Miscellaneous 70s Song Facts
Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle ...
Stanza: Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
Song: City of New Orleans
Artist: Arlo Guthrie
Year: 1972, Chart: 18
Theme: Steve Goodman wrote the lyrics on a pad after his wife fell asleep on the Illinois Central train. He wrote about what he saw looking out the windows and playing cards in the club car.

It's not in the way that you hold me
It's not in the way you say you care
It's not in the way you've been treating my friends ...
Stanza: It's not in the way that you stayed till the end
Song: Hold the Line
Artist: Toto
Year: 1978, Chart: 5
Theme: It was written by their keyboard man David Paich, and it deals with the mysteries of love.
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out ...
Stanza: Pulling kids out the ground
Song: Smoke on the Water
Artist: Deep Purple
Year: 1972, Chart: 4
Theme: About a fire in the Casino at Montreux, Switzerland. The band was going to record there after a Frank Zappa concert, but someone fired a flare gun at the ceiling which set the place on fire.


When she gets lonely and the longing gets too much
...
Stanza: She sends a cable comin' in from above
Song: Radar Love
Artist: Golden Earring
Year: 1973, Chart: 13
Theme: Before cell phones there was no way to communicate to a driver - unless you had a certain telepathic love that could convey from a distance, something you might call - Radar Love.

I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing
'Til they got a hold of me.
I opened doors for little old ladies ...
Stanza: I helped the blind to see.
Song: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Artist: Alice Cooper
Year: 1973, Chart: 25
Theme: Cooper wrote this about the reaction of friends and family toward his on stage persona. The maniac he plays on stage goes over well with his audiences, but the folks in his mother's church groups were unsure how to handle it and were uncomfortable talking about it.

To avoid complications
She never kept the same address
In conversation  ...
Stanza: She spoke just like a baroness
Song: Killer Queen
Artist: Queen
Year: 1974, Chart: 12
Theme: Freddie Mercury says "It's about a high class call girl. I'm trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their interpretation upon it - to read into it what they like."
 

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide ...
Stanza: No escape from reality
Song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Artist: Queen
Year: 1975, Chart: 9
Theme: Mercury's parents were involved in Zoroastrianism, and the Arabic lyrics do have a meaning in that religion. Mercury claims the lyrics are nothing more than "Random rhyming nonsense".

To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine ...
Stanza: Open doors would soon be shut
Song: Solsbury Hill
Artist: Peter Gabriel
Year: 1977, Chart: 68
Theme: Gabriel wrote this about his break with Genesis and anticipation of his new challenge as a solo artist. He was inspired after seeing a Bruce Springsteen concert.


Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose ...
Stanza: Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free
Song: Me and Bobby McGee
Artist: Janis Joplin
Year: 1971, Chart: 1
Theme: Written by Kristoferson (he and Joplin had a brief affair), tells the story of 2 young lovers who travel together, but break up so they can discover the world on their own, a lot like Joplin, who was known as a free spirit.

I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda ...
Stanza: My favorite flavor, cherry red
Song: Can't Always Get What You Want
Artist: Rolling Stones
Year: 1970, Chart: 42
Theme: Mick Jagger visited a  drugstore during their 1st US tour in Excelsior, MN in 1964 to get a Cherry Coke. They didn't have cherry cokes and Jimmy Hutmaker ("Mr. Jimmy"), standing in line behind Jagger, commented, "Well, you can't always get what you want."


I have a friend I've never seen ...

Stanza: he hides his head inside a dream
Song: Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Artist: Neil Young
Year: 1970, Chart: 33
Theme: It was rumored that this was about Steven Stills, but Young later admitted it was about one of his other band mates, Graham Nash.


Once I rose above the noise and confusion ...
Stanza: Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
Song: Carry On Wayward Son
Artist: Kansas
Year: 1976, Chart: 11
Theme: Kansas guitarist, Kerry Livgren, wrote the song and says it's not meant to express anything specifically religious, though it certainly expresses spiritual searching and other ideas.

Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
...
Stanza: An actor out on loan
Song: Riders on the Storm
Artist: The Doors
Year: 1971, Chart: 14
Theme: An autobiographical account of Morrison's life: he considered himself a "Rider on the storm." "Killer on the road" is a reference to a screenplay he wrote where he was going to play the part of a hitchhiker who goes on a murder spree.


I'll walk down the mall, stand over by the wall,
where i can see it all ...
Stanza: find out who ya call
Song: One Way Or Another
Artist: Blondie
Year: 1978, Chart: 24
Theme: This is about a stalker. The lyrics are very dark and go into detail about a guy with evil intentions, but the music is very light and catchy, which masked the meaning of the song.

I really learned a lot, really learned a lot
Love is like a flame ...
Stanza: it burns you when it's hot
Song: Love Hurts
Artist: Nazareth
Year: 1976, Chart: 8
Theme: (how did band get its name?) Nazareth got its name from the first line of the Band's "The Weight" - "I pulled into Nazareth...". Song was originally recorded by the Everly Brothers


Go walk out the door
Just turn around now  ...
Stanza: 'cause you're not welcome anymore
Song: I Will Survive
Artist: Gloria Gaynor
Year: 1979, Chart: 1
Theme: This is a female-empowerment anthem. It is about moving on after a bad relationship. It has taken on meaning for people who have overcome just about any difficult situation.


Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up, Shacking up  ...
Stanza: is all you wanna do
Song: Go Your Own Way
Artist: Feetwood Mac
Year: 1977, Chart: 10
Theme: Lindsey Buckingham wrote this as a message to Stevie Nicks, describing their breakup. Stevie insisted she never "shacked up" with anyone when they were going out, and wanted Lindsey to take out the line. He refused.

And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start ...
Stanza: To mold a new reality ...
Song: Closer to the Heart
Artist: Rush
Year: 1977, Chart: 69
Theme: This is about people who run governments, and how they should be responsible for initiating harmony among themselves, just as blue collar workers do.

Love lost, such a cost,
give me things that don't get lost
like a coin that won't get tossed ...
Stanza: rollin' home to you
Song: Old Man
Artist: Neil Young
Year: 1972, Chart: 31
Theme: Young wrote this about the caretaker of the ranch he bought in 1970. The songs compares a young man's life to an old man's and shows that the old man was once like this young man.



When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons ...
Stanza: Now I got that feeling once again
Song: Comfortably Numb
Artist: Pink Floyd
Year: 1979, Chart: ??
Theme: While many people thought the song is about drugs, Waters claims it is not. It's about what he felt like as a child when he was sick with a fever. As an adult, he got the feeling again sometimes, entering a state of delirium, where he felt detached from reality.