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
Lowdown
Boz Scaggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hanging with the crowd
Putting your business in the street
Talking out loud
Saying you bought her this and that
And how much you done spent
I swear she must believe it's all heaven sent
To the sad, sad truth the dirty lowdown
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Taught her how to talk like that
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Gave her that big idea
Nothin' you can't handle
Nothin' you ain't got
Put your money on the table
And drive it off the lot
Turn on that old love light
And turn a "maybe" to a "yes"
Same old schoolboy game got you into this mess
Hey son, better get back on to town
Face the sad old truth, the dirty lowdown
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Put those ideas in your head
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Yeah
Come on back down, little son
Dig the low, low, low, low, lowdown!
You ain't got to be so bad, got to be so cold
This dog eat dog existence sure is getting old
Got to have a Jones for this
Jones for that
This runnin' with the Joneses, boy, just ain't where it's at, no, no
You gonna come back around
To the sad, sad truth, the dirty lowdown
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Got you thinking like that, boy
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Said I wonder, wonder, wonder, I wonder who
Oh, look out for that lowdown (ohh, I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
That dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty lowdown
Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Got you thinkin' like that
Got you thinkin' just like that
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Lookin' that girl in the face is so sad
I'm ashamed of you
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
In Boz Scaggs's song Lowdown, the lyrics describe a woman who gossips about her partner's finances and possessions, flaunting them in public and making herself look good at his expense. The singer implies that she must believe all the material possessions that she has received, were a gift from heaven. He warns the woman to face the "sad, sad truth, the dirty lowdown", meaning that she needs to stop putting his business in the street and taking credit for things she didn't earn.
The song also speaks about the dangers of trying to keep up with others in society. The lyrics suggest that competing with others and trying to live extravagantly leads to a "dog eat dog existence" that gets old very quickly. The singer urges the other person to get back to the truth, meaning that they should live authentically and be true to themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby's into running around
The woman in question enjoys going out instead of staying home with her significant other.
Hanging with the crowd
She likes being part of a group of people rather than just hanging out with her lover.
Putting your business in the street
She has been sharing her relationship details and challenges with others who are not involved.
Talking out loud
The woman has been gossiping about her relationship with others, sometimes even exaggerating details for attention.
Saying you bought her this and that
She has been flaunting and exaggerating material gifts received from the man and using them as ammunition in arguments or to boast to others.
And how much you done spent
She is using these material gifts as a measure of the manâs love or devotion to her.
I swear she must believe it's all heaven sent
She is acting entitled to these gifts, as if they are rightfully hers based on her looks, charm or status. This sense of entitlement is likely something the man has facilitated.
Hey boy you better bring the chick around
The man is being warned that he needs to show his woman the truth about their relationship.
To the sad, sad truth the dirty lowdown
He needs to show her the unglamorous and often harsh reality of their relationship dynamics.
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
The singer is left wondering who taught the woman to act this way.
Taught her how to talk like that
He is referring to the woman's confidence and/or manipulation tactics.
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
The singer speculates about who might have influenced her behavior.
Gave her that big idea
He believes someone has influenced the woman to have certain expectations in relationships.
Nothin' you can't handle
The man thinks he can handle the woman's demands and ways of being.
Nothin' you ain't got
The man believes he already has whatever the woman could need or want.
Put your money on the table
The man is willing to keep spending money to keep the woman happy.
And drive it off the lot
He is willing to demonstrate his financial status and take on debt if necessary.
Turn on that old love light
He wants to do whatever he can to create intimacy and excitement in the relationship.
And turn a "maybe" to a "yes"
He is hoping that by throwing money or gifts at her, she will be more likely to say yes to whatever he wants.
Same old schoolboy game got you into this mess
The man is stuck in old habits from his past relationships that are not working in his current one.
Hey son, better get back on to town
The man is being warned that he needs to face the truth about their relationship.
Face the sad old truth, the dirty lowdown
He needs to confront the unpleasant reality of how the woman is behaving, how he is contributing to it, and where this is going.
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
The singer is still pondering who might have influenced the woman.
Put those ideas in your head
This line refers to the man being influenced by somebody or something that encourages him to keep showering the woman with material gifts and attention.
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
The singer is still curious about who is responsible for the current relationship dynamics.
Come on back down, little son
The man is being encouraged to revisit reality and come back to earth.
Dig the low, low, low, low, lowdown!
He needs to face the harsh and sometimes unglamorous parts of their relationship dynamics.
You ain't got to be so bad, got to be so cold
The man is being called out for acting selfish and manipulative.
This dog eat dog existence sure is getting old
He is noting that the way two people exist as a couple is often cruel or competitive, which has grown tiresome.
Got to have a Jones for this
The singer suggests that it is important to have a sincere desire or passion for something.
Jones for that
The phrase seems to suggest that the passion has to go beyond simply having material wants or demands.
This runnin' with the Joneses, boy, just ain't where it's at, no, no
He is saying that trying to conform to or compete with others â in this case, âkeeping up with the Jonesesâ â will lead to unhappiness and a shallow existence.
You gonna come back around
The singer predicts that eventually, the man will come to see reality and grasp what is happening in the relationship.
To the sad, sad truth, the dirty lowdown
He needs to face the fact that the woman is manipulative and the relationship is not healthy.
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
The singer is still uncertain about who has instigated the undesirable behavior in the woman.
Got you thinking like that, boy
He notes that the man has been influenced into believing that certain material gifts and behaviours will earn the womanâs loyalty or love.
Lookin' that girl in the face is so sad
The man is ashamed of what the woman has turned into, and it makes him feel sorry.
I'm ashamed of you
The man realizes that he is not blameless in this situation and has contributed to the current relationship dynamics.
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
The singer remains curious about who has influenced the woman's manipulative and somewhat entitled behavior.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David Paich, Boz Scaggs
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MrWhatisalife
Superb re-edit by mr Wilson x
Tyrone Epps
I đ both versions !
armando humberto nievas sanchez
Que buen tema, por allå principios de los años 80...cuåntos recuerdos..gracias por haber vivido una época distinta...vi de todo, desde los 60 hasta la actualidad..
PassedAwayáĄaund
nice
David Thorley
Got mp3 320 but looking for flac if anyone has it cheers
Andrew Bloom
rare as hens teeth mint unplayed vinyl coming up for sale soon