Traffic reached a much wider audience when, on the dissolution of Cream, two thirds of that band, one third being Eric Clapton, joined Steve Winwood (during a temporary Traffic disbanding) to form Blind Faith, which also included future Traffic member and sometime Family man, Ric Grech.
In 1970, after the disbanding of Blind Faith, Winwood set about recording a solo album. After Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi became involved, the decision was taken to release this album (eventually what would become John Barleycorn Must Die) under the Traffic name, despite the absence of Dave Mason.
Around 1971, Mason left for good (having been in and out of the band from the beginning), and the the band experienced a variety of personnel changes. The resulting band added some jazzy elements to their style, pioneering the jazz-rock genre, and the compositions tended to stretch out over longer lengths. With their albums The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971) and Shootout at the Fantasy Factory (1973) their popularity in the US grew. After two more albums, personnel problems resulted in the band calling it quits (but for a brief reunion in 1994 without Wood, who had died in 1983). Winwood, Mason, Capaldi, and Wood all pursued solo careers, with Winwood garnering the most success.
There are/were other artists with the same name:
*2) Traffic is also a pop-rock band from Estonia.
3) Traffic is an upcoming rapper from Los Angeles.
2) The Estonian poprock band Traffic came together in 2006 and consists of five members: Silver Laas - Vocals, Stig Rästa - Guitars, Robert Vaigla - Guitars, Tõnis Kivisild - Bass, Ivo Priilinn - Drums. The band has been to Eesti Laul several times, trying to get to the semi-finals of Eurovision. In 2009 they ended up in the 2nd place, in 2014 in the 3rd place.
Traffic has two studio albums. Some of their most popular singles are "Für Elise", "See Päev", "Kesköödisko", "Päevast Päeva", "Elekter" and "Meie laul".
3) Darrail Cail, better known as Traffic, is a rapper from Los Angeles, CA. He first received major mainstream attention in the music industry when he was featured on “Tookie Knows II” from ScHoolboy Q’s fourth LP Blank Face. He is one of Schoolboy’s childhood friends.
4) The Spectes, a band that eventually became Status Quo discovered psychedelia in 1967 and named themselves Traffic, but were soon forced to change it to Traffic Jam to avoid confusion with Steve Winwood's Traffic, following an argument over who had registered the name first. Shortly after Rick Parfitt's recruitment, in August 1967, the band officially became The Status Quo
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Traffic Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years
Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years, hee think about it
The song "Dear Mr. Fantasy" by Traffic is a plea for relief from the mundane aspects of life. The singer asks Mr. Fantasy to "play us a tune" that can lift them out of their sorrow and despair. The song portrays Mr. Fantasy as the one who can make everyone happy by using his talents, whether that be singing, playing guitar, or simply telling a joke. However, the song also suggests that Mr. Fantasy may be struggling with his own issues and is not truly happy himself, evidenced by the line " But doing that you break out in tears."
The chorus of the song repeats the request for Mr. Fantasy to play a tune and make the listeners happy. The final line, "think about it," adds an almost desperate tone to the song, as if the singer is pleading with Mr. Fantasy to recognize the importance of his role in their lives and the impact he has on their happiness.
Overall, "Dear Mr. Fantasy" is a plea for relief and a recognition of the power that music and entertainment have to bring joy to people's lives. But it also acknowledges that those who provide this entertainment may also be struggling themselves, and highlights the importance of supporting and understanding each other.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune
Oh Mr. Fantasy, we want you to play us a song
Something to make us all happy
A song that lifts our spirits up
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Please help us escape from the sadness we feel
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
You have the power to make us smile. So please do anything, sing, play guitar and do it quickly
You are the one who can make us all laugh
You are the funniest person we know, you can make us happy
But doing that you break out in tears
Despite your ability to make us happy, you're struggling with sadness too
Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We don't want you to be sad just because you don't have a wild imagination like yours
We wouldn't have known you all these years, hee think about it
We wouldn't have become such good friends with you if you didn't have such a creative mind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, Jim Capaldi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind