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
Now You're Gone
Boz Scaggs Lyrics
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Past the light you had set there for me
Oh, that night had it's meaning and the flame shook your room
From the walls to the beating of my heart
But now you're gone
And I won't worry any more
Yes, now you're gone
Oh, your sighs screamed with loneliness
Your eyes traced broken dreams
And your touch held a warning of goodbye
Oh, many's the times I've reached for you
More's the times I've failed
I'm the reason, I'm the cause of it all
But now you're gone
And I won't worry any more
Now you're gone
And I won't worry any more
Why you begged me?
Must we stay here but to wait a bitter end
Than the silence this dimming light foretells
Why the future? Why the past?
Why this moments cold retreat?
How do I know there's no relief you can bring?
And I was lost, I could not answer
No, I could not shed a tear
To the ghost of a love that could have been
Well, I see them all just coming
And I know that they're all gone
But as you're near I won't worry any more
And now you're gone
And I worry anymore
Yes, you're gone
And I won't worry any more
The song "Now You're Gone" by Boz Scaggs is about the aftermath of a failed relationship. Scaggs describes lying next to his partner in bed, unable to see beyond the "light" the partner had set for him. This may refer to the expectations and hopes Scaggs had for the relationship that he could not see beyond. The night had its significance, but it is now gone, and Scaggs won't worry about it anymore. His partner's sighs spiral with loneliness, and Scaggs cannot ignore the warning of goodbye in their touch. He admits that he has failed to reach and keep his partner, being the reason behind the relationship's downfall.
Scaggs expresses his confusion and despair, questioning why his partner begged him to stay and why they must continue in a loveless, bitter end. He wonders about the past and future, but he cannot find relief for his pain. The second verse reveals Scaggs' difficulty in accepting the end of the relationship, calling it a "ghost of a love that could have been." He sees his past relationships for what they were, but as long as his partner is near, he won't worry any more.
Overall, the song is about accepting the end of a relationship that held such significance to the singer. The sense of loss and confusion is clear in the lyrics, but Scaggs ultimately finds peace in moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
Lying there beside you in the dark, I could not see
I was in darkness, unable to see beyond your light.
Past the light you had set there for me
You had set a light that blinded me from my surroundings.
Oh, that night had it's meaning and the flame shook your room
That night was full of passion and the flame we shared shook the very walls of your room.
From the walls to the beating of my heart
The emotion was so intense it felt like it was pulsing not only through the walls, but also through my heart.
But now you're gone
You have left my life.
And I won't worry any more
I am free from the worries and troubles of our past relationship.
Oh, your sighs screamed with loneliness
Your sighs were filled with a deep sense of loneliness.
Your eyes traced broken dreams
Your eyes showed a past filled with shattered dreams and disappointment.
And your touch held a warning of goodbye
Even in your touch, I could feel that you were preparing to say goodbye.
Oh, many's the times I've reached for you
I have tried to reach out to you so many times before.
More's the times I've failed
But more often than not, I have failed to make a connection with you.
I'm the reason, I'm the cause of it all
I realize that the root of our problems was often caused by me.
Why you begged me?
I wonder why you begged for me to stay with you.
Must we stay here but to wait a bitter end
Do we have to stay together even though we know our relationship is doomed?
Than the silence this dimming light foretells
Is it better to stay in this relationship than to face the silence and loneliness that awaits us if we break up?
Why the future? Why the past?
Why should we worry about the future or dwell on the past when we are struggling in the present?
Why this moments cold retreat?
Why do we keep retreating from each other when we need to come together and connect?
How do I know there's no relief you can bring?
I wonder if there is any way for you to offer me any relief from my pain.
And I was lost, I could not answer
I was so lost in thought and emotion that I could not offer a clear answer.
No, I could not shed a tear
I was so emotionally drained that I could not even cry.
To the ghost of a love that could have been
I was haunted by the idea of the love we could have shared if things had been different.
Well, I see them all just coming
I can see all the people who have come and gone from my life.
And I know that they're all gone
I realize that none of these people will fill the void you left in my life.
But as you're near I won't worry any more
Despite the pain of our breakup, I feel comforted by the fact that I will see you again.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILLIAM ROYCE SCAGGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind