After watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles at Thanksgiving this song has stuck with me yet again. Mess Around was Ray Charles’s first hit for Atlantic Records. The song was written by Atlantic Records president and founder Ahmet Ertegün. The song peaked at #3 in the R&B Charts in 1953.
Ahmet claimed his inspiration for writing “Mess Around” was Pete Johnson.
Ray Charles had 75 songs in the Billboard 100, 3 Number 1’s, and 11 Top Ten Hits.
Mess Around
Ah, you can talk about the pit, barbecue The band was jumpin’, the people too Ah, mess around They doin’ the mess around They doin’ the mess around, Everybody doin’ the mess around Ah, everybody was juiced, you can, bet your soul They did the boogie-woogie, with a sturdy roll (?) They mess around They doin’ the mess around They doin’ the mess around, Everybody doin’ the mess around Now, ah, when I say stop don’t you move a peg When I say go, just ah, shake your leg And do the mess around I declare, do the mess around Yeah do the mess around, Everybody’s doin’ the mess around Now let me have it there boy
[Piano Solo]
Now you got it boy
[Sax Solo]
(Yeah, ah, mess around, go on mess around) (Mess around, boy) Now this band’s goin’ to play from, 9 to 1 Everybody here’s gonna have some fun Doin’ the mess around Ah, doin’ the mess around They doin’ the mess around, Everybody doin’ the mess around Now you see that girl, with that, diamond ring She knows how to, shake that thing Mess around I declare, she can mess around Ah, mess around, Everybody do the mess around
No one crosses genres like Johnny Cash. I’ve seen rockers, heavy metal, and country fans like Johnny.
After Cash returned home from the Air Force and signed with Sun Records, he gave Sam Phillips the song “Hey Porter.” Phillips asked for a ballad for the B-side, so Cash went home and quickly wrote “Cry! Cry! Cry!” literally overnight. It became his first big hit.
“Cry! Cry! Cry!” was released and sold over 100,000 copies. The song was originally released in 1955 and reached #14 in the charts at the time. This song was the B side to Hey Porter.
Elvis Costello did a fantastic cover of this song in 1982 as the B side to I’m Your Toy.
Cry! Cry! Cry!
Everybody knows where you go when the sun goes down. I think you only live to see the lights uptown. I wasted my time when I would try, try, try. ‘Cause when the lights have lost their glow, you’ll cry, cry, cry.
Soon your sugar-daddies will all be gone. You’ll wake up some cold day and find you’re alone. You’ll call for me but I’m gonna tell you: “Bye, bye, bye, “ When I turn around and walk away, you’ll cry, cry, cry,
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry and you’ll cry alone, When everyone’s forgotten and you’re left on your own. You’re gonna cry, cry, cry.
I lie awake at night to wait ’til you come in You stay a little while and then you’re gone again Every question that I ask, I get a lie, lie, lie For every lie you tell, you’re gonna cry, cry, cry
When your fickle love gets old, no one will care for you. Then you’ll come back to me for a little love that’s true. I’ll tell you no and then you’ll ask me why, why, why? When I remind you of all of this, you’ll cry, cry, cry.
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry and you’ll want me then, It’ll hurt when you think of the fool you’ve been. You’re gonna cry, cry, cry.
One of the most famous riffs in rock history. The lyrics was written by Pete Brown, a beat poet who was friends with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. He also wrote lyrics for “I Feel Free” and “White Room.” Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce wrote the music.
The song peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100 in 1968.
When Cream broke up, Jimi Hendrix played this song on the Lulu show for a farewell to Cream.
Cream played this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 12, 1993, when they reunited for their induction. To that point, the only other time the band got back together was at Eric Clapton’s wedding in 1979. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr also played together at that wedding.
From Songfacts
Pete Brown wrote the opening line after being up all night working with Bruce and watching the sun come up. In a Songfacts interview, he told the tale: “We had been working all night and had gotten some stuff done. We had very little time to write for Cream, but we happened to have some spare time and Jack came up with the riff. He was playing a stand-up – he still had his stand-up bass, because he’d been a jazz musician. He was playing stand-up bass, and he said, ‘What about this then?’ and played the famous riff. I looked out the window and wrote down, ‘It’s getting near dawn.’ That’s how it happened. It’s actually all true, really, all real stuff.”
Jack Bruce’s bass line carries the song. He got the idea for it after going to a Jimi Hendrix concert. When Kees van Wee interviewed Bruce in 2003 for the Dutch magazine Heaven, Kees asked him which of his many songs epitomizes Jack Bruce the most. At first he was in doubt whether he should answer “Pieces Of Mind” or “Keep On Wondering,” but then he changed his mind and opted for “Sunshine Of Your Love.” Because, said Bruce, “It’s based on a bass riff. And when you enter a music shop this is the song that kids always play to try out a guitar.”
Tom Dowd, who worked with most of the artists for Atlantic Records at the time, engineered the Disreali Gears album. Dowd was renowned for his technical genius, but also for his ability to relate to musicians and put them at ease.
When Cream recorded this song, it wasn’t working. In the documentary Tom Dowd And The Language Of Music, he explained: “There just wasn’t this common ground that they had on so many of the other songs. I said, ‘Have you ever seen an American Western where the Indian beat – the downbeat – is the beat? Why don’t you play that one. Ginger went inside and they started to run the song again. When they started playing that way, all of the parts came together and they were elated.”
According to Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 songs issue, Jack Bruce knew the song would do well. “Both Booker T. Jones and Otis Redding heard it at Atlantic Studios and told me it was going to be a smash,” he recalled.
One man who was not impressed was Ahmet Ertegun, who was head of the group’s label. When Bruce revealed the song at the sessions, Ertegun declared it “psychedelic hogwash.” Ertegun constantly tried to promote Eric Clapton as the band’s leader, and also didn’t believe the bassist should be a lead singer. He only relented and agreed to champion this song after Booker T. Jones came by and expressed his approval.
This is one of Eric Clapton’s favorites from this days with Cream; he played it at most of his solo shows throughout his career. When Cream played some reunion concerts in 2005, they played the song as their encore.
Jimi Hendrix covered this at some of his concerts, unaware that he was the inspiration for the bass line.
Hendrix did an impromptu performance of the song when he appeared on Happening for Lulu, BBC TV show in England hosted by the prim and proper “To Sir With Love” singer. After playing part of his scheduled song “Hey Joe,” Hendrix stopped the performance and said, “We’d like to stop playing this rubbish and dedicate a song to the Cream, regardless of what kind of group they may be in. We dedicate this to Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.”
This version appears on the Experience Hendrix 2CD/3LP The BBC Sessions towards the end of Disc 2/Side 6 on the LP. An instrumental version appears on the 2010 Valleys of Neptune album, which was recorded by Hendrix at London’s Olympic Studios on February 16, 1969.
Hendrix engineer and producer Eddie Kramer recalled to Toronto’s The Globe and Mail: “Jimi loved Cream, he loved Eric Clapton. It was a fabulous song, he loved to play it, and he would just rip into it whenever the mood hit him.”
This was Cream’s biggest hit. It was their first to do better in the US than in the UK, as they started to catch on in America. In the US, this first charted in February 1968 at #36. In August, after the album came out, it re-entered the chart and went to #5.
Clapton’s guitar solo is based on the ’50s song “Blue Moon.”
Excepting “Strange Brew,” the Disraeli Gears album was recorded in just three days, as the band had to return to England because their work visas were expiring. Engineer Tom Dowd recalls the sessions coming to an abrupt end when a limo driver showed up to take the musicians to the airport. Dowd was tasked with mixing the album in their absence.
Jack Bruce released a new version on his 2001 album Shadows In The Air. Clapton played on it along with Latin percussionists from New York City, which gave it a Salsa sound.
In The Breakfast Club (1985), John Bender (Judd Nelson) tries to liven up Saturday detention by mimicking the riff on air guitar.
Sunshine of Your Love
It’s getting near dawn, When lights close their tired eyes I’ll soon be with you my love, To give you my dawn surprise I’ll be with you darling soon, I’ll be with you when the stars start falling
[Chorus:] I’ve been waiting so long To be where I’m going In the sunshine of your love
I’m with you my love, The light’s shining through on you Yes, I’m with you my love, It’s the morning and just we two I’ll stay with you darling now, I’ll stay with you till my seas are dried up
[Chorus]
I’m with you my love, The light’s shining through on you. Yes, I’m with you my love, It’s the morning and just we two. I’ll stay with you darling now, I’ll stay with you till my seas are dried up
I’ve been waiting so long I’ve been waiting so long I’ve been waiting so long To be where I’m going In the sunshine of your love
In the 1980s I had a Lovin’ Spoonful Greatest hits on vinyl made by a small Nashville record company my friend worked at called Gusto Records. After listening to their many hits…this is the one that I zeroed in on. They had bigger hits but this is one of my favorite songs by the Lovin’ Spoonful.
John Sebastion sings it so desperately and sincere that it hooked me.
John Sebastian wrote this ballad for Francis Ford Coppola’s You’re A Big Boy Now, a coming-of-age film. Sebastian was responsible for the whole soundtrack but was tasked to write this specific song for an important love scene. He started thinking about all the songs that dealt with lonely musicians on the road and decided to flip the concept and write about a guy waiting for his girlfriend to come home.
Unfortunately, the movie was largely ignored. The song was mostly forgotten until Sebastian revived it during his performance at Woodstock in 1969.
The song peaked at #15 in the Billboard 100 and #44 in the UK in 1967.
From Songfacts
“From the singer’s perspective, the verses are pleas for a partner to spend a few minutes talking before leaving,” Sebastian explained to Marc Myers for the book Anatomy of a Song. “What made the song interesting is that you never knew if the other person was actually there listening or was already gone.”
After hitching a ride with the helicopter carrying The Incredible String Band’s equipment, Sebastian arrived at the Woodstock festival thinking he’d just be a spectator. But an early afternoon downpour flooded the stage and it needed to be cleared of water before Santana’s amps could be set up. Michael Lang, the concert’s producer, asked Sebastian to fill in. He took the stage in a tie-dyed white denim outfit and sang five songs, the fourth being “Darling Be Home Soon.” He recalled: “The audience didn’t identify the song with the movie, since most probably hadn’t seen it. Instead, they sort of quieted down and took it in as a love song. My job wasn’t to incite but to mellow everyone out until the stage was swept. When I finished, the applause from so many people was loud and wide, and knocked the wind out of me. The feeling was delicious.”
The Lovin’ Spoonful recorded this with a studio orchestra in just one day. The next morning, however, Sebastian was horrified to learn his vocal take had accidentally been erased and had to be re-recorded. “I did that right away, with the wound still fresh,” he said. “What you hear on the record is me, a half hour after learning that my original vocal track had been erased. You can even hear my voice quiver a little at the end. That was me thinking about the vocal we lost and wanting to kill someone.”
Zal Yanovsky, the band’s lead guitarist, hated the song. He thought it was too sappy and accused Sebastian of losing his rock edge. During one live performance, Zal can be seen clownishly mocking the frontman as he sings the heartfelt lyrics.
This was used on the CBS crime drama Cold Case in the 2010 episode “Free Love.”
Several artists have covered this, including Bobby Darin, Joe Cocker, Slade, The Association, and Bruce Hornsby.
Darling Be Home Soon
Come And talk of all the things we did today Here And laugh about our funny little ways While we have a few minutes to breathe Then I know that it’s time you must leave
But, darling, be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
And now A quarter of my life is almost past I think I’ve come to see myself at last And I see that the time spent confused Was the time that I spent without you And I feel myself in bloom
So, darling, be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
So, darling My darling, be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
Go And beat your crazy head against the sky Try And see beyond the houses and your eyes It’s okay to shoot the moon
Darling be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
Chuck Berry was THE first guitar hero in Rock and Roll. He was also rock’s first poet. This song evolved out of “Ida Red,” a hillbilly song by Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys from the early ’50s. Berry heard that song on the Country radio station KMOX in St. Louis but didn’t know who recorded it.
Not only is the music great with the steady beat… but those lyrics. The motor cooled down the heat went down, And that’s when I heard that highway sound, the Cadillac a-sittin’ like a ton of lead, a hundred and ten half a mile ahead, the Cadillac lookin’ like it’s sittin’ still, and I caught Mabellene at the top of the hill
You can see what is happening in the song in your head with no problem… no MTV story video needed. He was one of the best descriptive lyricist rock and roll has ever had.
The song made it to #5 in the Billboard Pop Chart in 1955.
From Songfacts
Berry had never recorded, but when he went to Chicago to see Muddy Waters perform, he stayed in town to pitch himself to Leonard Chess of Chess Records, who asked him to come back the next week with some original songs. Berry returned with his bandmates Johnnie Johnson (piano) and Eddie Hardy (drums), and a demo reel with four songs, including “Ida Mae.” That’s the one Leonard Chess liked best, but he asked Berry to change so there wouldn’t be any confusion with “Ida Red” and to fend off any copyright claims. Berry changed the lyrics, turning it into a song about fast cars – one of his favorite topics. It was the first song the band recorded, and it proved a challenge: they recorded 36 takes.
This song tells the story of a girl who keeps cheating on her man. Various cars appear in the lyrics; Berry sings about chasing Maybellene in his V8 Ford while she drag races a man in a Cadillac with her Coupe de Ville.
There are a few different stories floating around about how the song got its name. Berry has said that Maybellene was the name of a cow in child’s nursery rhyme, but Johnnie Johnson recalled that there was a box of Maybellene mascara in the office, which gave Leonard Chess the idea for the title.
Chess Records gave the disc jockey Alan Freed a cowriting credit on this song (and also some cash) in exchange for playing it on the radio. Deals like this led to the Payola scandals, which led to rules prohibiting record companies from paying DJs to play their songs. Marshall Chess, the son of Chess founder Leonard Chess, recalled to The Independent newspaper May 27, 2008: “He [Freed] played the hell out of Chuck’s first record, ‘Maybellene’, because of that. My father says he made the deal, and by the time he got to Pittsburgh, which was half a day’s drive away, my uncle back at home was screaming, ‘What’s happening? We’re getting all these calls for thousands of records!'”
Deals like this were perfectly legal and fairly common at the time, but when the government took action in 1959, Freed refused to admit to taking Payola, insisting he was acting as a consultant to the music industry. Holding steadfast to this position, the radio and TV stations he worked for fired him, and his career never recovered. In contrast, Dick Clark admitted to taking cash and gifts, and simply stopped doing so when it was declared illegal. He was able to grow his media empire considerably after the scandal.
Berry was 29 years old when he recorded this song, but he knew that his audience was teenagers, so he wrote the song to appeal to that crowd – the ones fascinated with cars and experiencing young love. Berry also took care to sing it as clearly as possible so it would have more crossover appeal with a white audience. His strategy worked: the song went to #1 on the R&B chart and also made #5 on the Pop chart.
Chuck Berry was a rock and roll original, but he didn’t consider this a rock song. Said Berry: “‘Maybellene’ was very much a country song, with country lyrics. Maybe a little faster but basically it was country.”
Soon after this was released, Elvis Presley started performing it at some of his live appearances. Many other artists also recognized its propulsive appeal and covered the song. British acts – notably The Beatles and The Rolling Stones – often recorded Berry’s songs, but the UK act that grabbed this one was Gerry and the Pacemakers, who included it on their 1963 debut album How Do You Like It?
Other artists to cover the song include George Jones, The Searchers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Foghat.
The B-Side of the single was a slow blues song called “Wee Wee Hours.”
One-third of the composing credit went to Russ Fratto for the sole purpose of making sure that Berry got more royalties than Alan Freed (Fratto was a local DJ who was a close friend of Berry’s). He agreed to give Berry his share. In those days, it was common to give Freed a composer credit in exchange for airplay on his show. Freed would get royalties, and the song would become a hit.
A version by Johnny Rivers reached #12 in the US in 1964.
Later in 1955, Fats Domino released his own song with a three-syllable girl in the title: “I Can’t Go On (Rosalie).”
Berry died in 2017, the same year Fats Domino passed away. Jon Batiste and Gary Clark, Jr. paid tribute at the Grammy Awards in 2018 by performing “Maybellene” and “Ain’t That A Shame.”
Maybellene
Maybellene, why can’t you be true Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true You’ve started back doin’ the things you used to do
As I was motivatin’ over the hill I saw Mabellene in a Coup de Ville A Cadillac arollin’ on the open road Nothin’ will outrun my V8 Ford The Cadillac doin’ about ninety-five She’s bumper to bumper, rollin’ side by side Maybellene Why can’t you be true Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true You’ve started back doin’ the things you used to do
The Cadillac pulled up ahead of the Ford The Ford got hot and wouldn’t do no more It then got cloudy and started to rain I tooted my horn for a passin’ lane The rainwater blowin’ all under my hood I know that I was doin’ my motor good Maybellene Why can’t you be true Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true You’ve started back doin’ the things you used to do
Oh, Maybellene Why can’t you be true Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true You’ve started back doin’ the things you used to do
The motor cooled down the heat went down And that’s when I heard that highway sound The Cadillac a sittin’ like a ton of lead A hundred and ten half a mile ahead The Cadillac lookin’ like it’s sittin’ still And I caught Mabellene at the top of the hill Maybellene Why can’t you be true Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true You’ve started back doin’ the things you used to do
This song peaked at #10 in the Billboard 100 in 1995. This remains Natalie’s highest-charted single thus far. This track from her first album Tigerlily and is what she calls her “New York song,” as it’s written about New York City.
Tigerlily peaked at #13 in 1995 in the Billboard Album Chart.
This is somewhat creepy… This song was played at the funeral of serial killer Aileen Wuornos as part of her final request. She had listened to the song and the entire album Tigerlily continually while on death row. When confronted with this, Natalie was initially shocked but gave permission to use the song in the documentary Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer, saying that “It’s very odd to think of the places my music can go once it leaves my hands. If it gave her some solace, I have to be grateful.” Wuornos was also the subject of the film Monster.
From Songfacts
Merchant grew up in rural Jamestown, New York, which is in the western part of the state south of Buffalo. That’s where she formed 10,000 Maniacs in 1981, a group she was with until 1993 when she left to go solo.
Merchant explained in a VH1 Storytellers appearance: “‘Carnival’ really evokes for me what it’s like to walk down any avenue in the City. I grew up in the country, so the nearest thing I ever experienced to walking down the street in New York before I was 16 and I came here for the first time was a carnival – the Stockton Gala Days actually. I’d never seen people walking down the street eating before – that was a bizarre experience. We in the country sit down to take our meals – that just blew me away.
Something else I’d never seen before were the gentlemen with the two-sided placards that hand out invitations to peep shows, but I never seemed to get one – they always picked the guys around me. It’s an amazing city, but what I love about it even more than places like Los Angeles is that everybody at sometime has to deal with other people. It’s not a car culture here. I like that: people have to rub against each other. I like to take the subway, I like to study people’s faces, try to imagine their stories. In the song, I see the city as a stage, as a spectacle, as a carnival, and as a madhouse, because sometimes it is that, it’s a totally insane place to live. When I was 16 and I visited for the first time, I said, ‘I’m going to live here someday.’ You’ve got to be careful what you wish for because sometimes it comes true.”
Merchant performed this song, along with “Wonder,” on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by David Schwimmer in 1995.
Carnival
Well, I’ve walked these streets A virtual stage, it seemed to me Makeup on their faces Actors took their places next to me
Well, I’ve walked these streets In a carnival, of sights to see All the cheap thrill seekers vendors and the dealers They crowded around me
Have I been blind have I been lost Inside myself and my own mind Hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have seen?
Well, I’ve walked these streets In a spectacle of wealth and poverty In the diamond markets the scarlet welcome carpet That they just rolled out for me
And I’ve walked these streets In the madhouse asylum they can be Where a wild-eyed misfit prophet On a traffic island stopped and he raved of saving me
Have I been blind, have I been lost Inside myself and my own mind Hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have seen
Have I been wrong, have I been wise To shut my eyes and play along Hypnotized, paralyzed by what my eyes have found By what my eyes have seen What they have seen?
Have I been blind Have I been lost Have I been wrong Have I been wise Have I been strong Have I been hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have found In that great street carnival
Have I been blind Have I been lost Have I been wrong Have I been wise Have I been strong Have I been hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have found In that great street carnival
I always liked this song because I could/can relate to it. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. It had its drawbacks but was a great place to grow up.
Mellencamp wrote this about his experiences growing up in the small town of Seymour, Indiana. The media portrayed Mellencamp as the champion of small-town America when the song was released. While he has remained true to his roots and often returns to Seymour, he claims he was simply writing about his life, and not trying to make a statement.
The song is on what I always thought was his best album Scarecrow. Small Town peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100 in 1985. Scarecrow peaked at #2 in the same year in the Billboard Album Chart.
From Songfacts
The music Mellencamp listened to growing up in the ’60s was a huge influence on his work, and he often put bits of classics songs from that era in his tracks. On the bridge of “Small Town,” you can hear the riff from The Supremes song “Back in My Arms Again.”
Mellencamp believes this was a hit because it makes people feel good. He thinks many of his songs don’t do well because they make people confront problems, like the plight of American farmers.
Mellencamp would sometimes add the line “My wife was 13 years old growing up in a small town when I wrote this song,” referring to his wife, the model Elaine Irwin, who is 17 years younger. The couple split up in 2010.
Mellencamp wrote this song after having a number of conversations with folks from New York who seemed to think he – and everyone else from the middle of the country – was a rube. “I wanted to write a song that said, ‘you don’t have to live in New York or Los Angeles to live a full life,'” he told Rolling Stone in 2013. “I was never one of those guys that grew up and thought, ‘I need to get out of here.’ It never dawned on me. I just valued having a family and staying close to friends.”
Small Town
Well I was born in a small town And I live in a small town Probably die in a small town Oh, those small communities
All my friends are so small town My parents live in the same small town My job is so small town Provides little opportunity
Educated in a small town Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town Used to daydream in that small town Another boring romantic that’s me
But I’ve seen it all in a small town Had myself a ball in a small town Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town Now she’s small town just like me
No I cannot forget where it is that I come from I cannot forget the people who love me Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town And people let me be just what I want to be
Got nothing against a big town Still hayseed enough to say Look who’s in the big town But my bed is in a small town Oh, and that’s good enough for me
Well I was born in a small town And I can breathe in a small town Gonna die in this small town And that’s probably where they’ll bury me
This power pop band out of Charlotte, North Carolina sounded as close to Merseybeat music as you could get especially in the 80s. They formed in 1978 and are still together to this day! No need to state who their inspiration was…
They are yet another example that critical success doesn’t always translate to commercial success. This seems to be the fate of many power pop bands which I don’t understand. It makes me respect Tom Petty and the Cars much more than I already did.
The Spongetones have now released 9 LPs / CDs as well as been on a great number of compilations CDs. Plus there are solo CDs. If you’re in the Charlotte area, you’ll find that they are revered as local Rock Heroes
The A.V. Club (an entertainment website) says that “She Goes Out With Everybody” is the best Merseybeat song ever written and recorded by an American band.
She Goes Out With Everybody
She was a middle child of three
Squeezed and pushed from her family
She needed more than they could give
It takes much more than bread to live
She needed more than I could give
She goes out
(To get her fill)
She goes out
(Against her will)
She goes out
(To score a thrill)
She goes out with everybody
She goes out
(The walls have ears)
She goes out
(The walls have eyes)
She goes out
(The walls can tell)
She goes out with everybody
Became a woman at sixteen
To her that is what love means
She just got burned her first time
Bit his hook and she took his line
Think that she will end the next time
She goes out
(To get her fill)
She goes out
(Against her will)
She goes out
(To score a thrill)
She goes out with everybody
She goes out
(The walls have ears)
She goes out
(The walls have eyes)
She goes out
(The walls can tell)
She goes out with everybody
When she calls me
What do I say?
When she calls me
What do I say?
She’s a mother now with two of her own
Even with them she’s still alone
They need her more than she can give
It takes much more than bread to live
She will want more than they can give
This was written by guitarist Doug Hopkins. He had problems with mental health and alcohol abuse and was fired from the band before this was released. He committed suicide on December 5, 1993. This song peaked at #25 in the Billboard 100 in 1994.
Gin Blossoms broke up in early 1997 but reunited in 2002. They still perform to this day but with some personnel changes. The band had a total of 4 songs in the Billboard 100 with 1 top ten hit… Follow You Down/Til I Hear It From You.
From Songfacts
The song is based on a compilation of episodes with several of Hopkins’ girlfriends: “I heard about nights out in the school yard. I found out about you.” – This has a double meaning. He found out about a girlfriend meeting another guy in a schoolyard and it is also where he and another girl swung on the swings and talked finding out about each other. “Street lights blink on through the car window. I get the time too often on A.M. radio.” – The group members hung around together and this particular line refers to a night when the girl from the swings was with Doug and Robin was driving. They were doing a lot of partying and were listening to the radio when the announcer said the time.
Found Out About You
All last summer in case you don’t recall I was your and you were mine forget it all Is there a line that I could write Sad enough to make you cry All the lines you wrote to me were lies The months roll past the love that you struck dead Did you love me? Only in my head. Things you said and did to me Seemed to come so easily The love I thought I’d won you give for free
Whispers at the bus stop Well I heard about nights at the school yard I found out about you
Rumours follow everywhere you go And when you left I was last to know You’re famous now and there’s no doubt In all the places you hang out They know your name and know what you’re about
Whispers at the bus stop I heard about nights out in the school yard I found out about you I found out about you
Street lights blink on through the car window I get the time too often on AM radio You know it’s all I think about I write your name drive past your house Your boyfriend’s over I watch your lights go out
Whispers at the bus stop I heard about nights out in the school yard I found out about you
This is probably the song that a lot of Beatles fans have been waiting for me to do.
This song was on the Photograph Smile album that was released in 1998. Personally, I like this song and Day after Day better than anything in his career. The song didn’t chart in the US but it did receive some airplay.
The video Julian made was a fun parody of the Beatles…as “The Butlers.” Julian did the song in a Beatle style and turned it into a homage to them
Julian Lennon:
This is probably the song that a lot of Beatles fans have been waiting for me to do. People are always asking when am I going to do something more towards the Beatles style. And so I thought, why not? In a sense it’s a homage, but the sentiment and lyrics are serious. It actually came about from walking around in France and there was a shop with an English newspaper. I thought, ‘Oh get the paper, catch up on the rest of the world,’ and then I thought, ‘I don’t wanna know.’ It turned into a relationship song.
I Don’t Wanna Wanna Know
I don’t wanna know what’s going on And I don’t wanna know what’s right or wrong And I don’t wanna know who’s bed you’re in And I don’t wanna know just where you’ve been.
Oh baby, you were never really good for me
Just maybe, you’re a stranger to reality And baby, don’t you know you haven’t got a clue ‘cos lately, I don’t know what to do.
I don’t wanna know what’s going on And I don’t wanna know what’s right or wrong And I don’t wanna know who’s bed you’re in And I don’t wanna know just where you’ve been.
Oh baby, you said you’re changing for the better now Just maybe, you’re not as strong as you thought somehow And baby, you know you’re heading down a one way track And baby, I won’t bring you back.
Well, you said you were looking for a better way But you just keep coming back To a place you can never seem to get away That will always hold you back…
Oh baby, you said you’d rather be a daddy’s girl, But lately, you’re try’n a fight against the whole wide world Just maybe, you’ve found a love that you can hold on to And baby, I pray for you.
I don’t wanna know what’s going on And I don’t wanna know what’s right or wrong And I don’t wanna know who’s bed you’re in And I don’t wanna know just where you’ve been…
It’s not Thanksgiving without listening to this 1967 song. This song did not chart but he did have another version that did chart…it was called Alice’s Rock and Roll Restaurant that peaked at #97 in the Billboard 100.
Many radio stations play this on Thanksgiving. This is usually the only time they play it, since the song is over 18-minutes long.
There have been mixed reviews about the movie that was made…I’ve always found it enjoyable. It’s not going to be confused with Gone With The Wind but it’s a fun period movie.
In 1991, Arlo bought the church where this took place and set up “The Guthrie Center,” where he runs programs for kids who have been abused.
Below the song facts are Alice’s Rock and Roll Restaurant and Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.
Running 18 minutes and 34 seconds, this song is based on a true story that happened on Thanksgiving Day, 1965. Arlo was 18, and along with his friend Rick Robbins, drove to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to have Thanksgiving dinner with Alice and Ray Brock. Alice and Ray lived in a church – the former Trinity Church on Division Street in Stockbridge – and were used to inviting people into their home. Arlo and Rick had been traveling together, Arlo working his way up in folk singing and Rick tagging along. A number of people, Arlo and Rick included, were considered members of the family, so they were not guests in the usual sense. When Ray woke up the next morning, he said to them, “Let’s clean up the church and get all this crap out of here, for God’s sake. This place is a mess,” and Rick said, “Sure.” Arlo and Rick swept up and loaded all the crap into a VW microbus and went out to the dump, which was closed. They started driving around until Arlo remembered a side road in Stockbridge up on Prospect Hill by the Indian Hill Music Camp which he attended one summer, so they drove up there and dumped the garbage.A little later, the phone rang, and it was Stockbridge police chief William J. Obanhein. “I found an envelope with the name Brock on it,” Chief Obanhein said. The truth came out, and soon the boys found themselves in Obanhein’s police car. They went up to Prospect Hill, and Obie took some pictures. On the back, he marked them, “PROSPECT HILL RUBBISH DUMPING FILE UNDER GUTHRIE AND ROBBINS 11/26/65.” He took the kids to jail.The kids went in, pleaded, “Guilty, Your Honor,” was fined $25 each and ordered to retrieve the rubbish. Then they all went back to the church and started to write “Alice’s Restaurant” together. “We were sitting around after dinner and wrote half the song,” Alice recalls, “and the other half, the draft part, Arlo wrote.”
Guthrie, the son of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, greatly exaggerated the part about getting arrested for comic effect. In the song, he is taken away in handcuffs and put in a cell with hardened criminals.
In the song, Guthrie avoids the draft and did not have to serve in Vietnam because of his littering arrest. In reality, he was eligible but wasn’t drafted because his number didn’t come up.
Guthrie performed this song for the first time on July 16, 1967, at the Newport Folk Festival.
This reflected the attitude of many young people in America at the time. It was considered an antiwar song, but unlike most protest songs, it used humor to speak out against authority.
After a while, Guthrie stopped playing this at concerts, claiming he forgot the words. As the song approached its 30th anniversary, he started playing it again.
Guthrie made a movie of the same name in 1969 which was based on the song.
Over the years, Guthrie added different words to the song. He recorded a new, longer version in 1995 at The Guthrie Center
Alice’s Restaurant
This song is called Alice’s Restaurant, and it’s about Alice, and the
Restaurant, but Alice’s Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
That’s just the name of the song, and that’s why I called the song Alice’s
Restaurant.
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on – two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
Restaurant, but Alice doesn’t live in the restaurant, she lives in the
Church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin’ in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
Room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin’ all that room,
Seein’ as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn’t
Have to take out their garbage for a long time.
We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it’d be
A friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
We took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red vw
Microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
On toward the city dump.
Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
Dump saying, “Closed on Thanksgiving.” And we had never heard of a dump
Closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
Into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.
We didn’t find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
Side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
Cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
Is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
Decided to throw our’s down.
That’s what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
Dinner that couldn’t be beat, went to sleep and didn’t get up until the
Next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, “Kid,
We found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
Garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it. ” And
I said, “Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
Under that garbage. ”
After speaking to Obie for about forty-five minutes on the telephone we
Finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
And pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
Police officer’s station. So we got in the red vw microbus with the
Shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
Police officer’s station.
Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
The police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
Being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn’t very likely, and
We didn’t expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
And told us never to be seen driving garbage around the vicinity again,
Which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer’s station
There was a third possibility that we hadn’t even counted upon, and we was
Both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said “Obie, I don’t think I
Can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on. ” He said, “Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car. ”
And that’s what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
Quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
Signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
Being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
Get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
Cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer’s station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
They took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
And arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
One was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
The getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that’s not to
Mention the aerial photography.
After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
Us in the cell. Said, “Kid, I’m going to put you in the cell, I want your
Wallet and your belt. ” And I said, “Obie, I can understand you wanting my
Wallet so I don’t have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
Want my belt for? ” And he said, “Kid, we don’t want any hangings. ” I
Said, “Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?”
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
Toilet seat so I couldn’t hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
Out the toilet paper so I couldn’t bend the bars roll out the – roll the
Toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
Was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It’s a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
Nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
To the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat,
And didn’t get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.
We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
Colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
Of each one, sat down. Man came in said, “All rise.” We all stood up,
And Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
Pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
Sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
Twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
And a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
And arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
’cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
Blind justice, and there wasn’t nothing he could do about it, and the
Judge wasn’t going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
Pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
One explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
We was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but that’s not
What I came to tell you about.
Came to talk about the draft.
They got a building down New York City, it’s called Whitehall Street,
Where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,
Neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one
Day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. ‘Cause I wanted to
Look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted
To feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,
And I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all
Kinds o’ mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave
Me a piece of paper, said, “Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604.”
And I went up there, I said, “Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
Wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
Guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
Kill, kill. ” And I started jumping up and down yelling, “kill, kill, ” and
He started jumping up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
Yelling, “KILL, KILL.” And the Sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
Sent me down the hall, said, “You’re our boy.”
Didn’t feel too good about it.
Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,
Detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin’ to me
At the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four
Hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty
Ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was
Inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no
Part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the
Last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,
And I walked up and said, “What do you want?” He said, “Kid, we only got
One question. Have you ever been arrested? ”
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice’s Restaurant Massacre,
With full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all
The phenome… – and he stopped me right there and said, “Kid, did you ever
Go to court? ”
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten
Colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on
The back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, “Kid, I want
You to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W…. Now kid!! ”
And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W’s
Where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
Committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
Looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
Rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
They was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
Bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
Father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean ‘n’ ugly
‘n’ nasty ‘n’ horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
And said, “Kid, whad’ya get?” I said, “I didn’t get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage. ” He said, “What were you arrested for, kid? ”
And I said, “Littering.” And they all moved away from me on the bench
There, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
Said, “And creating a nuisance.” And they all came back, shook my hand,
And we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
Father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
Bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
Things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
Up and said.
“Kids, this-piece-of-paper’s-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-
Know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-
You-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-
Officer’s-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say”, and talked for
Forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had
Fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,
And I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony and wrote it
Down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the
Pencil and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the
Other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on
The other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the
Following words:
(“KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?”)
I went over to the Sargent, said, “Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
Ask me if I’ve rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I’m
Sittin’ here on the bench, I mean I’m sitting here on the Group W bench
’cause you want to know if I’m moral enough join the army, burn women,
Kids, houses and villages after bein’ a litterbug. ” He looked at me and
Said, “Kid, we don’t like your kind, and we’re gonna send you fingerprints
Off to Washington. ”
And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I’m
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there’s only one thing you can do and that’s walk into
The shrink wherever you are, just walk in say “Shrink, You can get
Anything you want, at Alice’s restaurant. “. And walk out. You know, if
One person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and
They won’t take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
They may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
Singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. They may think it’s an
Organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said
Fifty people a day walking in singing a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and
Walking out. And friends they may think it’s a movement.
And that’s what it is, the Alice’s Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
All you got to do to join is sing it the next time it comes around on the
Guitar.
With feeling. So we’ll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
Sing it when it does. Here it comes.
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I’ve been singing this song now for twenty-five minutes. I could sing it
For another twenty-five minutes. I’m not proud… Or tired.
So we’ll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
Harmony and feeling.
We’re just waitin’ for it to come around is what we’re doing.
All right now.
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Well, this one was a no brainer. This one wraps up this short series. The song was off of the C’mon, C’mon album which peaked at #2 in 2002.
In the music video for the song, Sheryl Crow recreates the car chase scene from McQueen’s movie “Bullitt” and the motorcycle chase from his film “The Great Escape.”
Sheryl won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for this song.
Steve McQueen
Well I went to bed in Memphis And I woke up in Hollywood I got a quarter in my pocket And I’d call you if I could But I don’t know why I gotta fly
I want to rock and roll this party I still want to have some fun I want to leave you feeling breathless Show you how the west was won But I gotta fly I gotta fly
Like Steve McQueen All I need’s a fast machine And I’m gonna make it all right Like Steve McQueen Underneath your radar screen You’ll never catch me tonight
I ain’t takin’ shit off no one Baby that was yesterday I’m an all American rebel Making my big getaway Yeah you know it’s time I gotta fly
Like Steve McQueen All I need’s a fast machine And I’m gonna make it all right Like Steve McQueen Underneath your radar screen You’ll never catch me tonight
Like Steve McQueen Like Steve McQueen
We got rock stars in the White House All our pop stars look like porn All my heroes hit the highway They don’t hang out here no more
You can try me on my cell phone You can page me all night long But you won’t catch this free bird I’ll already be long gone
Like Steve McQueen All we need’s a fast machine And we’re gonna make it all right Like Steve McQueen Underneath your radar screen You’ll never catch us tonight
Like Steve McQueen All we need’s a fast machine And we’re gonna make it all right Like Steve McQueen Underneath your radar screen You’ll never catch me tonight
Hollywood is under me, I’m Martin Sheen, I’m Steve McQueen, I’m Jimmy Dean
This song was Michael Stipe’s goodbye to the 20th Century: “This next song is our little valentine to the 20th century and I’m so personally thrilled to be in the 21st century right now, cos the 20th century offered some really great stuff but it offered some really not great stuff.”
The lyrics were inspired by Michael Stipe’s time living in Los Angeles, and his love of the city’s lights as viewed from up above.
Electrolite peaked at #96 in 1997 in the Billboard 100.
The song also mentions Martin Sheen and Stipe told Sheen about it: “I had a dentist in Los Angeles, who was also a dentist to Martin Sheen, and Martin Sheen was in the dentist’s chair, getting his tooth drilled, when I went up to him and said, ‘We have a record coming out in a couple of weeks and you’re mentioned in one of the songs, and I just want you to know that it’s honoring you; I don’t want you to think that we’re making fun of you.’ And he was saying [impression of Sheen speaking with the dentist working on his mouth] ‘Thank you very much!’. He was very nice about it.”
From Songfacts
When R.E.M. performed this at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, on May 29, 2008, Stipe said: “There’s a funny story about this song. I thought it was not good enough to go on a record, and Peter and Mike convinced me otherwise. They were right, and now it’s one of my favorite songs. The song for me embodies the time I was living in Santa Monica for a couple of years. Every now and then I would go on one of those late night drives when there’s no traffic. We’d climb up into the hills, go up Mulholland and think about the people that have come to this beautiful city.” Stipe was referring to Mulholland Drive, which goes through Santa Monica and Hollywood. Tom Petty sang about the road in his song “Free Fallin’.”
Mike Mills wrote the music for this song on a piano at his then-girlfriend’s apartment in Chicago, he recalled in the liner notes for Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage.
Peter Care and Spike Jonze directed the music video for this at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where Robert Kennedy was killed. “That place was spooky,” Stipe said. The opening scenes are shot upside down as Stipe performs the song among rubber reindeer, while various people are shown tethered to poles, trash cans, and vehicles throughout the city by lengths of chains.
Your eyes are burning holes through me
I’m gasoline
I’m burnin’ clean
Twentieth century, go to sleep
You’re Pleistocene
That is obscene
That is obscene
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You’re outta sight
If I ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
I am alive
Hollywood is under me
I’m Martin Sheen
I’m Steve McQueen
I’m Jimmy Dean
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You’re outta sight
If you ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
Up in the sky
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Don’t be scared, you are alive
You are alive
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You’re outta sight
Twentieth century, go to sleep
Really deep
We won’t blink
Your eyes are burning holes through me
I’m not scared
I’m outta here
I’m not scared
I’m outta here
“Steve walks warily down the street…with the brim pulled way down low. Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet…machine guns ready to go.”
Supposedly Steve McQueen is Steve in the opening lyrics. Steve died the year this was released on November 7, 1980.
You couldn’t go anywhere in 1980 without hearing someone sing, whistle, or hum this song. I remember the high school band did a version of it.
Brian May: “Freddie sung until his throat bled on Another One Bites The Dust. He was so into it. He wanted to make that song something special.”
The song peaked at #1 in 1980 in the Billboard 100. It was on the album The Game…which also peaked at #1 in 1980. While the band and producer Reinhold Mack were mixing the track, Brian May’s roadie suggested it be released as a single; the band didn’t like the idea but were finally talked into doing it when Michael Jackson, after a concert, suggested the same idea.
From Songfacts
This is one of the hardest Queen songs to understand. The opening line reads, “Steve walks warily down the street, his brim pulled way down low. Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet, machine gun ready to go…” Also, the last phrase spoken in the song is not “Shoot Her” or “Shooter,” but “Shoot Out.”
Though probably not intentional unless someone did an excellent splicing job, the “another one bites the dust” line quite clearly says “decide to smoke marijuana” when played backwards. This is especially clear toward the end of the track when Mercury repeats the line with only the drums playing.
Queen bass player John Deacon wrote this song. All four members of Queen wrote songs, and each wrote at least one hit. Deacon also wrote “You’re My Best Friend.”
Deacon was influenced by the Chic song Good Times. In an interview with the New Musical Express, Chic bass player Bernard Edwards said: “Well, that Queen record came about because that bass player spent some time hanging out with us at our studio. But that’s OK. What isn’t OK is that the press started saying that we had ripped them off! Can you believe that? ‘Good Times’ came out more than a year before, but it was inconceivable to these people that black musicians could possibly be innovative like that. It was just these dumb disco guys ripping off this rock ‘n’ roll song.”
Deacon played most of the instruments on the track: lead and rhythm guitars, bass, reversed piano and additional percussion. Brian May did some guitar effects with harmonizer (in the interlude), and Roger Taylor played the drum loop. Surprisingly, there are no synthesizers.
The drum track and the handclaps were looped. They repeat throughout the song.
John Deacon claimed in a 1980 interview that Roger Taylor opposed the song’s drumbeat. This is backed up by the comments of several figures in the Days of our Lives documentary, who noted that Taylor hated having tape put on his drums to deaden the sound.
However, the drummer denied this in an interview with Mojo magazine in October 2008. He insisted: “I’d already had an ineffectual pop at that kind of music with ‘Fun It,’ on the Jazz album. I was never against ‘Another One Bites The Dust,’ but I was against releasing it as a single.”
In 1998, this was used in a commercial for AIWA sound systems. In the ad, a guy drives around with this blaring from his car stereo. At the end of the commercial, we realize he is driving a hearse.
During the production of the movie Rocky III, this was used in a key scene where Rocky is training for a fight. Producers could not get permission to use the song, so Sylvester Stallone hired Survivor to write an original song instead, which turned out to be “Eye Of The Tiger.”
Queen were originally reluctant to release this as a single, but backstage after a Queen gig at the Los Angeles forum, a visiting Michael Jackson convinced them it would be a hit. “Michael and all his brothers were all going, ‘That’s a fantastic track. You must release it,'” recalled Queen drummer Roger Taylor to Q magazine December 2009.
This meeting lead to several recordings and collaborations between Freddie Mercury and Jackson, all of which remain unreleased.
Weird Al Yankovic got his first chart placing with his parody of this song: “Another One Rides The Bus.” It bubbled under on the Hot 100, placing at #104 in 1981. After a few more minor hits, he landed “Eat It” at #12 in 1984.
This was the single that really broke the band in America, and it garnered a huge following amongst American disco audiences, with many fans and journalists convinced it was a black man singing lead vocals (these people obviously hadn’t heard of Queen before so didn’t know what Freddie looked like). The band occasionally were unsure of how to deal with this – Roger Taylor jokes in the Days of our Lives documentary of having fans shouting “you guys are bad!” in the street, and he had to ask “does that mean good or what?”
This was used in a 2016 commercial for the Hyundai Genesis that first aired on the Super Bowl. In the spot, Kevin Hart uses the Car Finder app to track down the guy who is using it to take his daughter on a date. After tormenting her suitor, Hart says, “A dad’s gotta do what a dad’s gotta do.”
Another One Bites The Dust
Oh, let’s go
Steve walks warily down the street With the brim pulled way down low Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet, Machine guns ready to go
Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip To the sound of the beat
Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one gone, and another one gone Another one bites the dust Hey, I’m gonna get you, too Another one bites the dust
How do you think I’m going to get along Without you when you’re gone? You took me for everything that I had And kicked me out on my own
Are you happy, are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip To the sound of the beat
Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one gone, and another one gone Another one bites the dust Hey, I’m gonna get you, too Another one bites the dust
Hey Oh take it Bite the dust Bite the dust Hey Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust oww Another one bites the dust hey hey Another one bites the dust eh eh
Oh shooter There are plenty of ways that you can hurt a man And bring him to the ground You can beat him, you can cheat him You can treat him bad and leave him when he’s down
But I’m ready, yes, I’m ready for you I’m standing on my own two feet Out of the doorway the bullets rip Repeating to the sound of the beat oh yeah
Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one gone, and another one gone Another one bites the dust Hey, I’m gonna get you, too Another one bites the dust
I wanted to think of some theme that would be fun and take us through Thanksgiving. I watched Papillon last week and wondered how many songs reference Steve McQueen…the King of Cool.
Those of you who are sensitive to sexual phrases and words…you should STOPNOW. The song is really GRAPHIC
They mention not only Steve McQueen but also his then-wife Ali McGraw and for good measure…John Wayne also.
It’s catchy but it’s the Stones at their most blatant. The F-Bomb is plentiful in this song.
Atlantic Records who distributed the Stones records were afraid of legal troubles with Steve McQueen. They wanted the Stones to change the lyrics…The Stones would not budge and Ahmet Ertegun said “let’s send a copy to McQueen and if he okays it then the single could be released.” He okayed it and the single was released. What is funny, is why Atlantic would not have insisted that Ali McGraw also okay it, however, no one could hear clearly what was actually said on the record.
To most, it sounds like Jagger speaking to the groupie saying ”yeah I’m really not mad with you for” Jagger did not clarify the matter and it slid past. Same with the John Wayne line. Most think that it says “your man” However when one listens to the live bootlegs, the line is clearly Ali McGraw as well as John Wayne. Steve was amused by the song.
A drummer I played with a band in high school wanted to play this song in a fall talent show at school. He said it would really “shake them up”…uh…yea it would have shaken us out of school for 5 days at least. Cooler heads prevailed and we played Jumping Jack Flash instead.
From Songfacts
This song is about groupies. Songwriters often write about subjects they’re familiar with, and Mick Jagger was an expert in this area.
Originally, this was called “Starf–ker,” which is slang for a groupie. Atlantic Records made them change it, eliminating “f–k” from the title, although the band always refers to it by the original title.
Feminist groups were outraged at the negative portrayal of women. Mick Jagger did not apologize, saying he was just describing what he saw.
This contains the lyric, “She’ll get John Wayne before he dies,” but John Wayne refused permission to use his name. Engineer Andy Johns put some echo over the lyric and convinced the record company that it was unrecognizable, which it wasn’t. When Goats Head Soup came out on CD, the lyric was not distorted.
The Stones blew up a giant, inflatable penis when they performed this on their 1975 tour.
This was banned by the BBC.
In contrast to John Wayne, Steve McQueen was reportedly amused by the reference to him in the lyric. In addition to the John Wayne lyric, references to ‘keeping her pu**y clean’ was also distorted at the original release and subsequently restored in later issues (US only..in Europe they came through unscathed).
During The Stones 1975 tour, Mick Jagger said: “People always give me this bit about us being a macho band, and I always ask them to give me examples. “Under My Thumb”… Yes, but they always say Starf–ker, and that just happened to be about someone I knew. There’s really no reason to have women on tour unless they’ve got a job to do. The only other reason is to f–k. Otherwise, they get bored, they just sit around and moan. It would be different if they did everything for you, like answer the phones, make breakfast, look after your clothes and your packing, see if the car was ready, and f–k. Sort of a combination of what (road manager) Alan Dunn does and a beautiful chick.”
Star Star
Baby, baby, I’ve been so sad since you’ve been gone Way back to New York City Where you do belong Honey, I missed your two tongue kisses Legs wrapped around me tight If I ever get back to Fun City, girl I’m gonna make you scream all night
Honey, honey, call me on the telephone I know you’re movin’ out to Hollywood With your can of tasty foam All those beat up friends of mine Got to get you in their books And lead guitars and movie stars Get their toes beneath your hook
Yeah, you’re a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star Yeah, a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star Star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star
Yeah, I heard about you Polaroid’s Now that’s what I call obscene Your tricks with fruit was kind a cute I bet you keep your p**** clean Honey, I miss your two tone kisses Legs wrapped around me tight If I ever get back to New York, girl Gonna make you scream all night
Yeah, you’re a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star Yeah, a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star Star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker star Yes you are, yes you are, yes you are
Yeah, Ali McGraw got mad with you For givin’ h**d to Steve McQueen Yeah, you and me we made a pretty pair Fallin’ through the silver screen Honey, I’m open to anythin’ I don’t know where to draw the line Yeah, I’m makin’ bets that you gonna get John Wayne before he dies
Yeah, you’re a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star Yeah, a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star A star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star
Yeah you are, a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star A star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star A star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star
Yeah, a star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star Star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker Star f**ker, star f**ker, star f**ker, star, yes you are, yes you are
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