This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
You say it was this morning when you last saw your good friend
Lyin' on the pavement with a misery on his brain
Stoned on some new potion he found upon the wall
Of some unholy bathroom in some ungodly hall
He only had a dollar to live on 'til next Monday
But he spent it on some comfort for his mind
Did you say you think he's blind?
Someone should call his parents, a sister or a brother
And they'll come to take him back home on a bus
But he'll always be a problem to his poor and puzzled mother
Yeah he'll always be another one of us
He said he wanted Heaven but prayin' was too slow
So he bought a one way ticket on an airline made of snow
Did you say you saw your good friend flyin' low?
Flyin' low
Dyin' slow
Lyin' on the pavement with a misery on his brain
Stoned on some new potion he found upon the wall
Of some unholy bathroom in some ungodly hall
He only had a dollar to live on 'til next Monday
But he spent it on some comfort for his mind
Did you say you think he's blind?
Someone should call his parents, a sister or a brother
And they'll come to take him back home on a bus
But he'll always be a problem to his poor and puzzled mother
Yeah he'll always be another one of us
He said he wanted Heaven but prayin' was too slow
So he bought a one way ticket on an airline made of snow
Did you say you saw your good friend flyin' low?
Flyin' low
Dyin' slow
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
steppenwolf didnot write this song.hoyt axton wrote this and "the pusher"
Great song. My favorite Steppenwolf song. Reminds me of the friends I've lost to hard drugs.
I feel your pain Gimpy Jim. I too have lost good friends to hard drugs, and I have others that are heading toward that path. It's depressing what this world has come to. People should learn to have fun without getting drunk or high. My current group of friends and I are 16 and we have all had some exposure to either drugs or alcohol. But luckily we have all learned from our errors or the mistakes of others. I am happy to say that none of us drink or smoke and probably won't do any more ever again.
@classicRokker Quitting is for losers. Man up, get a fat sack of yayo, and Fly High!
Steppenwolf writes too many songs about drugs.
"But he'll always be a problem to his poor and puzzled mother And he'll always be another one of us"
This is the really telling part of the song. Hes saying that even "saving" someone from this situation probably isnt going to accomplish anything. This song isn't simply about losing your friend to drugs. Its about a society that doesn't have room for people like "us". And when your own family doesn't even know what to do with you, what can you do? The singer asks you if you think the guy is crazy, but asks what you would do. There is alot of empathy here. Oh yeah, and I think its about speedballing.
I was tring to find out why Hoyt wrote this song. At frist I thought, "Snowblind," was a reference to cocaine. However, the lyrics suggest otherwise. "Flyin low, Die'n Slow" Would suggest heroin, therefore, "Snowblind," must be a reference to, "China White," a type of heroin known for it's color. Mexican heroin is brown and less potent. "Snow," a.k.a. cocaine, is an uplifting, euphoric type of high and wouldn't leave you, "Lyin on the pavement." But does anyone know why he wrote it? Was it because of a personal experince?
@AquaMan6960 His mother was a heroin addict. She was selling pu**y when she got pregnant with him, so one would think he might be thankful for the drug, but noooo.... Some people you just can't please.
It means do MORE blow, because if you fly low, you'll die slow. Fly high my friends, be all that you can be, don't run out of cocaine.