I Got A Line On You

MemoryI remember buying Spirit (the album) back in the late 60s - and I remember buying it again and again in every medium available - vinyl, 8-track, cassette and CD - these guys don't get old. There are other exceptional songs on the album - Topanga Canyon, Uncle Jack, Dark Eyed Woman and Fresh Garbage come to mind.

If you have (or find) the album, read the liner notes about the group - they are very interesting guys, with remarkable music backgrounds which helped them become one of the really pre-eminent early rock/jazz fusion groups (and to my mind, still one of the best).

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Song MeaningSo, what does "I got a line on you" mean, in the context of this song?

Literally, it means "I have received useful information on you (which I will now use)," which is anything but romantic!

Having a line on a woman, for instance, might mean that someone told you her favorite group was the Kinks, with the idea being that you could claim the same thing and impress her with a (nonexistent) bond. That's a standard ploy in bad romantic comedies!

So Randy California is sitting here with a phrase that would make a great hook for a single, but it sounds more sleazy and stalker-ish than loving.How do you fix that?

By going down to a river bed.

Now the line has a double meaning. If he's got a literal line on her near the water, she cannot drown, and they cannot be separated. So it means "I will always be there, and will protect you."

And now the "I have information about you" simply means "I get you, I understand you." It's not a phony line, it's a real one, and it's a lifeline, too.

Now, *that* would go to your sweetheart's head!

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General CommentI got a line on you babe

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General CommentI remember back in the 60's when my older brother brought this album home from the store... "Spirit: The Family that Plays Together". And this track "I Got A Line On You" was the opening number... ah, yes... I remember jumping around the livingroom to this very spirited, upbeat sound wave many times. I remember thinking they were like a cross between the Beach Boys and the Beatles.

The weird thing is, I've heard this track again being played in the background very recently... once in an episode of "Two and Half Men", and the other time in a bar scene near the beginning of the movie "21".

True talent never dies...

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General CommentWhat a great memory, finding and downloading this song and dancing around like an idiot! Had to play it for my husband who hadn't ever heard it before...too bad I never seem to hear it on the radio (on an oldies or classic rock station).

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Song FactThis is much harder-rocking and less jazzy than most Spirit songs. There's a story behind that, I think.

Randy California started his music career at age 15 as the second guitarist in Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. The first guitarist, "Jimmy Hames," was Jimi Hendrix. It was Hendrix who named Randy Wolfe "California" to distinguish him from the Randy in the group who was from Texas. Hendrix asked Randy to come with him to England and be the second guitarist in the Experience, but Randy's Mom would not let him drop out of high school.

Listen to this song again and imagine Hendrix on the second vocal and on a second guitar. It makes you wonder whether this song was inspired musically by some "what if" speculation of Randy's.

There's an alternate reality where Spirit accepted the invite to play Woodstock, and the film features their version of this, with Hendrix sitting In (he and Randy remained friends, and the plan was for them to go on before him). Of course, in that reality, this is the 30th comment on this song -- and none of the others need to explain how phenomenally great Spirit was!

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