What does the song "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" mean?

[KitchenWitch]

[Taverner]

1. From what I can tell

Pure stream of conciousness stuff...

But I may be wrong...Supposedly Stairway is about hobbits but I always thought it was SoC too...

[KitchenWitch]

2. that makes sense

Because the damn song doesn't. :evilgrin:

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. Dunno. I just like the

sex sax.

(Sorry, Skinner. Some things are just too good to resist.) :evilgrin:

[yankeeinlouisiana]

4. Male prostitution?

:shrug:

I was really never sure, but I've always liked that song.

[Undercover Owl]

7. I think so too. nt

[maveric]

5. Lets check it out.

ARTIST: Traffic
TITLE: Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

If you see something that looks like a star
And it's shooting up out of the ground
And your head is spinning from a loud guitar
And you just can't escape from the sound
Don't worry too much, it'll happen to you
We were children once, playing with toys

And the thing that you're hearing is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys

{Refrain}
The percentage you're paying is too high-priced
While you're living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he's made on your dreams
But today you just read that the man was shot dead
By a gun that didn't make any noise
But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest
Was the low spark of high-heeled boys

If you had just a minute to breathe
And they granted you one final wish
Would you ask for something like another chance
Or something similar as this
Don't worry too much, it'll happen to you
As sure as your sorrows or joys

And the thing that disturbs you is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys

{Refrain}

High-heeled boys

If I gave you everything that I owned
And asked for nothing in return
Would you do the same for me as I would for you
Or take me for a ride
And strip me of everything, including my pride
But spirit is something that no one destroys

And the sound that I'm hearing is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys
Heeled boys

[Elidor]

6. It means "the rent is fuckin' due & I can't think of any lyrics"

[KitchenWitch]

8. ROFLMFAO!!!!!!

[amerikat]

9. perhaps a commentary on the state of the band at the time.

Traffic was a great band......low spark was one of the worst songs they ever did. And their attempt at the bigtime? It was the only song they did that still gets air-time on classic rock radio. Such a shame. They had so many other songs I would rather hear.

[Thor_MN]

10. I think it's Moroccan for "I've got my spine, I've got my Orange Crush."

[givemebackmycountry]

11. I remember the first time I heard this song

In a ramshackle house in upstate New York high as a kite on chocolate mescaline.

When I first heard that sax solo, I thought I heard the voice of God.

But not yet, because the NEXT ALBUM the guy who owned the house (and had the chocolate mescaline...people were so generous back in the day) played was "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis.

It changed my musical tastes for the rest of my life.

Like Bill Hicks said...

If you think drugs are bad, take a look at your album collection because THESE guys were freakin' stoned out of their minds.

And thank GOD for that!

[tonekat]

15. I had a debate about that sax solo...

with a Berklee grad who claimed it was a synthesizer because it was so articulate. I thought it was a sax with a pickup run though some effect. That was in upstate NY too....I think they're still doing the chocolate mesc up there.

[Pithlet]

12. It means

Interminable song with two piano chordes droaning on and on, until you finally pull yourself out of your coma and change the radio dial.

[Bat Boy]

13. I always thought it was about the rise of glam rock.

And I'm sticking with that...

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

14. I always thought it was commentary on the music industry

Rockers bitching cuz they signed a bad contract and the label execs were making more money off their music than they were.

[Bossy Monkey]

16. When somebody asked this 2 months ago, all I could find out

was that Jim Capaldi and Michael J. Pollard were partying in Morocco when the latter came up with the phrase. Here 'tis:
Jim Capaldi started writing this in Morocco, where he was getting ready for a movie with actor Michael J. Pollard that never got made. Said Capaldi: "Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark,' for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level." (thanks, Adam - Lake Forest, IL)

found here, but alas there are no further details there:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=3226