Crane found himself in America in 1968 on his first American Tour supporting The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's "Fire" single and "Fire" album which topped the USA charts. The single was number one in England and Europe, and the album top five. The band headlined at that year's Reading Festival. In 1969 they returned to America playing Fillmore East and Madison Square Garden. By the end of the year and after a third U.S. tour, various problems had set in. Crane lived in New York for three months and finally returned to England with Palmer. During 1970 they formed Atomic Rooster as decided in New York, and the band's first gig was headlining at the Lyceum, London, with Deep Purple as support. The first Atomic Roster single was "Friday the 13th", and the first album wasAtomic Ro-o-oster.
In 1971 John Du Cann (born John Cann, 1950 – 22 September 2011) joined Atomic Rooster and added guitar to the American version of Atomic Ro-O-oster. Palmer left to join ELP and Paul Hammond joined the band as drummer. That year saw the band's first hit single "Tomorrow Night", and their first top-ten album Death Walks behind You, followed by a second hit single "Devil's Answer". The band also played the Reading Festival.
In 1972 Pete French joined the band on vocals and they played the Oval with The Who headlining. A third album was released, In Hearing of... This was the year of Atomic Rooster’s first U.S. tour, playing the Troubadour, L.A. and Fillmore East, N.Y. Du Cann and Hammond left the band to form Hard Stuff with Johnny Gustaveston, and Ric Parnell and Steve Bolton joined. French left to join Cactus with Carl Minnaplice, replaced in Atomic Rooster by Chris Farlowe .The band then went on to release their fourth album, Made in England, and their first compilation was released, Atomic Rooster Assortment. The second tour took in the L.A. Amphitheatre, the Texas 'Rose Bowl', and the Dusseldorf 'Rock Festival' with Deep Purple and Free. A third single was released, "Stand By Me".
In 1974 the fifth Atomic Rooster album was released, Nice & Greasy, and a second compilation, Home to Roost. The band left Gaff Management and toured Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, and Portugal. In 1975, after a tour of Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain, Crane stopped touring and took the band off the road.
1980 saw the reforming of Atomic Rooster, and Crane working again with DuCann. Finally came an EMI deal, a secret warm-up tour, and the release of a new album Atomic Rooster and a single "Do You Know Who's Looking for You"; Preston Heyman did the honours on drums, but by the time of the 1981 three-month tour of the U.K., Paul Hammond was back on drums. This year, saw the release of the first two Atomic Rooster 12" singles, "Play It Again" and "End of the Day". The band played the Reading Festival; with DuCann mysteriously AWOL, Big John McCoy stepped in on bass. DuCann had decided to retire again, and subsequent tours of Germany and Italy were with Bernie Torme on guitar.
1983 saw a new style of Atomic Rooster album, Headline News, with a 12" single "Land of Freedom", featuring guitarists David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Torme, and John Mizarolli. Torme subsequently toured with the band to Germany and Italy.
In 1984, Crane disbanded Atomic Rooster.
Broken Wings
Atomic Rooster Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Somebody broke your wings, beat 'em down, beat 'em down,
And then, and then, and then and die.
And the love I have to give,
I'll be givin' you in years of my life.
Somebody is to blame, can't you see I love you so,
Somebody is to blame, can't you see,
Can't you see I love you so.
And the love I had to give,
I'll be givin' you in years of my life
Somebody is to blame, can't you see,, that I love you so.
Oh, oh,! oh baby I love you, yeah, whyi love you so.
Somebody is to blame, can't you see,
Can't you see I love you
Ah baby I love you.
And the love I had to give,
I'll be givin' in years of my life.
Yeah, I'll be givin' you in years.
Ah!
Yeah!
In Atomic Rooster's song Broken Wings, the lyrics depict a little bird who cannot fly because somebody has broken its wings. The lyrics suggest that someone is to blame for this harm and the singer's love in the song is directed towards this person as he wants them to see how much he loves them. The singer promises to give years of his life in love to the person responsible for breaking the little bird's wings. The song has a melancholic tone, and the lyrics suggest a sense of helplessness in being unable to undo the damage.
The metaphor of a little bird with broken wings represents vulnerability, frailty, and weakness, and it serves to underscore the fragility of love. The song's opening lines could be interpreted as someone has hurt the person the singer loves, which has rendered them helpless and unable to cope. In offering his love, the singer, while acknowledging the pain and antagonism, chooses forgiveness and hope. Overall, the message of the song could be understood as a call for empathy, growth, and healing, both for oneself and the ones we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Somebody broke your wings, little bird,, you can't fly.
Someone hurt you so badly that you are unable to move forward and achieve your dreams.
Somebody broke your wings, beat 'em down, beat 'em down, And then, and then, and then and die.
Someone not only destroyed your ability to fly but also wanted you to give up on life.
And the love I have to give, I'll be givin' you in years of my life.
The singer promises to love the hurt person for the rest of his life and make up for the love they lost.
Somebody is to blame, can't you see I love you so, I love you so, ah, god almighty,, how I love you.
The singer blames someone else for hurting the person he loves and expresses his deep love for them in anguish.
Somebody is to blame, can't you see, Can't you see I love you so.
The singer reiterates his love and puts the blame on someone else for the person's pain.
And the love I had to give, I'll be givin' you in years of my life
The singer pledges to devote himself to loving the person and making up for the love they were deprived of.
Somebody is to blame, can't you see,, that I love you so. Oh, oh,! oh baby I love you, yeah, whyi love you so.
The singer is hurt that the person he loves is unable to see his love and blames someone else for the situation.
Ah baby I love you. And the love I had to give, I'll be givin' in years of my life. Yeah, I'll be givin' you in years. Ah! Yeah!
The singer repeats his pledge to give his love and life to the person he loves and expresses his determination to do so.
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Actual Music, S.L.
Written by: John Ross Lang, Richard James Page, Steve George
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@garypollard1183
This was an amazing band that was seriously underated..............Price never got the respect he deserved, and well, look who they spawned, one of the great gravelly voices of rock Mr Farlowe and of course one of the greatest drummers of all time Mr Palmer!!
@steffanhoffmann8937
This isn't Chris Farlow here! It's Nick Graham.
@steffanhoffmann8937
@@RA-lt7zg Whilst Chris Farlowe shows his prowess as a vocalist. I prefer the song with John Cann.
Thx anyway.
@robtalbot3852
Ah ... the Days before Chris Farlowe joined. Completely different timbre to his voice.
@MillerGenuineDraft1980
Atomic Rooster were a very tight band, Vincent Crane was the leader of the band he suffered from depression. He wrote some pretty great lyrics, Nick Graham on Vocals and Bass and on Drums one of the top 5 ranked drummers of all time Carl Palmer. This is my favorite of their three great albums. Broken Wings is from their 1970 debut it featured more Hammond Organ than any other album. Death Walks Behind You is a great follow up as well!!!!!
@timarnett672
Great comment Rocky. I read that Nick Graham backed Edwin Starr on bass. Sure you remember 25 miles.
@jorgemarciel3430
Grupo buenísimo ooo... Vincent, jhon can, hicieron volar su imaginación... Grande atomic rooster, que vuelva el rock clásico, algo se hace x ahí con rival son, greta van flit, David nowles.
@ratigiorgobiani210
The intro is just mind-boggling
@garycallaghan6369
I love church organ, & Atomic Rooster.
@alexxgonzalez4237
Grupaso!!. Atomic Rooster revoluciono los setentas con su sonido.. Pesado y compacto.. Gracias al canal por compartir éstas Joyas de la música.