The song is aabout a late-night talk show host/DJ. (It brings to mind the late Ray Taliaferro, who ran an all-night talk show in San Francisco for over 30 years. He would also occasionally play jazz music on his show.)
"Won't you turn your radio down" - having the radio on while calling a talk show can cause feedback and confuse both the caller and the host.
"Respect the seven second delay we use" - the program is sent through system that delays the sound by seven minutes before it goes over the air. Profanity or other inappropriate material can be deleted before it is aired.
"a race of men in the trees / You're for tough legislation" - example of the types of calls that late-night talk shows sometimes get.
"a race of men in the trees " could also have a more sinister meaning: lynching of African Americans in the southern US, which was known to take place as late as the 1950s.
"Thanks for calling / I wait all night / For calls like these" - sung with a sarcastic tone, he's not really enthusiastic about these callers/subjects.
"But I feel like crying / I wish I had a heart like ice" - What, all's not going well here in radioland? More on this later in the song.
"Patton's Kiss And Tell" - ad for a cosmetics project, face cream most likely. The ad is but a temporary distraction; the singer will tell us more about why he is unhappy shortly.
"You'd never believe it
But once there was a time
When love was in my life
I sometimes wonder
What happened to that flame
The answer's still the same
It was you, it was you
Tonight you're still on my mind"
Once upon a time, the singer was in a nice relationship. It broke up, probably due to the stresses of being in the radio business (late nights, odd hours, perhaps having to move from town to town to find work)
The song is aabout a late-night talk show host/DJ. (It brings to mind the late Ray Taliaferro, who ran an all-night talk show in San Francisco for over 30 years. He would also occasionally play jazz music on his show.)
"Won't you turn your radio down" - having the radio on while calling a talk show can cause feedback and confuse both the caller and the host.
"Respect the seven second delay we use" - the program is sent through system that delays the sound by seven minutes before it goes over the air. Profanity or other inappropriate material can be deleted before it is aired.
"a race of men in the trees / You're for tough legislation" - example of the types of calls that late-night talk shows sometimes get.
"a race of men in the trees " could also have a more sinister meaning: lynching of African Americans in the southern US, which was known to take place as late as the 1950s.
"Thanks for calling / I wait all night / For calls like these" - sung with a sarcastic tone, he's not really enthusiastic about these callers/subjects.
"But I feel like crying / I wish I had a heart like ice" - What, all's not going well here in radioland? More on this later in the song.
"Patton's Kiss And Tell" - ad for a cosmetics project, face cream most likely. The ad is but a temporary distraction; the singer will tell us more about why he is unhappy shortly.
"You'd never believe it But once there was a time When love was in my life I sometimes wonder What happened to that flame The answer's still the same It was you, it was you Tonight you're still on my mind"
Once upon a time, the singer was in a nice relationship. It broke up, probably due to the stresses of being in the radio business (late nights, odd hours, perhaps having to move from town to town to find work)
"You" refers to the host's audience.