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
Jump Street
Boz Scaggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The harder they go the harder I ache
Get so high
Down so low
Somebody tell me 'bout this debt I owe
West side bomber looked like a comer
Looked like I'll be back at school
And look how she goes
Little trained squeeze look like a fool
Rock on
And I'm gone
Stone gone
Said you can forget about me
And I'm gone
Stone gone
Working girls just tryin' to get ahead
Somebody's bound to end up dead
And honey
You better stop coming down on me
On me
Stop
Jump Street
Sally comes creeping at the break of dawn
Can't figure out whose side I'm on
Bomber comes back like a ringin' a bell
Knows a good thing and she knows it well
Well enough best left alone
Wish your mamma had kept you at home
Wish your mamma had kept the evidence
Worrying about the Feds has crucified me for dead
She wish I was dead
Well I wish I was dead
But I'm gone
Stone gone
As gone as I can be
And I'm gone
So gone
Don't look much like a Saturday night
Honey don't look for those flashing lights
But baby
You'd better stop coming down on me
Stop coming down on me
I don't need it
Stop coming down.. on me
OW !
Jump Street
And I'm gone
Stone gone
You can forget about me yeah
I'm gone
Stone gone
So long
Workin' girls just tryin' to get ahead
Somebody's bound to end up dead
And honey
You better stop coming down on me
Stop your coming down
Stop coming down on me yeah
Stop coming down on me
Look out funk
Jump Street
The lyrics to Boz Scagg's song Jump Street can be interpreted in different ways, depending on how the listener perceives them. The songwriter chooses his words carefully to paint an image of the rough and dangerous neighbourhood on Jump Street. The first verse describes the cycle of drug addiction and depression through a vivid metaphor, where Dawn comes in the form of a skinny snake, signifying how the start of a new day could be a reminder of a recurring painful experience. The harder they go in indulging themselves in addictive substances, the harder the ache of withdrawal. Despite the highs and lows of the addiction, there's always an underlying debt, reminding the persona of the consequences of substance abuse.
The second verse changes focus to a woman named Sally, who is creeping around at the break of dawn. The singer admits his inability to pick a side and acknowledges the dangerous nature of the neighbourhood by describing Sally as a "Bomber." The singer then moves to describe how everyone in the area is just trying to get ahead, even by exerting domination on others like "working girls." The persona pleads with one of those working girls to stop "coming down on me." The phrase could indicate anything from nagging to prostitution. Finally, the song concludes with Boz Scaggs repeating the phrase, "jump street."
Line by Line Meaning
Dawn came sneaking like a skinny snake
The sun rose slowly and subtly, and this created a feeling of unease in the singer
The harder they go the harder I ache
The more intense the situation, the more the singer feels the impact of it
Get so high
The singer experiences moments of happiness and euphoria
Down so low
The artist experiences moments of sadness, depression, and despair
Somebody tell me 'bout this debt I owe
The artist is questioning what they owe to someone or something, perhaps referring to the sacrifices they've made or the expectations put upon them
West side bomber looked like a comer
The woman the singer saw seemed confident and likely to succeed
Looked like I'll be back at school
The singer felt like they were about to learn something new or get schooled
Put two on the nose
The artist made a bet, predicting which way things were going to go
And look how she goes
The artist's prediction was correct and they watched as things unfolded as they predicted
Little trained squeeze look like a fool
The artist observed a woman who was trying too hard to be cool and failing
Rock on
This could be interpreted as encouragement to keep going, to keep rocking
And I'm gone
The artist is leaving or disappearing
Stone gone
The singer is truly, irrevocably gone
Said you can forget about me
The singer wants to be forgotten
Working girls just tryin' to get ahead
The women the singer refers to are trying to improve their situation and make their way in the world
Somebody's bound to end up dead
The artist predicts that, in the world these women are living in, someone is likely to die
And honey
The artist is addressing someone they care about or are familiar with, and using a term of endearment
You better stop coming down on me
The singer is frustrated with someone criticizing or blaming them
On me
The singer repeats this phrase to emphasize that they are the ones being targeted
Stop
The artist is commanding the other person to stop their behavior
Jump Street
This repeated phrase could be seen as a rallying cry or mantra, urging the artist to keep moving and remain resilient in the face of adversity
Sally comes creeping at the break of dawn
The artist is describing someone who is sneaking around early in the morning
Can't figure out whose side I'm on
The singer is uncertain about which person or faction they support or belong to
Bomber comes back like a ringin' a bell
The woman the artist saw earlier has returned and caught their attention again
Knows a good thing and she knows it well
The singer admires the woman's confidence and ability to recognize opportunity
Well enough best left alone
The singer seems to imply that being romantically involved with someone like her would be dangerous or ill-advised
Wish your mamma had kept you at home
The singer is insulting the woman, saying that she should have stayed home rather than being out in the world
Wish your mamma had kept the evidence
This line is difficult to interpret precisely, but it could be suggesting that the woman shouldn't exist at all, implying that she's a burden or a troublemaker
Worrying about the Feds has crucified me for dead
The artist is anxious or paranoid about the government, and feels as though their concern has taken a serious toll on them
She wish I was dead
Someone, likely the woman the singer was talking about earlier, wants them dead
Well I wish I was dead
The singer is expressing their own wish that things were different, specifically relating to their desire to be dead
Don't look much like a Saturday night
The artist is reflecting on their current circumstances and feeling as though they're not very enjoyable or festive
Honey don't look for those flashing lights
The artist is warning someone not to expect anything exciting or flashy
Stop coming down on me yeah
This line repeats the command for someone to stop criticizing or blaming the artist
Look out funk
This phrase could be interpreted as a warning, or a way of expressing excitement or anticipation
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BOZ SCAGGS, DAVID PAICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind