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 - ...)

Tobacco Road
Eric Burdon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was born in a bunk
My mother died and my daddy got drunk
Left me here to die or grow
In the middle of Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road

I grew up in a rusty shack

All I ever opened was hangin' on my back
Lord above knows how much I loathe
This mean old place called Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
But it's home, yes

The only life I've ever known
And the Lord knows how much I loathe
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road, yeah
Tobacco Road, yeah
I'm talking 'bout road
I'm talking 'bout that road
Tobacco Road, yeah
Everybody's got some
Everybody's got some
Everybody be some
Everybody remember some
Tobacco Road, yeah
Road, yeah, road yeah, road yeah, road yeah, road yeah
But it's home, hmm
The only life this boy has ever known, yeah
And the Lord knows how much I loathe
Tobacco Road
Yeah, road
Tobacco Road, yeah
Tobacco Road, hmm
Well I'm gonna leave and get a job
With the help and the grace from above
Bring me some dynamite and I'll give you a crane
And I'll blow it all up, tear it down, tear it down, start all over again
And I'll build me a town, people, I'll be proud to show
And I'll keep the name, and I'll keep the name
And I'll keep the name
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Oh I despise and disapprove you
But I love you, 'cause you're my home, baby
You are my home
The only life I've ever known
You are my home
You are my home
Yes you're my home
Yes baby you're my home
You're my home

Yes, you're home
Yes
The only life I've ever known
And the Lord knows how much I loathe
Tobacco Road, yeah
Tobacco Road, yeah
Tobacco Road, yeah

Dirty 'n-a-filthy, dirty 'n-a-filthy
But I love you, but I love
'Cause you're my home
You are my home
You are my home
You are my home
Baby, you call me back, cover the lights but you're my home
Hmm, you're my home
Take me home
Take me home
Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road
You're my home

Overall Meaning

The song "Tobacco Road" by Eric Burdon and Jimi Hendrix talks about the struggle of growing up in a poor, rural area called Tobacco Road. The lyrics paint an image of a young boy who was born into a rough family situation after his mother died, and was left to either die or survive in the deprived area. The lyrics touch on themes of homesickness, love-hate relationships with the place you come from and the desire for something better. The writer has a strong urge to leave Tobacco Road and start over, with the help of dynamite if necessary, to build a town he can be proud of.

The lyrics of the song can be interpreted in various ways; some people take it literally as describing the experience of growing up in a tobacco farm, while others see it as a metaphor for the struggles of being born into poverty or facing a tough upbringing. The song's lyrics have a strong emotional depth that makes it relatable to different people's experiences, whether it's growing up in struggling areas or struggling with the downward pull of nostalgia.

Line by Line Meaning

I was born in a bunk
I was born in a low-quality sleeping place

My mother died and my daddy got drunk
My mother passed away and my father became an alcoholic

Left me here to die or grow
My father left me with two options: either perish or survive and develop

In the middle of Tobacco Road
In a place called Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road
The name of the place where I live

I grew up in a rusty shack
I was raised in a rundown and dilapidated dwelling

All I ever opened was hangin' on my back
All I ever carried was the clothes on my back

Lord above knows how much I loathe
I abhor and detest this place, and God knows it

This mean old place called Tobacco Road
This harsh and unkind place called Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road
The name of the place where I live

But it's home, yes
Despite everything, this is still the place I call home

The only life I've ever known
This is the only kind of life that I have ever experienced

And the Lord knows how much I loathe
God knows how disgusted and repelled I am by this place

Tobacco Road
The name of the place where I live

Tobacco Road, yeah
The name of the place where I live, yeah

I'm talking 'bout road
I'm referring to the road that leads to my home

I'm talking 'bout that road
I'm specifically talking about Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road, yeah
The name of the place where I live, yeah

Everybody's got some
Everyone has their own version of Tobacco Road

Everybody be some
Everyone belongs to a certain place

Everybody remember some
Everyone has memories of their hometown

Tobacco Road, yeah
The name of the place where I live, yeah

Road, yeah, road yeah, road yeah, road yeah, road yeah
Repetition of the name of the place where I live

But it's home, hmm
But despite everything, this place is where I belong

The only life this boy has ever known, yeah
This is the only way of living that I, as a boy, have ever experienced

And the Lord knows how much I loathe
God knows how much I despise and detest this place

Tobacco Road, yeah
The name of the place where I live, yeah

Well I'm gonna leave and get a job
I'm going to depart from this place and find employment

With the help and the grace from above
With the assistance and the divine intervention of God

Bring me some dynamite and I'll give you a crane
If you give me an explosive device, I'll offer you a mechanical hoist

And I'll blow it all up, tear it down, tear it down, start all over again
And I'll use the dynamite to demolish Tobacco Road, and begin anew

And I'll build me a town, people, I'll be proud to show
And I'll construct a city that I'll feel overjoyed to exhibit to others

And I'll keep the name, and I'll keep the name
And I'll maintain the name of my hometown

And I'll keep the name
And I'll avoid changing the name of my hometown

Tobacco Road
The current name of the place I despise

Oh I despise and disapprove you
I have strong feelings of hatred and rejection towards Tobacco Road

But I love you, 'cause you're my home, baby
But despite that, I experience a deep attachment to and sentimentality towards Tobacco Road because it's where I was born and raised

You are my home
You, Tobacco Road, are the location of my home

The only life I've ever known
This is the only way of living that I've ever experienced

You are my home
You, Tobacco Road, are the location of my home

Yes you're my home
Yes, Tobacco Road is where my home is located

Yes baby you're my home
Yes, Tobacco Road serves as the location of my home

You're my home
Tobacco Road is the place where my home is located

Yes, you're home
Yes, Tobacco Road is the place I call home

Yes
Acknowledgment of the previous statement

The only life I've ever known
This is the only kind of life that I have ever experienced

And the Lord knows how much I loathe
God knows how disgusted and repelled I am by this place

Tobacco Road, yeah
The name of the place where I live, yeah

Dirty 'n-a-filthy, dirty 'n-a-filthy
A variation of the name of the place where I live, emphasizing its uncleanliness

But I love you, but I love
Despite everything, I have an attachment and fondness towards this place

'Cause you're my home
Because Tobacco Road is the location of my home

You are my home
You, Tobacco Road, are the location of my home

Baby, you call me back, cover the lights but you're my home
Although Tobacco Road may be considered unsavory and unsightly, I still consider it my home and it has a special place in my heart

Hmm, you're my home
Tobacco Road is my home, with all its flaws and issues

Take me home
Bring me back to Tobacco Road, my place of origin

Tobacco Road
The name of the place where I live

You're my home
Tobacco Road is the place where my home is located

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John D. Loudermilk

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS