His first musical success was as a 14-year-old guitarist in the Royal Teens, best known for their novelty blues riff, "Short Shorts". In 1960, he joined the song-writing team of Bob Brass and Irwin Levine, who wrote the hit, "This Diamond Ring", for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. When he was 21, he moved to Greenwich Village.
He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965 and in the studio in 1965 and 1966, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the (in)famous Newport Folk Festival of 1965. He worked extensively with Mike Bloomfield for a number of years after the two met as studio musicians on Dylan's legendary Highway 61 Revisited album.
In 1965, he co-formed The Blues Project and played their most famous gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in the same year, leaving after the group's first album, Child is Father to the Man, in 1968.
Kooper played on hundreds of records, including The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, The Who and Cream. On occasion, he has even overdubbed on his own efforts, as on The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper album, as Roosevelt Gook. He discovered the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced their first three albums, including the single Sweet Home Alabama. Kooper also wrote the score for the TV series, Crime Story, and has also written music for several made-for-television movies. Kooper also produced a now rare album by a group called Appaloosa.
Al Kooper has published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life In The Sixties (1977), now available in revised form as Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor 2007
Kooper currently teaches songwriting and production at Berklee College of Music in Boston and plays weekend concerts with his band Jimmy Vivino and The ReKooperators.
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
Al Kooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I ain't got time to think about
Money or what it can buy
And I ain't got time to sit down and wonder
What make the birdies fly.
And I don't have time to think about
What makes the flowers grow,
To where the rivers flow.
And I ain't got time for nothin' else.
Now I ain't got time to discuss the weather,
And how long it's going to last
And I ain't got time to do no studying
Once I get out of class.
I'm telling you I'm just a fellow with a one track mind,
And when it comes to thinkin' about
Anything but my baby,
I just don't have the time.
Oh yeah
And I ain't got time for nothin' else.
Don't you know I, I'm thinking about my baby
I ain't got time for nothin' else
Yeah the world could ever match her wealth,
She's some kinda wonderful,
Got heaven right here on earth
'Cause I'm just a fellow with a one track mind
And when it comes to thinkin about
Anything but my baby,
I just don't have the time
I'm too busy thinkin' about my baby
Oh I ain't got time for nothin' else
Too busy thinkin' about my baby
Ain't got time for nothing else
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
I ain't go, I ain't got no time
Al Kooper's song 'Too Busy Thinking About My Baby' speaks to the all-consuming nature of romantic love. The singer, who is gender-neutral, declares that they don't have time to think about anything else but their baby. They don't have time to ponder the natural world around them or to engage in small talk about the weather. They are utterly consumed by thoughts of their lover, and are more than willing to dedicate all their time and energy to these thoughts.
The lyrics suggest that this preoccupation with love is all-encompassing and transcends the material world. The singer states that their love is "some kinda wonderful" and that their baby represents a form of heavenly wealth that is impossible to match on this earth. This sentiment is reflected in the repetition of the phrase "I'm too busy thinkin' about my baby" throughout the song, which becomes an increasingly urgent refrain.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen to me people
Pay attention to what I have to say
I ain't got time to think about Money or what it can buy
I'm not concerned with wealth or material possessions
And I ain't got time to sit down and wonder What make the birdies fly.
I don't have the energy to ponder the mysteries of nature
And I don't have time to think about What makes the flowers grow
I'm too busy to contemplate the workings of the natural world
Ain't never give it a second thought To where the rivers flow
I've never considered the source or destination of bodies of water
And I ain't got time for nothin' else.
I'm completely focused on one thing
Now I ain't got time to discuss the weather, And how long it's going to last
Small talk is not a priority for me
And I ain't got time to do no studying Once I get out of class.
I don't have the capacity to engage in academic pursuits outside of school hours
I'm telling you I'm just a fellow with a one track mind, And when it comes to thinkin' about Anything but my baby, I just don't have the time.
My thoughts are consumed by my significant other to the point that I can't focus on anything else
Oh yeah
Interjection of enthusiasm
And I ain't got time for nothin' else.
Continued emphasis on my lack of attention for anything other than my baby
Don't you know I, I'm thinking about my baby
I'm trying to convey the intensity of my feelings for my significant other
I ain't got time for nothin' else
Reiteration of my single-minded focus
Yeah the world could ever match her wealth, She's some kinda wonderful, Got heaven right here on earth
My baby is incomparable and brings me great happiness and contentment
'Cause I'm just a fellow with a one track mind And when it comes to thinkin about Anything but my baby, I just don't have the time
Restatement of my fixation on my significant other
I'm too busy thinkin' about my baby Oh I ain't got time for nothin' else Too busy thinkin' about my baby Ain't got time for nothing else Oh yeah Oh yeah I ain't go, I ain't got no time
Final repetition of my priorities
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARRETT STRONG, JANIE BRADFORD, NORMAN WHITFIELD, NORMAN J. WHITFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind