Eric Victor Burdon (May 11, 1941 in Newcastle, England) is a singer. He for… Read Full Bio ↴Eric Victor Burdon (May 11, 1941 in Newcastle, England) is a singer. He formed The Animals in 1963, a blues rock group who were one of the early influences of punk rock. They were known for their organ-guitar sound and Burdon's aggressive show performance, screaming, growling and howling. In September 1966 he formed Eric Burdon & The Animals, a psychedelic/progressive/hard rock group, who influenced grunge, heavy metal and the modern alternative rock genre. When they disbanded in late 1968, Burdon formed War, an experimental funk/soul/jazz/blues/latin rock-outfit.

Burdon left also this band and run back to stardome in the mid-70s with The Eric Burdon Band producing heavy rocking songs. He went on forming short-living groups such as Eric Burdon's Fire Dept. in 1980, another Eric Burdon Band in 1981, especially for a motion picture-starring role in Comeback for which he made the soundtrack and a reunion band with The Animals in 1983 to get back to the Mainstream Charts. The 1980s saw Burdon in genres such as heavy metal, new wave, pop, reggae, disco, blues, rock and roll, punk, funk and rap. He also published his album "I Used To Be An Animal" as well as his autobiography with the same title. He went on touring in stadiums as well as in small clubs around the world.

In 1990 he formed the Eric Burdon & Robby Krieger Band who toured mainly in America. They recorded some demo tapes, but never released them. In 1991 he toured the world again as Eric Burdon & Brian Auger Band. They released a double-live album, "Access All Areas" in 1993, showing versions of Burdon's old hits in new musical outfits, once again as a blues, metal, reggae and fusion performer.

In 1994 they got disbanded, Burdon got introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he performed 1995 with Bon Jovi and created a new group of high-professional musicians, Eric Burdon's i Band. They disbanded in 1998 and he formed Eric Burdon & The New Animals. In 2003 they changed their name in Eric Burdon & The Animals, after some band changes. In 2004 the long awaited studio-album "My Secret Life" was released and brought him back into the mainstream charts and in late 2005 the live album "Athens Traffic Live" was released.

Burdon formed a new band-line-up, also touring as Eric Burdon & The Animals. In January 2006 he released "Soul of a Man", with good critics worldwide. He wanted to create an album who is dedicated to the blues and rnb. Since then he toured the world without a break, always looking for new material, performing with other famous musicians.

Recently, Burdon wrote a screenplay called "Twisted Oliver" and is working on a new studio album. He turned down tours with War and Linkin Park in the last year, but it seems that the new year is bringing many surprises.

Many of his bands also used elements of speed metal, thrash metal, grindcore and death metal.

He's definitely one of the most important people in music history, while recording the first #1 hit with a length more than four minutes, "House of the Rising Sun", the most popular anti-vietnam song "We Gotta Get out of this Place", the first song recorded in stereo, "Sky Pilot" and the first latin rap in pop music, "Spill the Wine". His self-written rock song "Year of the Guru" (1968) proves that he created the first rap rock-song. His political environment can be seen in his multi-racial project with the band War from late 1969 to early 1971. In 2008 he reunited with the band at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Without his experimental vocals, hip hop, rap, heavy metal, rock, pop and rnb would have a completely different face.

His singing style and music also influenced artists such as Joe Cocker, The Doors, Deep Purple, The Brute Chorus, Ted Nugent, Janis Joplin, The Sonics, Steppenwolf, Chester Bennington, Bruce Springsteen, The Black Crowes, Tom Petty, The White Stripes, Ryan Adams, John Mellencamp, The Compulsive Gamblers, The Vines, Julian Thome, The Hives, MC5 and many more.

In November 2008 the magazine Rolling Stone ranked him #57 on their list of the Best Singers of all Times.

Formations:

The Animals & Sonny Boy Williamson (December 30, 1963)
The Animals (1964 - September 1966, 1976, 1983/84)
Eric Burdon & The Animals (1967 - 1968)
Eric Burdon & War (1969 - 1971)
Eric Burdon & Jimmy Witherspoon (1971)
The Eric Burdon Band (1973 - 1975)
Eric Burdon's Fire Department (1980)
Eric Burdon, Robbie Krieger & Friends (1990)
Eric Burdon & Brian Auger Band (1991 - 1993)
Eric Burdon's I Band (1995 - 1998)
Eric Burdon & The New Animals (1999 - 2002)
Eric Burdon (1976 - ...)

Bare Back Ride
Eric Burdon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let?s go bare back ridin? baby, yes.
Come on baby, let?s go bare back ridin? right now.

Hat on your head, boots on your feet, spurs on your heels, you look so sweet,
And this little pony rides so sweet, so sweet, so sweet, so sweet, so sweet!

Get on that little pony right now, baby, yes.
Get on that little pony, you?ve got to ride.

Saddle on her back, bit in her mouth,
I?ll head north, she heads south,
And if she lose me, you know you?ve just blew it, you blew it,
Don?t blow it, don?t blow it, don?t blow!
Oh, blow baby. Ow!

Yes, I wanna ride.
Yea babe, I wanna ride.
Come on baby, let me ride with you.
Come on baby, let me ride with you.

I don?t wanna ride, English-style.
I don?t wanna ride, Western-style, oh no.
I wanna ride, like Geronimo used to ride.
Like Sittin? Bird used to ride. Like Apaches used to ride.

I?m talkin? ?bout bare back, bare back ridin?.
You can?t get any closer, talkin? ?bout bare back, yea.
Talkin? ?bout skin-to-skin,
Talkin? ?bout you and me,
Talkin? ?bout ridin? in the sunset,
Ridin? all night long, yea, all night long, all night long.

Grab the pony and ride,
Grab that pony and ride,
Grab that pony and ride,
Grab that pony and ride,

Grab that pony, grab that pony, grab that pony,
Grab that pony, grab that pony and ride.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Bare Back Ride by Eric Burdon & WAR are about the desire for an intimate and adventurous experience with a lover. The song starts with the invitation to go bare back riding, which refers to riding a horse without a saddle. The imagery of the hat, boots, and spurs create the imagery of a cowboy or cowgirl. The little pony mentioned in the song is a symbol of the freedom, exhilaration, and simplicity of the moment.

The singer of the song is asking his lover to join him in this unconventional and exciting ride. He suggests that if the pony loses him, then she has blown it, indicating that this is a test of trust and intimacy. The lyrics also reference Native American style of riding with names like Geronimo and Sittin' Bird. The singer emphasizes the skin-to-skin aspect, which is both sensual and adds to the naturalness and authenticity of the experience.

Overall, Bare Back Ride is a celebration of spontaneity, intimacy, and freedom that comes from breaking away from the conventions of modern society.

Line by Line Meaning

Let's go bare back ridin' baby, yes.
Let's ride a horse without a saddle or bridle, baby.

Hat on your head, boots on your feet, spurs on your heels, you look so sweet,
You look good with your hat, boots, and spurs on.

And this little pony rides so sweet, so sweet, so sweet, so sweet, so sweet!
The pony is a pleasure to ride.

Get on that little pony right now, baby, yes.
Get on the pony now, baby.

Get on that little pony, you've got to ride.
You have to ride the pony.

Saddle on her back, bit in her mouth,
There's a saddle and bit for the pony.

I'll head north, she heads south,
I'll go north, and the pony will go south.

And if she lose me, you know you've just blew it, you blew it,
Don't let the pony lose me, or you'll ruin it.

Don't blow it, don't blow it, don't blow!
Don't ruin it.

Yes, I wanna ride.
I want to ride.

Yea babe, I wanna ride.
Yes, babe, I want to ride.

Come on baby, let me ride with you.
Let me ride with you, baby.

I don't wanna ride, English-style.
I don't want to ride with English-style saddles.

I don't wanna ride, Western-style, oh no.
I don't want to ride with Western-style saddles either.

I wanna ride, like Geronimo used to ride.
I want to ride like the Apache warrior Geronimo.

Like Sittin' Bird used to ride. Like Apaches used to ride.
Like the Apache chief Sittin' Bird and other Apaches did.

I'm talkin' 'bout bare back, bare back ridin'.
I mean riding without a saddle, bare back ridin'.

You can't get any closer, talkin' 'bout bare back, yea.
Riding bare back is as close as you can get to the animal.

Talkin' 'bout skin-to-skin,
Talking about touching the animal's skin directly.

Talkin' 'bout you and me,
Talking about us, who are riding.

Talkin' 'bout ridin' in the sunset,
Talking about riding during a sunset.

Ridin' all night long, yea, all night long, all night long.
Riding continuously all night long.

Grab the pony and ride,
Take the pony and start riding.

Grab that pony and ride,
Take the pony and ride it.

Grab that pony, grab that pony, grab that pony,
Take the pony quickly and firmly.

Grab that pony, grab that pony and ride.
Take the pony and start riding now.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHARLES MILLER, HAROLD RAY I. BROWN, HOWARD E. SCOTT, LE ROY L. JORDAN, LEE OSKAR, MORRIS DEWAYNE DICKERSON, SYLVESTER ALLEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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