A lot of their initial popularity came from positive press in the UK (when many other Krautrock bands were shunned by UK media such as NME) and airplay on John Peel's BBC radio programmes, which led to extensive touring in the UK. They also gained exposure in Germany by doing soundtrack work for German filmmakers.
Keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and bassist/producer Holger Czukay had studied electronic music together under Karlheinz Stockhausen circa 1966. Schmidt was inspired to start the group following a trip to New York where he was "corrupted' by Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground. As well as Schmidt and Czukay, the initial lineup included guitarist Michael Karoli, a former pupil of Czukay; and drummer Jaki Liebezeit.
Their first vocalist was an American sculptor, Malcolm Mooney, who joined them living in an old castle with their own music studio, Inner Space. Mooney added a sort of "outsider artist" approach to his improvised vocals, but the chaotic lifestyle was damaging to his mental health and he eventually fled back to the USA on advice of a psychiatrist. He later contributed to the 'reunion' album Rite Time in the mid '80s.
Mooney was replaced by Kenji "Damo" Suzuki, found busking outside a cafΓ© in Munich. With Damo Suzuki they made their classic albums Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973). Suzuki left the group in 1973, marrying his German girlfriend and becoming a Jehovah's Witness; he subsequently resumed touring and recording as a solo artist. He sadly passed away on 09.02.2024 at the age of 74.
Following Suzuki's departure the music at first became even more atmospheric and electronic-based, with Karoli and Schmidt providing occasional vocals. However they then moved towards conventional music forms such as disco and reggae. The disco-influenced single I Want More was an international hit in 1976. The lineup was bolstered in 1977 by the addition of former Traffic bassist Rosko Gee and percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah, while original bassist Czukay was relegated to making electronic sound effects.
The group split in 1979 but reunited briefly in the mid-80s and early 90s.
One More Night
Can Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One more grey shoot,
One more happy to love,
One more Saturday night.
One more thinking you should,
One more thinking you're right,
One more thinking you love,
One more thinking you're bad,
One more thinking you should,
One more thinking you love,
One more thinking you're fine.
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night.
Come back, come back,
Come back, come back,
Come back, come back,
Come back, come back,
Come back, come back,
Come back, come back,
Come back, come back, come back,
Come back, come back, come back,
Come back, come back, come back,
Come back, come back, come back,
Come back, come back, come back,
Come back, come back, come back.
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you laugh.
One more suck at your life,
One more suck at your life,
One more suck at your life,
One more suck at your life,
One more suck at your life,
One more suck at your life,
One more suck at your head,
One more suck at your feet,
One more suck at your eyes,
One more suck at your shed.
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night,
One more Saturday night.
One more entering head,
One more entering out,
One more entering head,
One more entering out,
One more entering head,
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you laugh,
One more thinking you're down,
One more thinking you're down,
One more thinking you're down,
One more thinking you're down,
One more thinking where you go,
One more thinking where you go,
One more Saturday night, oh.
The lyrics to "One More Night" by Can are cryptic and open to interpretation. The repetition of "one more" and "Saturday night" creates a sense of monotony and routine, suggesting that the singer feels stuck in a cyclical pattern of behavior. The use of the word "shoot" in the first stanza implies drug use, adding a darker edge to the lyrics.
The subsequent stanzas repeat the same phrases with slight variations, suggesting that the singer is trapped in their thoughts and cannot break free from their obsessive thinking. The repetition of "suck at your life" highlights feelings of inadequacy and frustration.
The final stanza introduces a new phrase, "entering head," possibly referring to intrusive thoughts. The song concludes with the singer questioning their destination and feeling uncertain about the future.
Overall, the lyrics to "One More Night" convey a sense of dissatisfaction and restlessness, with the singer feeling trapped in their own thoughts and behaviors.
Line by Line Meaning
One more Saturday night,
The singer is looking forward to another weekend night of leisure and fun.
One more grey shoot,
The singer is feeling down and possibly addicted, but is still pushing forward through life.
One more happy to love,
The singer is excited to experience another fulfilling romantic relationship.
One more Saturday night.
The artist reiterates their anticipation for the upcoming weekend night.
One more thinking you should,
The artist is second-guessing their actions or decisions, possibly out of guilt or regret.
One more thinking you're right,
The singer is confident in their beliefs or actions and not open to alternative perspectives.
One more thinking you love,
The singer is reflecting on their feelings of love, possibly for the first time or after a long time.
One more thinking you're right,
The artist reiterates their unwavering belief in their correctness and unwillingness to question themselves.
One more thinking you're bad,
The artist is having negative thoughts about themselves, possibly about their character or past actions.
One more thinking you should,
The artist continues to doubt their choices or behavior, possibly due to societal or moral standards.
One more thinking you love,
The singer is reaffirming their love for someone, possibly trying to convince themselves of their feelings.
One more thinking you're fine.
The artist is convincing themselves that everything is okay, possibly when it is not.
Come back, come back,
The singer is calling out for something or someone to return to them.
Come back, come back,
The singer repeats their plea for something or someone to come back to them.
Come back, come back,
The singer repeats their call, emphasizing their desire for what they have lost.
Come back, come back,
The artist hopes that their message will be received and responded to.
Come back, come back, come back,
The artist continues to repeat their plea, possibly feeling desperate or hopeless.
Come back, come back, come back,
The singer is still hoping for something or someone to return to them.
Come back, come back, come back,
The singer's repetition of their plea emphasizes how important it is to them.
One more thinking you laugh,
The artist is reflecting on moments of happiness in their life, possibly trying to hold onto them.
One more thinking you laugh.
The artist is repeating their thoughts about happy memories, possibly finding comfort in remembering them.
One more suck at your life,
The artist feels like their life is a failure or is going downhill.
One more suck at your life,
The singer repeats their negative thoughts about their life, possibly feeling stuck or hopeless.
One more suck at your life,
The artist continues to dwell on their negative thoughts, possibly feeling unable to escape them.
One more suck at your life,
The singer emphasizes the negativity in their life, possibly feeling overwhelmed by it all.
One more suck at your head,
The singer is feeling mentally drained or stressed, possibly due to their negative thoughts.
One more suck at your feet,
The singer is feeling physically worn out or exhausted, possibly from the stress of their life.
One more suck at your eyes,
The artist's vision of their life is clouded by negativity, making it difficult for them to see anything positive.
One more suck at your shed.
The artist's negative thoughts are affecting all aspects of their life, possibly including their home or personal space.
One more entering head,
The singer is having new thoughts or ideas, possibly trying to distract themselves from negative ones.
One more entering out,
The singer is trying to escape their negative thoughts by focusing on something else or someone else.
One more entering head,
The artist is continuing to think about new things, possibly in an attempt to distract themselves from the negative aspects of their life.
One more entering out,
The artist is still trying to focus on something else to distract themselves from their negative thoughts.
One more entering head,
The artist is trying to stay engaged with the world and new experiences to avoid sinking further into negativity.
One more thinking you laugh,
The singer is trying to hold onto moments of happiness to keep their mind off of their negative thoughts.
One more thinking you laugh,
The artist repeats their thoughts about being happy, possibly trying to convince themselves that they can feel that way again.
One more thinking you laugh,
The singer remembers moments of joy, possibly holding onto them as the only good thing in their life right now.
One more thinking you laugh,
The singer's fixation on moments of happiness reveals that they may not experience joy often in their life.
One more thinking you're down,
The singer is feeling depressed and possibly hopeless about their circumstances.
One more thinking you're down,
The artist continues to focus on their negative thoughts, possibly feeling unable to escape them.
One more thinking you're down,
The artist's negative thoughts are consuming them, making it difficult for them to see anything positive in their life.
One more thinking you're down,
The singer emphasizes the feeling of depression they are experiencing, possibly coming to terms with it.
One more thinking where you go,
The singer is reflecting on their life's purpose, possibly feeling lost or directionless.
One more thinking where you go,
The artist is aware of the aimlessness of their life, possibly feeling like their life has no meaning.
One more Saturday night, oh.
The artist reiterates their anticipation and excitement for the upcoming weekend night.
Lyrics Β© THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Rosko Gee, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt, Holger Schuering, Roberto Rosan, Heiko Schmidt, Matthew Tasa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind