After learning guitar at the age of 12, Scaggs met Steve Miller at St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas. In 1959, he became the vocalist for Miller's band The Marksmen. The pair later attended the University of Wisconsin together, playing in blues bands like The Ardells and The Fabulous Knight Trains. Leaving school, Scaggs briefly left Texas to join the burgeoning rhythm and blues scene in London. After singing in bands such as The Wigs and Mother Earth, he recorded his first solo album Boz in 1965, which was not a commercial success. He traveled to Sweden as a solo performer and did a brief stint with the band The Other Side with fellow American Jack Downing and Brit Mac MacLeod.
Returning to the US, Scaggs promptly headed for the booming psychedelic music center of San Francisco in 1967. Linking up with Steve Miller again, he appeared on the Steve Miller Band's first two albums Children of the Future and Sailor, which won over critical reviews. After being spotted by Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, Scaggs secured a solo contract with Atlantic Records in 1968. Despite good reviews, his first Atlantic album was met with lukewarm sales, as were followup albums on Columbia Records. In 1976, he linked up with session musicians who would later form Toto and recorded his smash album Silk Degrees. The album reached number 2 on the US charts and number 1 in a number of countries across the world, spawning three hit singles: "Lowdown", "Lido Shuffle", and "What Can I Say", as well as the MOR standard "We're All Alone", later a hit for Rita Coolidge. A sellout world tour followed, but his follow-up album, the 1977 Down Two Then Left, lacked the cohesion of Silk Degrees.
Scaggs' 1980 album Middle Man would spawn two top 20 hits, "Breakdown Dead Ahead" and "Jojo," and Scaggs would enjoy two more hits over 1980 and 1981 ("Look What You've Done to Me" from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack, and "Miss Sun" from a greatest hits set).
Scaggs continued to record and tour sporadically throughout the 1980s and 1990s, although he semi-retired from the music business and turned owner of the San Francisco nightclub Slim's. His lengthy hiatus from the music industry slowed his chart career down dramatically.
Scaggs recorded Other Roads in 1988, took another hiatus, and then came back in 1994 with Some Change. In the late 190s he released Come On Home, an album of blues, and My Time, an anthology. He garnered good reviews with Dig, although the CD, which was released on September 11, 2001, was lost in the post-911 melée. In May, 2003, Scaggs released But Beautiful, a collection of jazz standards that debuted at number 1 on the jazz charts.
In 2013 he released the album Memphis
Dindi
Boz Scaggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With far away clouds just wandering by
Where do they go?
Oh, I don't know, don't know
Wind that speaks to the leaves
Telling stories that no one believes
Stories of love belong to you and me
Oh Dindi
If I only had words
I would say all the beautiful things that I see
When you're with me, oh my Dindi
Oh Dindi
Like the song of the wind in the trees
That's how my heart is singing, Dindi
Happy Dindi, when you're with me
I love you more each day
Yes I do, yes I do
I'd let you go away
If you take me with you
Don't you know, Dindi
I'd be running and searching for you
Like a river that can't find the sea
That would be me without you, my Dindi
In Boz Scagg’s song Dindi, he uses imagery of the sky and the wind to talk about his feelings for someone he calls Dindi. The sky is vast and full of clouds, but they just wander by with no clear destination, much like Boz’s uncertain relationship with Dindi. The wind speaks to the leaves, telling stories that no one believes, perhaps to reflect the doubts and uncertainties in their relationship. However, the stories of love belong to the two of them alone, giving a sense of intimacy and connection amidst the vastness of the sky and the wind.
Boz’s affection for Dindi is clear throughout the song, as he expresses his love for her more and more each day. He longs to be with her and finds happiness in her company, singing of how his heart is singing like the song of the wind in the trees when she is around. He loves her so much that he would let her go away, but only if she takes him with her. Without her, he would be lost like a river that can’t find the sea.
Overall, Dindi is a song about love, intimacy, and the uncertainties that come with it. Using imagery from nature, Boz Scagg’s is able to convey his deep feelings for Dindi despite the uncertainties, anxieties, and doubts that comes with love.
Line by Line Meaning
Sky, so vast is the sky
The sky is an endless expanse.
With far away clouds just wandering by
Clouds move aimlessly through the sky.
Where do they go?
Nobody knows where the clouds go.
Oh, I don't know, don't know
The artist is uncertain about the answer.
Wind that speaks to the leaves
The wind causes the leaves to move and rustle.
Telling stories that no one believes
The sounds made by the wind are not taken as true stories by anyone.
Stories of love belong to you and me
Love stories are not limited to anyone in particular.
Oh Dindi
The artist is addressing someone named Dindi.
If I only had words
The artist wishes they could express themselves better.
I would say all the beautiful things that I see
The artist sees beauty in the world around them.
When you're with me, oh my Dindi
The singer is addressing Dindi specifically when talking about the beautiful things they see.
Like the song of the wind in the trees
The artist's heart feels like the sound of wind blowing through trees.
That's how my heart is singing, Dindi
The singer's heart is happy and singing.
Happy Dindi, when you're with me
The singer is happy when Dindi is around.
I love you more each day
The singer's love for Dindi is growing over time.
Yes I do, yes I do
The artist is confirming their love for Dindi.
I'd let you go away
The artist would let Dindi leave.
If you take me with you
The singer wants to go with Dindi if they leave.
Don't you know, Dindi
The singer is talking directly to Dindi again.
I'd be running and searching for you
If Dindi were to leave, the artist would go look for them.
Like a river that can't find the sea
The artist would feel lost without Dindi.
That would be me without you, my Dindi
The artist needs Dindi in their life.
Lyrics © DistroKid, CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Aloysio De Oliveira, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ray Gilbert
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind