to help them out. Another version Reed liked was the one recorded by Brownsville Station on their 1973 album Yeah!.
Other notable covers of this song include versions by Cowboy Junkies, 2 Nice Girls, Phish, The Kooks, Gang of Four, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Reed himself appeared with Metallica (Metallica!) on October 25, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York City to perform “Sweet Jane” at the concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Q Magazine rated “Sweet Jane” at #18 on its list of 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and Guitar World rated it at #81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos, while Rolling Stone ranked it #335 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Sweet Jane
Standin’ on a corner Suitcase in my hand Jack’s in his car, says to Jane, who’s in her vest, And me, I’m in a rock n’ roll band. Ridin’ in a Stutz Bearcat, Jim You know,those were different times All the poets studied rows of verse, And those the ladies rolled their eyes
Sweet Jane, sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Now, Jack, he is a banker And Jane, she is a clerk And the both of them are saving up their moneys And when they come home from work Sittin’ by the fire The radio does play The classical music there, Jim The march of the wooden soldiers All you protest kids You can hear Jack say, get ready, ah
Sweet Jane, come on baby,sweet Jane, oh-oh-a,sweet Jane
Some people, they like to go out dancing And other peoples, they have to work. Just watch me now And there’s even some evil mothers Well they’re gonna tell you that everything is just dirt Y’know that, women, never really faint And that villains always blink their eyes, woo And that, y’know, children are the only ones who blush And that, life is, just to die And, everyone who ever had a heart, oh That wouldn’t turn around and break it And anyone who ever played a part, whoa And wouldn’t turn around and hate it
Sweet Jane! Whoa-oh-oh! Sweet Jane! Sweet Jane Sweet Jane
Heavenly wine and roses Seem to whisper to her when he smiles Heavenly wine and roses Seem to whisper to her, hey when she smiles
Lala, lala,lala, lala, lala, lala, lala,lala
Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Sweet Jane
Always a favorite Neil Young song of mine. This was the title song on the joint album by Neil Young and Stephen Stills. Stills and Young wrote separately for the album, which Stephen contributing four songs, and Young adding five, including the title track.
It was going to be a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young album but Crosby and Nash to leave for a while for commitments. Stills and Young scrubbed the tapes clean of any contributions made by their bandmates and resolved to keep the album a Stills-Young release. It would end up being credited to the Stills-Young Band.
Stills and Young toured on the album but after a few dates…Neil Young abruptly left the tour and sent a telegram to Stills…“Dear Stephen, funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil.”
The song did chart in the UK at #71 in 1976.
From Songfacts
Neil’s beloved Pontiac hearse, “Mort” (a.k.a. “Mortimer Hearseburg”), was the inspiration for this song. Neil drove “Mort” from Toronto to Los Angeles, where he met Stephen Stills and formed Buffalo Springfield.
Neil was in Canada driving to Sudbury when ‘Mort’ broke down in Blind River, June 1965. (Which is contradictory to the lyrics; “well it was back in Blind River, in 1962, when I last saw you alive”).
In 1976, Stephen Stills and Neil Young formed The Stills-Young Band and released an album called Long May You Run, which turned out to be somewhat ironic when the collaboration quickly stalled.
Stills is a longtime collaborator of Neil’s, having worked with him first in Buffalo Springfield and then in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. However, they had a falling out only nine days into the Long May You Run tour. Young decided to abandon the project, leaving Stills with a mere telegram to explain his departure. It read: “Dear Stephen, funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil.”
In addition to Young’s compilation album Decade this also appears on his 1993 album Unplugged.
The last ever Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien on Friday January 22, 2010 finished in style when O’Brien’s final musical guest, Neil Young, performed this song in what appeared to be a poke at NBC. O’Brien had been asked to move his slot to 12:05 a.m., and the TV host refused to move his show to such a late hour, and instead negotiated a $45 million exit deal.
Neil Young performed this song at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games to a rousing ovation of Canadian audience members.
Long May You Run
We’ve been through some things together With trunks of memories still to come We found things to do in stormy weather Long may you run.
Long may you run. Long may you run. Although these changes have come With your chrome heart shining in the sun Long may you run.
Well, it was back in Blind River in 1962 When I last saw you alive But we missed that shift on the long decline Long may you run.
Long may you run. Long may you run. Although these changes have come With your chrome heart shining in the sun Long may you run.
Maybe The Beach Boys have got you now With those waves singing “Caroline” Rollin’ down that empty ocean road Gettin’ to the surf on time.
Long may you run. Long may you run. Although these changes have come With your chrome heart shining in the sun Long may you run.
I’ve been listening to arena rock in the last few days…in short doses it’s alright.
I saw this band in 1982 and they were loud. What I remember most is in the middle of this song..singer Dan McCafferty came out and played bagpipes. That was the first time I ever heard bagpipes live…and like the rest of the band…they were very loud. The studio version doesn’t have them in it but they did sound great live.
It was on the album Hair of the Dog and it peaked at #17 in the Billboard album charts in 1975.
This song is what I call an angry song. When I would cruise in my teens and I wanted to feel a rush of emotion…I would turn this song up and drive along. It has a fun guitar riff in this song…a variation of the Day Tripper riff. The chorus is hard to miss also.
From Songfacts
This song is about a charming and manipulative woman who can get guys to acquiesce to her every need. The singer is letting her know that she has met her match in him, and she won’t be able to push him around.
“Hair Of The Dog” does not appear in the lyrics. The logical title would be “Son Of A Bitch,” but it would be tough to get airplay with a song of that name. “Hair Of The Dog” comes from the phrase “Hair of the dog that bit you,” which some people consider a hangover cure, meaning that if you wake up in pain after drinking lots of beer the night before, a beer will help cure you.
In the US, this was used in a TV commercial for Dodge.
Girls Aloud sampled this on their UK hit “Sexy! No No No.”
Artist to cover this song include Guns N’ Roses, Warrant and The Michael Schenker Group.
A bagpipe version…around the time that I saw them.
Hair of the Dog
Heartbreaker, soul shaker I’ve been told about you Steamroller, midnight shoulder What they been saying’ must be true
Red hot mama, down light charmer Time’s come to pay your dues
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Talking jiving poison ivy You ain’t gonna cling to me Man taker bone faker I ain’t so blind I can’t see
Red-hot mama, down light charmer Time’s come to pay your dues
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a (A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
This has turned into one of my favorite songs since I heard 10 years ago or so.
I originally blogged this when I had around 3 followers two years ago…so I apologize to you three for the repeat!
It’s a feel-good, quirky song with bright harmonies. It was released in 1971 and went to number 5 in the UK…kinda like the Bee Gees go folk.
The song was written by Lindisfarne member Rod Clements and sung by Ray Jackson. The mandolin solo in Maggie May by Rod Stewart was played by Ray Jackson. On the “Every Picture Tells A Story”album liner notes, it is stated that “The mandolin is played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind.”
Meet Me On The Corner
Hey mister dream seller Where have you been. Tell me have you dreams I can see? I came along, just to bring you this song, Can you spare one dream for me?
You wont have met me, And you’ll soon forget. So don’t mind me tugging at your sleeve. I’m asking you, If I can fix a rendezvous, For your dreams are all I believe.
[Chorus] Meet me on the corner, When the lights are coming on, And I’ll be there. I promise I’ll be there. Down the empty streets, We’ll disappear into the dawn, If you have dreams enough to share.
Lay down your bundles, Of rags and reminders, And spread your wears on the ground. Well I’ve got time, If you’re dealing mine, I’m just hanging around.
[Chorus]
Hey mister dream seller, Where have you been. Tell me have you dreams I can see? I came along, just to bring you this song, Can you spare one dream for me?
Chicago’s main songwriter, Robert Lamm, wrote this song. Lamm and Peter Cetera sang lead on the track. Robert Lamm based the melody of this song on “You Won’t See Me” by The Beatles, something he openly admitted.
The piano riff, in the beginning, hooks you right away. The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in Canada in 1972.
Robert Lamm: It was written as I was looking at footage from a film I shot in Central Park, over a couple of years, back in the early ‘70s. I shot this film and somewhere down the line I edited it into some kind of a narrative, and as I watched the film I jotted down some ideas based on what I was seeing and had experienced. And it was really kind of that peace and love thing that happened in Central Park and in many parks all over the world, perhaps on a Saturday, where people just relax and enjoy each other’s presence, and the activities we observe and the feelings we get from feeling a part of a day like that.
From Songfacts
Like most Chicago singles, this didn’t chart in the UK. In America, however, it was their biggest chart hit to that point and also their first gold single, which at the time meant selling more than a million copies (“25 Or 6 To 4” somehow was never certified gold).
This song contains some of the most famous nonsense singing in rock: after Robert Lamm sings the line, “Singing Italian songs,” he sings some made up words approximating the Italian language.
In the 2000 Adam Sandler film Little Nicky, this song was used for comedic effect when it was played backwards to show that it contains satanic messages.
Other movies to use the song include The Spirit of ’76 (1990) and My Girl (1991). TV series to feature the song include The Sopranos (2002), My Name Is Earl (2005) and Fringe (2011).
Chicago and Robin Thicke performed part of this song at the 2014 Grammy Awards in a medley of Chicago’s hits leading into Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines.” The occasion: Chicago’s first album entering the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Saturday In The Park
Saturday in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July Saturday in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing A man selling ice cream Singing Italian songs Everybody is another Can you dig it (yes, I can) And I’ve been waiting such a long time For Saturday
Another day in the park I think it was the Fourth of July Another day in the park I think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, really smiling A man playing guitar And singing for us all Will you help him change the world Can you dig it (yes, I can) And I’ve been waiting such a long time For today
Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day A bronze man still can tell stories his own way Listen children all is not lost, all is not lost, oh no, no
Funny days in the park Every day’s the Fourth of July Funny days in the park Every day’s the Fourth of July
People reaching, people touching A real celebration Waiting for us all If we want it, really want it Can you dig it (yes, I can) And I’ve been waiting such a long time For the day, yeah yeah
I had this single in the 70s. I was a kid and I knew every word. I had no clue what it meant…just thought it was a pretty song and the words were powerful. On my single, it was listed as “Only Women” it was shortened from “Only Women Bleed” by the record company because of protests by feminist groups.
Alice Cooper is singing about how women bleed from the heart, mind, and soul. Several feminist groups protested this song, but it was actually a sympathetic look at domestic abuse. It’s a rare song where Cooper doesn’t try to shock.
This ballad was on Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare album. The song peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #21 in New Zealand in 1975.
The song was written by Cooper and Dick Wagner. Wagner had the melody since the sixties but didn’t like the lyrics. He played the riff for Cooper, and the two developed new lyrics for the song.
The song was produced by Bob Ezrin using a demo that was recorded at the home studio of Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. Cooper and Wagner were able to walk to Dolenz house to record the demo.
Dick Wagner: “It’s really a song about domestic violence. It was misunderstood when it first came out. It was supposedly about a woman’s period, but it wasn’t. It was about a woman’s subservient position in society to a man. I’m a firm believer that women are the superior sex. ‘Only Women Bleed’ was a liberating kind of song.”
From Songfacts
Contrary to what many listeners believed, this is not about menstruation and it does not advocate domestic violence.
Alice Cooper and his guitarist Dick Wagner also wrote the ballads “You And Me” and “I Never Cry” together. Alice called this style “Heavy Metal Housewife Rock,” and explained in an interview with Creem: “I did those songs totally out of spite. I kept reading so many interviews and articles that I said I was never considered musical. Best rock show they ever saw, but musically lacking. They kept saying I was a performer but didn’t write anything. So I said, ‘Oh yeah? Yeah? Wait till you hear this!'”
Cooper performed the song with a single dancer, and it remained a part of his stage show for many of his concerts in the ensuing years. Alice told Mojo: “I didn’t realize it would end up as a woman’s anthem. I just needed a ballad for Welcome to my Nightmare.”
Dick Wagner wrote what would become the music for this song in 1968 when he was with a band called The Frost. Wagner wasn’t happy with the lyrics he wrote for the song, so he never recorded it. When he teamed up with Cooper in 1975, he played the music for Alice, who attached it to a title he was looking to use: “Only Women Bleed.” Based around that title, he and Wagner came up with the rest of the lyrics.
Only Women Bleed
Man’s got his woman to take his seed He’s got the power – oh She’s got the need She spends her life through pleasing up her man She feeds him dinner or anything she can
She cries alone at night too often He smokes and drinks and don’t come home at all Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed
Man makes your hair gray He’s your life’s mistake All you’re really lookin’ for is an even break
He lies right at you You know you hate this game He slaps you once in a while and you live and love in pain
She cries alone at night too often He smokes and drinks and don’t come home at all Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed
Black eyes all of the time Don’t spend a dime Clean up this grime And you there down on your knees begging me please come Watch me bleed
Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed Only women bleed
This was the first song ELO recorded and released. Jeff Lynne wrote it when he was in a band called The Move. This prompted some members of The Move to go ahead with plans to create a new band with string instruments called The Electric Light Orchestra.
The song peaked at #9 in the UK in 1972.
The album was first released in the UK as Electric Light Orchestra. When it was released in the US a few months later, someone from their American Record company called to find out the name of the album but didn’t get through. That person wrote down “No Answer” on the paperwork, and that was accidentally used as the name of the US release.
From Songfacts
Lynne wanted the lyrics to be about a man who had a number rather than a name.
1053 was the serial number of the desk Lynne used to write this. They added the 8 and included the word “Overture” to make it clear they were an orchestra.
10538 Overture
Did you see your friend crying from his eyes today Did you see him run through the streets and far away Did you see him run, did you see him fall Did his life flash by at the bedroom door
Did you hear the news it came across the air today Someone has been found on the rocks down in the bay Did you see him hide, did you see him crawl Does his life mean more than it did before
Did you see that man running through the streets today Did you catch his face, was it 10538
When I first heard this…I would have bet money…and lost that it was Elvis singing this song. I was shocked when I found out that it wasn’t him. This song was written by the songwriting team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. They wrote hits for various artists, including Glen Campbell, the Four Tops, and Dusty Springfield.
The song peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in Canada in 1971.
The backing group was the great studio musicians called “The Wrecking Crew” who played with countless artists including The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, and even Cher.
From Songfacts
This was Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds’ third single and first Top 40 hit. Their two previous singles failed to reach the Top 40 and received very little radio play.
Rob Grill of The Grass Roots explained at a concert that this song was intended for his band, but they were about to release another single. So Potter and Lambert crafted “Two Divided by Love” for The Grass Roots, which sounds somewhat similar to this song. The Grass Roots perform “Don’t Pull Your Love (Out)” in concert, since it was supposed to be their song.
Don’t Pull Your Love
Don’t pull your love out on me, baby If you do, then I think that maybe I’ll just lay me down, cry for a hundred years Don’t pull your love out on me, honey Take my heart, my soul, my money But don’t leave me here drowning in my tears
You say you’re gonna leave, gonna take that big white bird, Gonna fly right out of here without a single word But you know you’ll break my heart when I watch you close that door Cause I know I won’t see you anymore
Don’t pull your love out on me, baby If you do, then I think that maybe I’ll just lay me down, cry for a hundred years Don’t pull your love out on me, honey Take my heart, my soul, my money But don’t leave me here drowning in my tears
Haven’t I been good to you, what about that brand new ring? Doesn’t that mean love to you, doesn’t that mean anything? If I threw away my pride and I got down on my knees, Would you make me beg you “pretty please”?
Don’t pull your love out on me, baby If you do, then I think that maybe I’ll just lay me down, cry for a hundred years Don’t pull your love out on me, honey Take my heart, my soul, my money But don’t leave me here drowning in my tears
There’s so much I want to do I’ve got love enough for two And I’ll never use it, girl, if I don’t have you
Johnny Otis wrote this song and had a hit with it in 1958. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song had a Bo Diddley type rhythm to it and it’s such a great groove.
Both versions are great…I think out of the two I favor Johnny’s version.
Eric Clapton included this song on his classic album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Willie and The Hand Jive peaked at #27 for Eric in the Billboard 100 in 1974.
The origin of the song came when one of Otis’ managers, Hal Ziegler, found out that rock’n’roll concert venues in England did not permit the teenagers to stand up and dance in the aisles, so they instead danced with their hands while remaining in their seats. At Otis’ concerts, performers would demonstrate Willie’s “hand jive” dance to the audience, so the audience could dance along.
Willie and the Hand Jive
I know a cat named Way-Out Willie Had a cool little chick named Rockin’ Billie Made a heart of stone Susie-Q, doin’ that crazy hand jive too Papa said “You will ruin my house. You and that hand jive have got to go” Willie said “Papa, don’t you put me down, Been doin’ that hand jive all over town.” Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin’ that crazy hand jiveI don’t want you to get on the floor Gettin’ low, getting down with sister go Come on, get baby, little sister’ll die Said doin’ that hand jive one more time Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin’ that crazy hand jive
Doctor getting low and he getting check Now they’re all digging that crazy beat Way-Out Willie gave ’em all a treat Been doin’ that hand jive with his feet Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin’ that crazy hand jiveWilli and Billie got married last fall Had to live with his sisters and that ain’t all Daddy got famous it’s plain to see Been doin’ that hand jive on his knees Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin’ that crazy hand jive
Yes, this song has been played to death but yes I still love it. Musically the acoustic guitar, mandolin, Rod’s scratchy voice, and those great bass lines that Ronnie Wood plays makes it so memorable. The 16-year-old me spent hours learning those bass lines.
Ray Jackson from the band Lindisfarne plays mandolin on this recording. This was the first big hit of the rock era to feature a mandolin, which was mostly heard in folk music. Stewart first used the instrument on Mandolin Wind, which was one of the first songs he recorded for the album Every Picture Tells a Story. He liked the results, so he used it on this song as well.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, # in the UK, #1 in Canaday, and #3 in New Zealand.
Rod Stewart has said the song is a true story of what happened to him at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival as a 16 year old…
Rod Stewart: “At 16, I went to the Beaulieu Jazz Festival in the New Forest. I’d snuck in with some mates via an overflow sewage pipe. And there on a secluded patch of grass, I lost my not-remotely-prized virginity with an older (and larger) woman who’d come on to me very strongly in the beer tent. How much older, I can’t tell you – but old enough to be highly disappointed by the brevity of the experience.”
The Beaulieu Jazz Festival was held in 1961…at the bottom I have a video and at the 13-second mark you can see a 16-year-old Rod Stewart there as a fan… right before he met ‘Maggie”
From Songfacts
This song was inspired by the woman who deflowered Stewart when he was 16. In the January 2007 issue of Q magazine, Stewart said: “‘Maggie May’ was more or less a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival.”
With his reputation on the line, Stewart was nervous. He said the encounter was over “in a few seconds.”
The name “Maggie May” does not occur in the song; Rod borrowed the title from “Maggie Mae,” a Liverpool folk song about a Lime Street prostitute which the Beatles included on their Let It Be album.
Stewart liked the play on words the title created, sometimes introducing the song by saying, “This is ‘Maggie May’ – sometimes she did, sometimes she didn’t.”
This song came together when Stewart began working with guitarist Martin Quittenton from the band Steamhammer. They convened at Stewart’s house in Muswell Hill, where Quittenton played some chords that caught Rod’s ear. As he sussed out a vocal melody, he started singing the words to the folk song “Maggie Mae,” which got him thinking about that day 10 years earlier when he had a quick-and-dirty tryst. They made a demo with Stewart singing fractures lines. From there, he got to work on the lyrics, filling a notebook with ideas and arriving at a story about a guy who falls for an older woman and is now both smitten and perplexed.
“Maggie May” remains the biggest mondolin-based hit ever recorded, although the theme music for The Godfather, released the following year, may be more recognized.
Every Picture Tells A Story was Stewart’s third solo album, and the one that made him a superstar. At the time, he was still lead singer of the Faces, and for this session, which took place at Morgan Sound Studios in Willesden, England, he brought in two of his mates from that group: Ronnie Wood (guitar/bass) and Ian McLagan (organ). The other musicians were drummer Mickey Waller (he forgot to bring his cymbals to the session, so those were overdubbed later), guitarist Martin Quittenton and mandolin player Ray Jackson.
The song came together quickly in the studio, helped along by Jackson’s mandolin contribution. Jackson had been hired to perform on the song “Mandolin Wind,” which is why he was available. Stewart asked him to play something they might use to end the song, which he improvised on the spot.
This became a huge hit in England and America, topping both the UK and US charts at the same time. Every Picture Tells A Story was also the #1 album on both sides of the Atlantic, making him the first artist to have the #1 song and album in both the US and UK simultaneously. Stewart’s success in the UK was expected, as he had a following there as a member of the Faces, but he was little known in America before “Maggie May” took off.
There is no real chorus in this song, but plenty of vocal and instrumental changes to keep it interesting. Running 5:46, it was considered an oddity with no hit potential and nearly left off the album. Stewart’s record company, Mercury, didn’t think it was a hit either, so used it as the B-side of the “Reason To Believe” single. Disc jockeys liked “Maggie” better, so they played it instead, forcing Mercury to put it out as a single. The first station to flip the single and play it as the A-side was WOKY in Milwaukee.
Ray Jackson, a British musician who played in the band Lindisfarne, played the mandolin on this song and on a few others for Stewart. In 2003, Jackson threatened legal action against Stewart, claiming he deserved a writing credit for his contribution. Jackson, who says he made just the standard £15 session fee for his work, stated: “I am convinced that my contribution to ‘Maggie May,’ which occurred in the early stages of my career when I was just becoming famous for my work with Lindisfarne, was essential to the success of the record.”
Stewart employed Jackson on subsequent recordings, but didn’t hear about his beef with the composer credit until the ’80s. Stewart’s retort (through a spokesman): “As is always the case in the studio, any musical contributions he may have made were fully paid for at the time as ‘work-for-hire.'”
Adding insult is Jackson’s credit on the album notes, which reads: “The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind.”
Jackson never brought the case to court, but his threat did illuminate his contribution and help publicize his artistic endeavors.
The 32-second mandolin intro that appears on the album version was added later. Written and played by Martin Quittenton, it was listed as a separate song called “Henry” on UK versions of Every Picture Tells A Story. This was Stewart’s way of giving Quittenton a bonus: no matter the length, any song on an album earns royalties for the writer.
This section was excised from the single release, which still came in at 5:11, far longer than most hit singles.
When this became a hit, Stewart’s popularity surpassed that of his group, so Faces shows started being billed as “The Faces with Rod Stewart,” making him the focus.
Stewart moved to America a few years after this came out. He was doing very well there, but also wanted to avoid the huge taxes England levied on high-income entertainers. This was around the same time The Rolling Stones left England for tax reasons. Their album Exile on Main St. is a reference to their “tax exile” status.
To see Rod…go to the 13 second mark
Maggie May
Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you It’s late September and I really should be back at school I know I keep you amused, but I feel I’m being used Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home, just to save you from being alone You stole my heart, and that’s what really hurts
The morning sun, when it’s in your face really shows your age But that don’t worry me none in my eyes, you’re everything I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn’t need to coax Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home, just to save you from being alone You stole my soul, and that’s a pain I can do without
All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand But you turned into a lover, and, mother, what a lover you wore me out All you did was wreck my bed, and in the morning, kick me in the head Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home ’cause you didn’t wanna be alone You stole my heart, I couldn’t leave you if I tried
I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school Or steal my daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing pool Or find myself a rock ‘n’ roll band that needs a helping hand Oh, Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me But I’m as blind as a fool can be You stole my heart, but I love you anyway
Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face I’ll get on back home one of these days Ooh, ooh, ooh
This track sums up the 70s Stones very well. Great riff, great tone, and great Mick Jagger vocal. This song and album were produced by Jimmy Miller who also played percussion on this track.
This song was on the album Sticky Fingers. The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in the UK and #1 in Canada in 1971.
The Stones played a shorter version of this song a few times before it was released on the Sticky Fingers album. These performances took place on their 11-date UK farewell tour before they left England to avoid taxes. After these shows, they didn’t play it live again until 2002, at which point they could bring alone plenty of musicians to support it.
Mick Taylor: “‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ is one of my favorites. (The jam at the end) just happened by accident; that was never planned. Towards the end of the song I just felt like carrying on playing. Everybody was putting their instruments down, but the tape was still rolling and it sounded good, so everybody quickly picked up their instruments again and carried on playing. It just happened, and it was a one-take thing. A lot of people seem to really like that part.”
From Songfacts
This is an unusually long Stones track, running 7:14. Mick Jagger’s work is done by 2:45, however, as the groove plays out for the next four-and-a-half minutes. The Stones were experimenting with different styles around this time, and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?” has a distinct Santana influence.
This featured Bobby Keys on sax, Rocky Dijon on percussion, and Billy Preston on the organ. Keys, along with trumpet player Jim Price, joined The Stones on their 1970 European tour after performing on Sticky Fingers. His lengthy sax solo on this track wasn’t planned out, but once he got going, he kept blowing while the tape ran and Keith Richards loved it.
Probably best not to read too much into the lyrics of this one, since even Mick Jagger isn’t exactly sure what he wrote. As Robert Greenfield recounts in his book Ain’t It Time We Said Goodbye, shortly before the album was released, someone realized that the lyrics for this song and a few others had not been filed, making them impossible to copyright. Members of the Stones camp were dispatched to write down the words by listening to the acetate pressings, and on this song, the best they could come up with for one of the lines near the end was “I’ve got flatted feet, now.” Jagger insisted he didn’t write that line, but couldn’t remember what the real line was, so it stuck.
Andy Warhol designed the Sticky Fingers album cover. Before he started working on it, Mick Jagger send Warhol a note warning that a complicated design could cause nasty production delays, but nonetheless giving him total creative control. The artist responded with a cover that contained an actual working zipper, which of course was a production nightmare.
The cover, however, was one of the most memorable ever made. It showed a man wearing very tight jeans behind that working zipper – many folks assumed this was Mick Jagger, but it was actually Joe Dallesandro, a actor and Warhol cohort. Dallesandro appeared on the cover of the April 15, 1971 issue of Rolling Stone magazine; the album was released on April 23.
Jimmy Miller mixed records for The Spencer Davis Group and produced Steve Winwood’s next group, Traffic.
This was used in the movies Casino (1995), Blow (2001), Without a Paddle (2004) and The Fighter (2010).
Mick Taylor was lead guitarist for The Stones at the time. This was one of his earliest songs with the band – he replaced Brian Jones, who died in 1969.
This appears in the video game Guitar Hero II.
With mentions of “cocaine eyes” and “speed-freak jive,” this song contains some pretty obvious drug references, which makes sense considering the company the band was keeping at the time – pretty much everyone in their circle was doing drugs.
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking
Yeah, you got satin shoes Yeah, you got plastic boots Y’all got cocaine eyes Yeah, you got speed freak jive now
Can’t you hear me knockin’ On your window Can’t you hear me knockin’ On your door Can’t you hear me knockin’ Down your dirty street All right now
Help me baby I ain’t no stranger Help me baby I ain’t no stranger
Can’t you hear me knockin’ Are you safe asleep Can’t you hear me knockin’ Down your gaslight street Can’t you hear me knockin’ Throw me down the keys
Hear me ringin’ Big bell toll Hear me singin’ Soft and low I’ve been beggin’ On my knees I’ve been kickin’ Help me please
Hear me howlin’ I wanna take you down Hear me growlin’ Yeah, I got flatted feet now now now Hear me prowlin’ All around your street Hear me knockin’ All around your town
Draggin’ The Line was originally released on James’ second solo album, Christian Of The World. Draggin’ The Line wasn’t considered to be released as the single, and was ultimately was the B-side of the Church Street Soul Revival single. After DJs began playing the song, James went back into the studio to remix the record and add the horn charts. The song became James’ biggest solo hit peaking at #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1971.
Christian Of The World peaked at #131 in the Billboard Album Charts. Tommy’s backing band the Shondells were not on this record – the group broke up in 1970 and Tommy James continued to record as a solo artist.
Tommy James: “It’s almost like the bass guitar was speaking. And it just seemed to say ‘draggin’ the line’ to me. It’s weird. But we had the track before we had the song, and it was like the bass was speaking.”
“The line of ‘hugging a tree’ in there became kind of a slang expression for people who are interested in the ecology. ‘Tree Hugger’ came from that song.”
From Songfacts
In our interview with Tommy James, he explained: “‘Draggin’ The Line’ I wrote up at my farm in 1970, and it was with Bob King. My farm was in upstate New York, I had a couple hundred acres. It was a song I probably couldn’t have written in the city. We just kind of toyed with it. We wrote it, and it was a very repetitious track, and a very sort of hypnotic track. We had the track before we had the song. We went into the studio and just laid down, I don’t know, eight or ten bars of track. We looped it and looped it and looped it, and created the hypnotic rhythm. Bob played bass, Russ Leslie from Neon played drums, and I played guitar. And so we just created loops of tape based on this little riff, and when we had three-plus minutes of it put together we stopped, and then we wrote the song around the track. Second time I had ever done that – first one was “Mony” actually. ‘Draggin’ the Line’ just meant working every day. Nothing really very mysterious about it.”
Regarding the lyrics, “My dog Sam eats purple flowers,” James says: “I did have a cat named Sam – not a dog named Sam. He was a white Persian cat. That was just finding words that fit together (laughing) on a very mellow night, if you get my drift.”
Like many famous songs, this was not considered a hit at first. Says James: “The interesting thing about ‘Draggin’ the Line’ is it was originally the B-side, it was the flip-side of a record called ‘Church Street Soul Revival’ that I had out in 1970. And we put the record out, and the B-side got as much airplay as the A-side, and then finally more airplay. And so we could tell that radio wanted to go with ‘Draggin’ The Line.’ So we went into the studio and threw horns on it, and remixed it with more emphasis on the groove, and re-released it then as an A-side in 1971, and it went #1.”
Draggin’ The Line
Makin’ a livin’ the old, hard way. Takin’ and givin’ by day by day. I dig snow and rain and the bright sunshine. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line].
My dog, Sam, eats purple flowers. Ain’t got much, but what we got’s ours. We dig snow and rain and the bright sunshine. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line]. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line].
I feel fine. I’m talkin’ ’bout peace of mind. I’m gonna take my time. I’m gettin’ the good sign. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line]. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line].
Lovin’ the free and feelin’ spirit Of hugging a tree, when you get near it. Diggin’ the snow and rain and the bright sunshine. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line]. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line].
I feel fine. I’m talkin’ ’bout peace of mind. I’m gonna take my time. I’m gettin’ the good sign. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line]. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line].
Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line]. La la la la la la la-la-la. Draggin’ the line [draggin’ the line]. La la la la la la la.
“Family Affair,” was on the album There’s A Riot Goin’ On and the last Sly & The Family Stone song to hit #1.
The song’s rhythm was provided by a drum machine, making it one of the earliest hit recordings and the first #1 single to use such a device. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #15 in the UK, and #11 in New Zealand.
Sly did not use the Family Stone for this recording. His friend Billy Preston played the keyboard lines in the song with Sly also playing keyboard as well as guitar, bass, and programming the rhythm box. His sister Rose sang with him and Bobby Womack played rhythm guitar.
From Songfacts
According to Dave Marsh’s book 1001 Greatest Songs, Sly Stone’s manager told Rolling Stone that Family Affair was the story of Sly’s own life, which was being cut up by the factions that surrounded him in his stardom. Chief among those factions, David Kapralik hinted, was Sly’s own family. Sly denied this. He told Rolling Stone, “Song’s not about that. Song’s about a family affair, whether it’s a result of genetic processes or a situation in the environment.” There was a rumor at the time that Stone had written it in response to demands made on him by black nationalist groups, who didn’t approve of his integrationist sensibility.
According to the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs, when There’s A Riot Goin’ On came out in 1971, a reporter mentioned the rumor that Sly Stone had played all the instruments himself, and he asked Sly just how much he played. “I’ve forgotten, man,” Stone said. “Whatever was left.”
Family Affair
It’s a family affair, it’s a family affair It’s a family affair, it’s a family affair
One child grows up to be Somebody that just loves to learn And another child grows up to be Somebody you’d just love to burn
Mom loves the both of them You see it’s in the blood Both kids are good to Mom “Blood’s thicker than mud”
It’s a family affair, it’s a family affair Newlywed a year ago But you’re still checking each other out Nobody wants to blow
Nobody wants to be left out You can’t leave, ’cause your heart is there But you can’t stay, ’cause you been somewhere else!
You can’t cry, ’cause you’ll look broke down But you’re cryin’ anyway ’cause you’re all broke down!
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