John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were a pioneering English blues band, led b… Read Full Bio ↴John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and '67 then dropped it for some fifteen years, but in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and the name began to be re-used. The name became generic without a clear distinction which recordings could be credited just to the leader or to leader and his band. The Bluesbreakers have included luminaries such as:

* Eric Clapton (April–August 1965, November 1965–July 1966) and Jack Bruce, who both left to form Cream,

* Peter Green, who had replaced Clapton, played until August 1967, when he departed with Mick Fleetwood and then also enticed Bluesbreaker John McVie a few weeks later to form Fleetwood Mac

* Mick Taylor (August 1967–July 1969) who later joined The Rolling Stones, and reunion tours in 1982–83 and 2004,

* Harvey Mandel, Walter Trout, Larry Taylor (later in Canned Heat),

* Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Randy Resnick, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (Free), Chris Mercer, Henry Lowther, Johnny Almond and Jon Mark (later of Mark-Almond).

The Bluesbreakers were formed in January 1963 and became an ever-evolving lineup of more than 100 different combinations of musicians performing under that name. Eric Clapton joined in 1965 just a few months after the release of their first album. Clapton brought the blues influences to the forefront of the group, as he had left The Yardbirds in order to play the blues.

The group lost their record contract with Decca that year, which also saw the release of a single called "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (produced by Jimmy Page), followed by a return to Decca in 1966. The album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (also known as The Beano Album because Clapton is shown on the cover photo reading a copy of the comic) was released later that year; it reached the Top Ten in the UK.

Clapton and Jack Bruce left the group that year to form Cream. Clapton was replaced by Peter Green for A Hard Road, after which he left to form Fleetwood Mac. Finally, in 1969, the third Bluesbreaker-guitarist departed when Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones.

By the time the 1960s were over, the Bluesbreakers had finally achieved some success in the United States.

With some interruptions, the Bluesbreakers have continued to tour and release albums (over 50 to date), though they never achieved the critical or popular acclaim of their earlier material. In 2003, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber reunited with the band for John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert in Liverpool — the concert was later released on CD and DVD. In 2004, their line up included Buddy Whittington, Joe Yuele, Hank Van Sickle and Tom Canning, and the band toured the UK with Mick Taylor as a guest musician.

In November 2008 Mayall announced on his website he was disbanding the Bluesbreakers to cut back on his heavy workload and give himself freedom to work with other musicians.

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John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Just a silly kind of quarrel
When we made each other wild
Just a silly kind of quarrel
When we made each other wild
Maybe both of us were wrong
But somebody's acting like a child

You shouldn't have been so selfish

I shouldn't have walked out
You shouldn't have been so selfish
I shouldn't have walked out
It makes you kind of wonder
What love is all about

Now I've gone and lost my feelings
Ever since you got me riled
Now I've gone and lost my feelings
Ever since you got me riled

Maybe we should talk it over
Somebody's acting like a child

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Somebody's Acting Like A Child" by John Mayall talks about a petty argument between two lovers that led to both of them acting like children towards each other. The lines "Just a silly kind of quarrel, when we made each other wild" emphasize the fact that the fight was insignificant, and it was blown up out of proportion by both parties involved. However, the line "Maybe both of us were wrong, but somebody's acting like a child" highlights the irony of the situation where both of them might have contributed to the argument, yet only one of them is acting immaturely in response.

The chorus of the song discusses how the lovers regret their actions after the argument has ended. The line "You shouldn't have been so selfish, I shouldn't have walked out" shows how they both acknowledge their mistakes, but it is too late to change the course of events. The lines "Now I've gone and lost my feelings, ever since you got me riled" express the impact the argument has on their emotions and how it is hard to retract the feelings that have already been expressed. The final line of the chorus - "Maybe we should talk it over, somebody's acting like a child" - is a call for reconciliation, an acknowledgment that there is still hope for their relationship if they can communicate and understand each other's perspective.

Overall, "Somebody's Acting Like A Child" is a song that talks about the fragile nature of love and relationships. It emphasizes the importance of communication, understanding, and compromise in resolving conflicts in a relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

Just a silly kind of quarrel
It was just an insignificant argument

When we made each other wild
But it made us both upset and angry

Maybe both of us were wrong
It's possible that we both made mistakes

But somebody's acting like a child
However, someone is not maturely handling the situation

You shouldn't have been so selfish
You were unreasonably thinking only of yourself

I shouldn't have walked out
I shouldn't have left in the heat of the moment

It makes you kind of wonder
It makes you question

What love is all about
What it truly means to love someone

Now I've gone and lost my feelings
Now I don't feel the same way anymore

Ever since you got me riled
Ever since you upset and angered me

Maybe we should talk it over
Perhaps we should have a conversation about it