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
Sick and Tired
Boz Scaggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you
Wake up in the mornin' fix you somethin' to eat,
'fore I go to work I even brush your teeth
Get home in the evenin' and you're still in bed
Got yourself a rag tied 'round you're head.
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you
I'm tellin' you baby you'd better change your ways
I'm tellin' you baby I mean what I say
Last time tellin you to stop that jive
Gonna find yourself outside
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you
Last time tellin' you baby you'd better change your ways
Last time tellin' you baby I mean what I say
Last time tellin you to stop that jive
Gonna find yourself outside
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you
The lyrics of Boz Scaggs's song "Sick and Tired" portray a strained relationship that has reached its breaking point. The singer is frustrated and fed up with their partner's behavior, which includes sleeping all day, not contributing to household chores, and generally being unreliable. The chorus repeats the phrase "Oh baby, whatcha gonna do" which suggests the singer has given their partner multiple chances to improve, but they have not yet followed through. The repetition of the line "I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you" further emphasizes the singer's growing impatience with their partner's actions.
The second verse describes how the partner takes advantage of the singer's kindness and generosity. The singer wakes up early to make breakfast and even brushes their partner's teeth before going to work, only to come home and find them still in bed with a rag tied around their head. The singer is clearly exasperated with the partner’s lack of effort in the relationship and wants them to change their ways. The last verse repeats the warning that the partner needs to change or face the consequences of being kicked out of the relationship.
Overall, the lyrics describe a toxic relationship that has run its course. The singer has given their partner every opportunity to change, but they have not followed through with their promises. The frustration and exhaustion with the relationship are communicated through the repetition of the chorus and the vivid descriptions of the partner's laziness in the verses.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
The singer is asking the person what their plan of action will be
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
The singer is repeating their plea for the person to take action
I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you
The singer has grown weary of the person's behavior
Wake up in the mornin' fix you somethin' to eat,
The artist prepares food for the person in the morning
'fore I go to work I even brush your teeth
The artist takes care of the person's dental hygiene before leaving for work
Get home in the evenin' and you're still in bed
The person is lazy and still in bed when the singer returns home
Got yourself a rag tied 'round you're head.
The person looks unkempt and is wearing a rag around their head
I'm tellin' you baby you'd better change your ways
The artist is warning the person to change their behavior
I'm tellin' you baby I mean what I say
The artist is emphasizing the importance of their warning
Last time tellin you to stop that jive
This is the last time the artist will warn the person to stop their nonsense
Gonna find yourself outside
The singer will kick the person out if they don't change their ways
Last time tellin' you baby you'd better change your ways
The artist is repeating their warning for emphasis
Last time tellin' you baby I mean what I say
The singer is reiterating the importance of their warning
Last time tellin you to stop that jive
This is the final warning to stop their nonsensical behavior
Gonna find yourself outside
The singer will evict the person if they don't change their behavior
Oh baby, whatcha gonna do
The artist is questioning if the person will take action
I'm sick and tired of foolin' around with you
The artist has reached their breaking point with the person's behavior
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: FRANCIS DOMINIC NICHOLAS ROSSI, RICHARD JOHN PARFITT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind