MC5 is an American rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan, formed in 1964. T… Read Full Bio ↴MC5 is an American rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan, formed in 1964. The original band line-up comprised vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson. Early success in and around Detroit led to the band name, MC5 being short for "Motor City Five". The band's radical left-wing political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as emerging innovators of the punk rock movement in the United States. Though Thompson is the only surviving original member of the band, the band's first three albums are regarded by many as staples of rock music, and their 1969 song "Kick Out the Jams" is widely covered. MC5 was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2002, 2016 and 2018.

MC5 had a promising beginning that earned them a January 1969 cover appearance in Rolling Stone magazine and a story written by Eric Ehrmann before their debut album was released. They developed a reputation for energetic and polemical live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams. Their initial run was short-lived, though. In 1972, just three years after their debut record, the band came to an end. Often cited as one of the most important American hard rock groups of that era, their three albums are regarded by many as classics.

Tyner died of a heart attack in late 1991 at the age of 46. Smith also died of a heart attack, in 1994 at the age of 45. The remaining three members of the band reformed in 2003 with The Dictators' singer Handsome Dick Manitoba as its new vocalist, and this reformed line-up occasionally performed live over the next nine years until Davis died of liver failure in February 2012 at the age of 68.

In 2022, Kramer announced that a tour would take place that spring, and that a new MC5 studio album with producer Bob Ezrin would also be released later that year with original MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson playing on two tracks. In 2023, Kramer announced that the album would be released in the spring of 2024. Kramer died in February 2024, leaving Thompson as the only surviving original member of the band.

Miss X
MC5 Lyrics

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Oh now, yeah, yeah
Hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah
I see you lyin' here
You're so close, you're so near

Causing sensations rollin' through me
Comes on strong, feels just like a spell
Sensations rollin', turnin' from me to you

Causing this aura of heat to swirl

Your lips, your undulating hips
Squeeze me, oh so tight
Fulfill me through the night

Causing sensations rollin' through me
Comes on strong, feels just like a spell
Sensations rollin', turnin' from me to you
Causing this aura of heat to swirl

Yeah
(Comes on strong)
Yeah baby, baby, baby, baby, baby
(Comes on strong)
Don't you know my blood is raging?

(Comes on strong)
Darling, darling, darling, darling
(Comes on strong)
I'm tired of all my failings
Bring me close and burn, burn, burn

Heat gives way to sweat
My body's soaking wet
We slide and slip from hip to lip

Causing sensations rollin' through me
Comes on strong, feels just like a spell
Sensations rollin', turnin' from me to you
Causing this aura of heat to swirl

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh baby, baby, you'll always make me hot
Come on and gimme all you've got

Yeah, yeah, yeah I, yeah, yeah
I, I, I, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Overall Meaning

The MC5's song Miss X is a classic example of the intensity and rawness of 60s rock n' roll. The lyrics are bold and brash, with a not-so-subtle sexual tone that reflected the rebellion and hedonism of the times. The song is about the singer's desire for a woman - Miss X - whom he sees lying close to him. He feels intense sensations and heat that is almost overwhelming - it rolls through him like a spell. The woman's undulating hips and lips squeeze him tight and fulfill him through the night, and the heat between them is all-consuming.

The verses are intense and almost feverish, with the chorus serving as a release for the passion that is building between the two. And with the final lines of the song - "Oh baby, baby, you'll always make me hot / Come on and gimme all you've got" - the song explodes into a frenzy of guitar riffs and pounding drums.

Overall, Miss X is a song about sexuality and desire that speaks to the primal nature of human beings. It's a track that captures the rebellious spirit of the 60s and the attitude of rock n' roll at its best.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh now, yeah, yeah
Acknowledging immediate physical attraction

Hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah
Expressing enthusiasm

I see you lyin' here
Observing the person's presence

You're so close, you're so near
Noting the person's proximity

Causing sensations rollin' through me
Feeling an intense rush of emotion

Comes on strong, feels just like a spell
Suggesting a powerful, primal attraction

Sensations rollin', turnin' from me to you
Describing how the feelings are mutual

Causing this aura of heat to swirl
Evoking the intense physical heat and desire

Your lips, your undulating hips
Admiring the person's physical features

Squeeze me, oh so tight
Expressing the physical embrace

Fulfill me through the night
Describing the desire to be intimate