Lookin' Out For #1

The song is brilliant, as are the lyrics. In fact, it's one of the best Rock songs ever written. Randy Bachman wrote a Blues, played w/ a Jazz feel & Jazzy fills, to create a sensation of thoughtfulness...the music literally encourages the listener to contemplate the lyrics... The lyrics expressed the concept of DUALITY in the face of dog-eat-dog capitalism and the school of hard knocks (Rock and Roll). Learned the hard way through his days in the Guess Who & BTO, Bachman experienced a music industry filled with Lies, Betrayal, Cut-throat contracts, Pressure, Fickleness, Sex, Drugs...Bachman had seen it all and tried to find Balance and Harmony in his life, including leaving the Guess Who at their peak, marrying a Mormon girl and converting to the religion, only to find that it was as big a scam as everything else in society! The Duality in the lyrics (and hence their brilliance) lay between what one defined as SUCCESS. Fame, Fortune? This was one definition and hence to achieve it you had to look out for #1 by being cut-throat and ruthless. But there's another definition, and that is the ultimate one...Peace and Happiness...to reach this state of mind also required looking out for #1, but not by being ruthless, rather by STICKING TO YOUR IDEALS every step of the way ("success is a ladder take a step at a time"). Being a principled person doesn't mean taking advantage of others, rather, it means not letting others take advantage of you...and in that way "looking out for #1" works not only for the self, but for society...hence his lyrics at the end of the song... "Is looking out for number one I mean you Keep looking out for number one And that's us Keep looking out for number one That's me I'm looking out for number one" "You...us...me" we all win by looking out for #1 b/c we remove a world of VICTIMS and replace it with a world of Happiness...and how do victims respond to one another? Distrust, Separation, Suspicion & Doubt. How do Happy people interact? Trust, Connection, Friendship & Generosity. Thus, Life is only ever a choice in every moment between Love and Fear. Capitalism is a system of Inequality, thus Fear. So when we value things like Fame and Fortune (illusory & temporary) we encourage a world of DIVISION. However, when we learn to value Peace and Happiness over Greed (Love over Gold), we encourage a world of Connection. We begin to see ourselves as ONE species, together, on this beautiful planet, instead of apart. And this world will come to know Peace and Individual expression, instead of war and conformity to the norm!

Haha, such a calm song... My friend always got annoyed when I played it =P

I think the lyrics are sarcastic. It's hard to imagine that a rock band in that anti-establishment era would promote selfishness and working "for our fortune and fame." The guitars and percussion are beautiful. BTO's best song imo.

I love BTO, but I don't really like this song. It's beautiful musically, but the lyrics are horrible...