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
Speak Low
Boz Scaggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you speak love
Our summer day
Withers away
Too soon, too soon
Speak low
When you speak love
Like ships adrift
We're swept away too soon
Speak low
Darling, speak low
Love is a spark
Lost in the dark
Too soon, too soon
I feel
Wherever I go
That tomorrow is near
Tomorrow is here
And always too soon
Time is so old
And love so brief
Love is pure gold
And time, a thief
Late
Darling, we're late
The curtain descends
Everything ends
Too soon, too soon
I wait
Darling, I wait
Will you speak low to me?
Speak love to me
And soon
Time is so old
And love so brief
Love is pure gold
And time, a thief
We're late
Darling, we're late
The curtain descends
Everything ends
Too soon, too soon
I wait
Darling, I wait
Will you speak low to me?
Speak love to me
Speak love to me
Speak love to me
Speak low to me
But speak to me
Speak to me soon
The song "Speak Low" by Boz Scaggs is a melancholic, romantic ballad that expresses the sentiments of someone who knows that their love affair will be short-lived, and they want to savor each moment. The lyrics of the song start by urging the other person to speak softly, to speak low if they want to express their love. This is perhaps because the singer does not want their relationship to be too loud, too obvious, as if it would draw too much attention and be over too soon. The next lines reflect on the passing of time: "Our summer day withers away too soon," indicating that the relationship is like a fleeting summer day that fades away before one can appreciate it.
The chorus repeats the same warning cry: to speak low, to be careful, to cherish the moments they have. The second verses of the song add to the somber mood, with the line "Love is a spark lost in the dark, too soon, too soon." This line paints a vivid image of love as a brief flash that can barely be seen before disappearing into the darkness, reinforcing the sense of urgency in the song. The final verses echo the sense of approaching finality, with the singer lamenting that everything will end "too soon," and urging his lover to speak to him before it’s too late.
Overall, "Speak Low" is a bittersweet reminder of how fleeting love can be, how every moment should be treasured, and how important it is to make the most of our time with the ones we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Speak low
Speak softly and well-measured when you express your feelings of love.
When you speak love
When you verbally express your feelings of love.
Our summer day
A period of happiness and warmth in our romantic relationship.
Withers away
Disappears quickly and abruptly.
Too soon, too soon
Happening or ending prematurely.
Our moment is swift
Our time together is short-lived and passes by quickly.
Like ships adrift
As unanchored and aimless as sea vessels in the water.
We're swept away too soon
We are carried off and separated too soon before we can fully enjoy each other's company.
Love is a spark
Love is an initial small flame of passion.
Lost in the dark
Love is easily extinguished and disappears in emotional obscurity.
I feel
I have a presentiment or sensation.
Wherever I go
No matter where I venture or travel to.
That tomorrow is near
That future time or events are approaching rapidly and will happen soon.
Tomorrow is here
The future has already arrived.
And always too soon
And it always happens before we are entirely prepared or happy about it.
Time is so old
Time is a long-lasting and ancient concept that has outlived most things it has touched.
And love so brief
Love is a fleeting and transitory emotion that doesn't last for long.
Love is pure gold
Love has a precious and valued quality.
And time, a thief
Although time is essential, it steals the most important things from us, such as love and life.
Late
We are running out of time and have little left to pursue our passion for each other.
Darling, we're late
My dearest, we have waited too long to experience love to the fullest extent possible.
The curtain descends
The figurative curtain signaling the end of an act in life is coming down.
Everything ends
All things eventually come to a close or finish.
I wait
I am patient and anticipate the forthcoming moment with longing.
Will you speak low to me?
Can you express your love for me softly and gently?
Speak love to me
Tell me about your love for me.
But speak to me
Communicate with me honestly and openly about your feelings.
Speak to me soon
Speak to me without delay or hesitation, for time is short.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind