At the time Rafferty wrote the song, he was travelling regularly between London and Glasgow. As such, he didn't get to spend as much time with his family as he would have liked, especially his daughter Martha. In fact, the name of the song is a shortening of Martha (Mattie) and a style of traditional folk song (a rag). Martha was 9 when the song was written.
The lyrics describe Rafferty's joy at seeing his beloved daughter again after a long period of absence. The "magic thing" that he describes is the song itself. "Just wind him up and he'll start to sing" means that she will be able to listen to the song any time she likes. The city described in the song is London. Rafferty was unsure of himself there, but when he got back home to Glasgow and his family, he felt safe and relaxed, hence the lyric "you make me see the light".
The last verse of the song talks about how his love for his daughter is in the song, "so come on Mattie listen to this sound" means that he is expressing his love for her. "When you grow up we'll sit and talk of how things used to be" is him planning on lamenting those bygone days when Martha has grown up and Rafferty is "a grand old man of rock with all these memories". Unfortunately, as history has shown, he never got to fulfill the last part of the song.
At the time Rafferty wrote the song, he was travelling regularly between London and Glasgow. As such, he didn't get to spend as much time with his family as he would have liked, especially his daughter Martha. In fact, the name of the song is a shortening of Martha (Mattie) and a style of traditional folk song (a rag). Martha was 9 when the song was written.
The lyrics describe Rafferty's joy at seeing his beloved daughter again after a long period of absence. The "magic thing" that he describes is the song itself. "Just wind him up and he'll start to sing" means that she will be able to listen to the song any time she likes. The city described in the song is London. Rafferty was unsure of himself there, but when he got back home to Glasgow and his family, he felt safe and relaxed, hence the lyric "you make me see the light".
The last verse of the song talks about how his love for his daughter is in the song, "so come on Mattie listen to this sound" means that he is expressing his love for her. "When you grow up we'll sit and talk of how things used to be" is him planning on lamenting those bygone days when Martha has grown up and Rafferty is "a grand old man of rock with all these memories". Unfortunately, as history has shown, he never got to fulfill the last part of the song.