Keep It Down
Jack Bruce Lyrics


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Keep it down
If it's still hangin' around
Kept away
Well it's lost inside a day
On the journey through the street
To the corner you have to meet
Keep keepin' it down
If it's hangin' around

In the dawn
When the last drop it has gone
Summer leaves
From the hill where my love grieves
In the sun where you met her
In the shade where you left her
Keep keepin' it down
If it's hangin' around

You've got to keep it down
And never let it go to the top
'Cause you know that if it does
The roundabout is nevver gonna stop, never gonna stop

In the night
There's a space replaces your face
That you lent
I don't know just how it went
Though the trains have passed it by
It still sits up in your sky
Keep keepin' it down




If it's hangin' around
Yeah... Keep it down... keep it down... keep it down...

Overall Meaning

The song Keep It Down by Jack Bruce is a captivating piece that showcases excellent songwriting skills. The song starts with the first verse urging the listener to keep their problems and worries down so that they don't become overwhelming. The second verse mentions a lost love and acknowledges the pain associated with lost love. The chorus reiterates the importance of keeping negative things down and never letting them reach the top because it will never end, just like a roundabout.


The song's lyrics all have a sense of duality, and it's hard to determine what exactly is being kept down. On one hand, it seems like the song is about keeping negative emotions down and not letting them get the best of you. On the other hand, it could be interpreted as keeping a lost love down and not letting it surface to the top to avoid pain.


The beautiful melody and excellent guitar work perfectly complement the lyrics to create a deeply moving song. Overall, the song's message is profound and universal, speaking volumes about the need to keep negative emotions down and move forward.


Line by Line Meaning

Keep it down
Remain quiet and don't let the issue become too obvious


If it's still hangin' around
If the issue or problem is still persistent


Kept away
Suppressed or hidden from sight


Well it's lost inside a day
It will eventually disappear or be forgotten


On the journey through the street
Traversing the physical or metaphorical streets of life


To the corner you have to meet
Meeting with someone or facing a situation that must be confronted


Keep keepin' it down
Continuously suppress or control the issue


If it's hangin' around
If the issue or problem is still persistent


In the dawn
Early in the morning


When the last drop it has gone
When everything has been exhausted


Summer leaves
The season ending or changing


From the hill where my love grieves
Metaphor for a relationship ending or heartbreak


In the sun where you met her
Where you first fell in love with someone


In the shade where you left her
Where you ended the relationship or left them alone


You've got to keep it down
Stress the importance of suppressing or concealing the issue


And never let it go to the top
Don't allow the issue to become too significant or prominent


'Cause you know that if it does
Because you're aware of the consequences


The roundabout is nevver gonna stop, never gonna stop
The cycle or pattern will continue indefinitely


In the night
During the evening or darkness


There's a space replaces your face
Someone else has taken your place, creating distance between you and the memory


That you lent
Something you shared or gave away temporarily and that was not returned


I don't know just how it went
Uncertainty or doubt about what happened


Though the trains have passed it by
Time has passed by, but the issue or memory remains


It still sits up in your sky
The memory or issue remains in your mind, weighing you down


Yeah... Keep it down... keep it down... keep it down...
Emphasis on the importance of suppressing or concealing the issue




Contributed by Thomas M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@huibnost

A more elsborate and complex version.I liked the guitarplay,the voice sets more more melodic in.
The song felt more personal.I ofter was afraid that there might be some dark world behind me,even at schoolage,but after all I prefered to avoid tensions and never had really to keep down anything.
Once I thought that there was a lightened had above me.I don't know when.6-10 years old.Sometimes I wondered,could it have been my grandfather.So it must have been between 10 and 12.
Later writing about,20-40 years later I heard a remarkable clear voice saying I didn't had to fear for .I don't belief it was God.Maybe some freemasonstrick?It seemed stronger than my imagination.
Later they really called me crazy.They called it an endurong psychosis.
Well,I have never been psychotic.I only feared for whatever reason I could become crazy.There was indeed a short period some 40 ,50 years ago with several real tensions prevailing.It wasn't fine,but I could keep it down.
I experience the song as a personal message,but sometimes as a social metaphor for a period of revolution and war.
And sometimes I also considet what is called entrepreneurship as a more or less psychotic state of mind,
but also the whole complex of the neodarwinistic political and economic liberal ideology,so many religions and stubborn thatcherist middle class lies as well as driven revolutionaries.
It's not difficult to be 'normal' ,but you never can be really free.



@huibnost

Ik bezocht toen een psychiater.Hij was bekend met de familie.
Ik zag hem als een soort initiator.
Ik kwam in een soort geleide associatie.Ik noemde de naam van Wolfgang Abendroth.Een socialistisch theoreticus wiens naam zo sterk contrasteerde met het ochtendrood.Zoals een professor een keer opmerkte :'Nomen est omen," ,toen ik me voorstelde.
Hij vroeg wat er door me heen ging.
" Iets demonisch" zei ik..
Ik ervoer zijn aanwezigheid zo.Ik had het gevoel dat ik hem kon aanvliegen.I kept it down.Misschien voelde ik me verraden,dat hij geen hoeder,'saviour' bleek.
Hij vroeg of ik driftbuien had.
Ik zei dat ik alleen maar gecontroleerd kwaad kon zijn,maar mijn moeder....
Er waren wat kleine dingetjes waarop ik me concentreerde ter afleiding.
Het was een soort ontlading die over me heen kwam.
Ik realiseerde me dat ik er alleen voor stond.
To make it by myself.
Zoals mijn toenmalige huisarts eerder al eens had gezegd :
"Jij geneest jezelf,"



All comments from YouTube:

@AOK3x3

There will never be anyone else quite like Jack Bruce. His ability to sing n play bass and improvise all at once was a gift! I've never seen or heard anyone else quite like him. Are you listen Rick Beato?

@JensPucher

i dont know where to start...that voice, thas basslines, that solo from MT, and that drummer is so on fire. love it!!!

@GustavoCarvalhodosSantos

He always said Hendrix was a force of nature, but him was a type of nature too.
He was a beast

@AOK3x3

Yes now imagine Jimi and Jack together in a band! A regular Tsunami !!!!

@looseparts

Waited my WHOLE LIFE to see this much talked-about session. The internet is really something. Wow. Thank you !

@alwilson3204

I always felt this was the best song from that album.

@shootfirst2097

Mick Taylor is such a melodic guitarist. Doesn't get the credit he deservies

@thickerbrummietwat

@GreatWhiteZep

This sounds remarkably good for a BBC recording. The whole session should be released officially

@ludwik7326

This is so good, virtuosos who managed to listen to each other and play for the song without overshadowing each other, this is really the ultimate level of musicianship in popular music 👏

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