Founder Al Kooper conceived Blood, Sweat and Tears as an experiment in expanding the size and scope of the rock band with touches of jazz , blues , classical , and folk music. When Kooper was forced out of the band soon after its eclectic debut, Child Is Father to the Man, BS&T became increasingly identified as a "jazz-rock" group, although its music was essentially easy-listening rhythm and blues or rock with the addition of brass.
Kooper formed BS&T after leaving the Blues Project in 1967. The nucleus of the original band was Steve Katz, also of the Blues Project; Jim Fielder, who had played with the Mothers of Invention and Buffalo Springfield; and Bobby Colomby, who had drummed behind folksingers Odetta and Eric Andersen. The horn players were recruited from New York jazz and studio bands. Child Is Father featured songs by Harry Nilsson, Tim Buckley, Randy Newman, Gerry Goffin, and Carole King, along with Kooper originals and arrangements by Fred Lipsius for brass, strings, and studio effects. The band nearly broke up when Kooper, Randy Brecker, and Jerry Weiss left (Brecker to join The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra). Regrouping under Katz and Colomby, and fronted by David Clayton-Thomas (who had sung with a Canadian blues band, The Bossmen), BS&T entered a period of immense popularity. Blood, Sweat & Tears featured arrangements of music by French composer Erik Satie and jazz singer Billie Holiday, as well as by Laura Nyro, Steve Winwood, and others. It was the #1 album for seven weeks in 1969, sold over 3 million copies, and spawned three gold singles: “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “Spinning Wheel,” and “And When I Die,” each of which hit #2.
In 1970 the U.S. State Department sent the band on a goodwill tour of Yugoslavia, Romania, and Poland. Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 duplicated the Blood, Sweat & Tears mix of styles and was almost as popular. The album went to #1, and two singles, “Hi-De-Ho” and “Lucretia MacEvil,” hit the Top 30. But interest in the group began to wane, and 4, which contained almost all original material, barely made the Top 10. In 1971 “Go Down Gamblin’” was its last hit. By the time Clayton-Thomas left for a solo career in 1972, BS&T’s place on the charts had been filled by similarly styled bands such as Chicago, Chase, and Ides of March. Katz left the next year, first to join the short-lived American Flyer and then to an A&R position at Mercury Records.
BS&T became regulars in Las Vegas, with ever-changing personnel recruited largely from big bands like Maynard Ferguson’s, Woody Herman’s, and Doc Severinsen’s. Vocalist Jerry LaCroix appeared between his tenures with Edgar Winter’s White Trash and Rare Earth, while guitarist Mike Stern later played with Miles Davis’ early-’80s band. Clayton-Thomas’ return in 1974 briefly boosted BS&T’s popularity, but Columbia dropped the group, and Colomby, the last original member, left in 1976. He continued to influence BS&T as producer of Brand New Day and, with Clayton-Thomas, as co-owner of the band’s name and catalogue. He then moved on to a career in A&R for several labels, as well as TV reporting. Since 1975 the live act has been billed as Blood, Sweat and Tears Featuring David Clayton-Thomas. [from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bloodsweatandtears/biography
In late 2005, the band returned to touring. The year 2007 witnessed the band's first world tour in a decade. From 2008 through 2010, Steve Katz returned to appear at BS&T's shows as a special guest.
From 2013 till 2018, Blood Sweat and Tears was fronted by Bo Bice, who was the runner-up against Carrie Underwood in the fourth season of American Idol.
In 2018, the group decided to replace Bice with former Tower of Power singer Tom Bowes, who had previously done a brief stint with BS&T back in July through November 2012.
In 2019 Keith Paluso, from the reality TV show The Voice, was chosen as BS&T's new singer.
Morning Glory
Blood Sweat & Tears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Close to my window
Hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who had passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house
Before he came
I felt him drawing near
Asked him in
That he had come to my door and jeered
And I waited in my fleeting house
Tell me stories, I called to the hobo
Stories of Cold, I smiled to the hobo
Stories of old, I knelt to the hobo
And he stood before me
In my fleeting house.
No, said the hobo
No more tales of time
Don't ask me now to wash away the grime
I can't come in 'cause
It's too hard a climb
And he walked away from my fleeting house
Then you'll be damned
I screamed to the hobo
Leave me alone, I wept to the hobo
Turn into stone, I knelt to the hobo
And he walked away from my fleeting house
I lit my purest candle
Close to my window
Hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house
The lyrics of the song "Morning Glory" by Blood Sweat & Tears revolve around a protagonist who is waiting for a vagabond to visit him. The singer lights his "purest" candle and places it near his window, hoping that it catches the attention of any passerby. When he finally gets a visitor, he lets him in with a feeling of ancient fear that he might jeer at him. The singer then calls the visitor a hobo and asks him to tell stories of old and cold. However, the hobo refuses to carry on with the tales of time and walks away from the fleeting house.
The second verse of the song is more emphatic than the first. The singer screams to the hobo that he will be damned, begs him to leave him alone and turn into stone. Despite all, the hobo walks away from the fleeting house. The singer then repeats his action of lighting the candle and waiting for any vagabond to visit him.
The song speaks of human vulnerability when trying to connect with outsiders. It is a metaphorical representation of the barriers people face when trying to communicate with others who lead a different life than theirs. The song reflects the challenges one faces in attempting to break down these barriers, and how it ultimately leads to disappointment.
Line by Line Meaning
I lit my purest candle
I held onto my purest hopes and dreams
Close to my window
I kept them close to me, within reach
Hoping it would catch the eye
Expecting that someone, anyone, would see them
Of any vagabond who had passed it by
Regardless of who they were or what they had been through
And I waited in my fleeting house
I sat and waited in my temporary home for someone to come along
Before he came
Before the hobo arrived
I felt him drawing near
I sensed his approach
Asked him in
Invited him into my home
I felt the ancient fear
I felt my natural fear of strangers
That he had come to my door and jeered
That he might have some ill intent towards me
Tell me stories, I called to the hobo
I asked the hobo to share his experiences with me
Stories of Cold, I smiled to the hobo
I requested tales of hardship, even though they might be difficult to hear
Stories of old, I knelt to the hobo
I begged for stories of the past, hoping to gain insight into my own life
And he stood before me
The hobo was in my presence
In my fleeting house.
Inside my temporary dwelling
No, said the hobo
The hobo refused my request
No more tales of time
He had shared enough stories of the past
Don't ask me now to wash away the grime
He couldn't help me clean up my own life
I can't come in 'cause
He could not enter my house because
It's too hard a climb
The effort was too great for him
And he walked away from my fleeting house
The hobo left my temporary dwelling
Then you'll be damned
I cursed the hobo for abandoning me
I screamed to the hobo
I shouted in frustration at the hobo's rejection
Leave me alone, I wept to the hobo
I pleaded for him to go away and leave me to my own struggles
Turn into stone, I knelt to the hobo
I wished the hobo would become motionless and disappear
And he walked away from my fleeting house
The hobo left me in my temporary home
I lit my purest candle
I held onto my purest hopes and dreams once again
Close to my window
I kept them close to me, within reach
Hoping it would catch the eye
Expecting that someone, anyone, would see them
Of any vagabond who passed it by
Regardless of who they were or what they had been through
And I waited in my fleeting house
I sat and waited in my temporary home for another passing stranger
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Duke Ellington
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J
"Morning Glory"
(originally by Tim Buckley)
I lit my purest candle
Close to my window
Hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who had passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house
Before he came
I felt him drawing near
Asked him in
I felt the ancient fear
That he had come to my door and jeered
And I waited in my fleeting house
Tell me stories, I called to the hobo
Stories of Cold, I smiled to the hobo
Stories of old, I knelt to the hobo
And he stood before me
In my fleeting house.
No, said the hobo
No more tales of time
Don't ask me now to wash away the grime
I can't come in 'cause
It's too hard a climb
And he walked away from my fleeting house
Then you'll be damned
I screamed to the hobo
Leave me alone, I wept to the hobo
Turn into stone, I knelt to the hobo
And he walked away from my fleeting house
I lit my purest candle
Close to my window
Hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house...
♥️🌹♥️🌹♥️🌹
catman916
The producers were Bob Irwin and John Simon. Jimmy Guercio produced their second album. Steve Katz also did a wonderful vocal on that album, "Sometimes in Winter."
J
"Morning Glory"
(originally by Tim Buckley)
I lit my purest candle
Close to my window
Hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who had passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house
Before he came
I felt him drawing near
Asked him in
I felt the ancient fear
That he had come to my door and jeered
And I waited in my fleeting house
Tell me stories, I called to the hobo
Stories of Cold, I smiled to the hobo
Stories of old, I knelt to the hobo
And he stood before me
In my fleeting house.
No, said the hobo
No more tales of time
Don't ask me now to wash away the grime
I can't come in 'cause
It's too hard a climb
And he walked away from my fleeting house
Then you'll be damned
I screamed to the hobo
Leave me alone, I wept to the hobo
Turn into stone, I knelt to the hobo
And he walked away from my fleeting house
I lit my purest candle
Close to my window
Hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house...
♥️🌹♥️🌹♥️🌹
slugger
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Stella Ercolani
What a wonderful band, such talent and voice.
james cawley
I have some strange fascination with this song that has lasted 45 years. I wish I knew what it was about. Still enjoy listening to it and thanks for posting.
Kidd Shellac
Pretty sure its about the morbid fascination some have with the lives of those less fortunate, and how - when their acts of convenient charity are rejected as disingenuous and self-serving - their actual feelings of superiority, disdain, and disgust are exposed.
John Coggeshall
Jim this song is about anything ou want it to be about----it is timeless and placeless
Mark Evans
The organ track is seared in my brain. Haunting song.
Soup Sandwich
I feel your pain/joy.
Shaun Kelly-Kenyon
probably due to the haunt of Tim Bucley