Favorite Steve Miller Band Song:

[Beware the Beast Man]

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. The WIndow is my favorite

[Dr.Phool]

2. Let the eagle soar

Ooops, wrong eagle song.

[babylonsister]

3. Space Cowboy!

[noonwitch]

9. I like the Homer Simpson version of that one best.

I think it's on the epidsode of his and Marge's class reunion.

[DBoon]

4. Overdrive

Everything after that is part of the massive sucking sound that is 1970's rock and roll

[Beware the Beast Man]

5. I love the jangly guitar on "Take the Money and Run"

[Phillycat]

11. And the hand clapping!

[Squeech]

6. Yuck!

Once upon a time, Steve Miller was not a joke.

Back in the '60s, he made several albums that were quite good: Your Saving Grace, Sailor, Brave New World, etc.-- songs like "Living in the USA," which is as timely as ever; "My Dark Hour," a rocker with an uncredited Paul McCartney on bass and drums(!); psychedelic anthems like "Space Cowboy;" tripped out blues excursions like "The Beauty of Time is that it's Snowing"...

Most of the good stuff is collected on a CD called Anthology.

[BeyondThePale]

7. Livin' in the USA

[On the Road]

8. I Like Steve Miller,

but of all his songs, "Take the Money and Run" is the absolute worst. Amateurish lyrics, unoriginal music, strangely smug while being crassly materialistic and amoral. Absolutely no redeeming qualities.

Can't believe the same person wrote "Your Saving Grace" (which I would have voted for if it had been listed.)

Winter's people watching
As I sail from season's four
To join some crazy ladies
In a game upon the shore
None of them with broken wings
But still refuse to fly
So with sweetness on my lips
I smile a last goodbye

And now I spend my life
On the velvet side of hell
Aimlessly here searching
For what I cannot tell
The quietness is terrible
It's more than I can stand
But thousands now stand cheering
As my blood flows in the sand


You're not the child
You thought you were
You wake up in the night
And know you're blind
And yet they keep on pushing
Trying the insides of your mind
Forever, forever arresting to control
Until the emptiness of heaven welcomes your weary soul

Rise up with the new dawn's early morning
Feel the sunshine warm upon your face
Tomorrow's come a long, long way to help you
Yes, it's your saving grace...

[Guaranteed]

10. Oh please God NO! nt

[DelawareValleyDem]

12. Sacrifice

from Book of Dreams

[Phillycat]

13. Do people understand that there is NOT a song called Space Cowboy?

That is "The Joker". If what you're calling Space Cowboy is your favorite Steve Miller song, you should vote for "The Joker".

[Beware the Beast Man]

14. Touche. There IS a song called "Space Cowboy."

It predates the Joker by a few years.

[Phillycat]

17. Ah. But still. I'm willing to bet they're talking about the Pompatus song.

Don't you think? :)

[DelawareValleyDem]

16. Actually, they had

a song called Space Cowboy released well befor The Joker



I told you 'bout living in the U.S. of A.
Don't you know that I'm a gangster of love
Let me tell you people that I found a new way
And I'm tired of all this talk about love
And the same old story with a new set of words
About the good and the bad and the poor
And the times keep on changin'
So I'm keepin' on top
Of every fat cat who walks through my door

I'm a space cowboy
Bet you weren't ready for that
I'm a space cowboy
I'm sure you know where it's at
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I was born on this rock
And I've been travelin' through space
Since the moment I first realized
What all you fast talkin' cats would do if you could
You know, I'm ready for the final surprise
There ain't no way around it
Ain't nothing to say
That's gonna satisfy my soul deep inside
All the prayers and surveyors
Keep the whole place uptight
While it keeps on gettin' darker outside

I'm a space cowboy
Bet you weren't ready for that
I'm a space cowboy
I'm sure you know where it's at
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I see the show downs, slow downs, lost and found, turn arounds
The boys in the military shirts
I keep my eyes on the prize, on the long fallen skies
And I don't let my friends get hurt
All you back room schemers, small trip dreamers
Better find something new to say
Cause you're the same old story
It's the same old crime
And you got some heavy dues to pay

I'm a space cowboy
Bet you weren't ready for that
I'm a space cowboy
I'm sure you know where it's at
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Phillycat]

18. See above.

[Squeech]

19. I'm the one who mentioned it

and I specifically intended the song DelawareValleyDem listed.

This is the real shame about selling out. You do good work, and it's forgotten in the torrent of schlock.

Steve Miller was never a major talent in the league of a Clapton or Hendrix, but in the '60s he was a determined popularizer of Chicago blues amongst the San Francisco hippie community, and he made some very enjoyable records. He deserves better than to be associated forever more with the Postal Service.

The "pompatus" thing actually derives from an old blues record, and nobody now living knows what it meant then either. There's some speculation that it was an honorary title from New Orleans Mardi Gras parades. Or maybe it was sexual slang.

[Phillycat]

20. I was referring more to babylonsister and noonwitch's posts.

:)

[GregD]

15. Want a bit of trivia?

The lyrics for Jet Airliner were written by Paul Pena, a blind man that lives in San Francisco. More recently, he wrote Genghis Blues which became the subject of a fascinating documentary http://www.genghisblues.com/.



The CD is here: http://www.scs-intl.com/trader/frameload.htm?/trader/GBstore.htm

In his early years, Paul played on the streets and dimly lit clubs of San Francisco with his (and my) friend Big Bones.






Bones has a couple CDs available for sale at http://www.bigbonesblues.com/order.htm. One is a compilation of cuts which he did with Paul, and the other was recorded a couple years ago in Europe. There are sample tracks online, and both are well worth having in your collection.

[regularguy]

21. More Triva:

"Space Cowboy" was actually written by pianist Ben Sidran.