Marc had played guitar since the age of 9, but started to pursue music more seriously around 1964, when he became Toby Tyler, covering songs by Bob Dylan, and Dion.
(A track recorded around this time as Mark Feld, "All At Once" has recently been discovered will be released soon.) In his teen years, Marc became known as one of the first "mods". This led him to a brief stint as a model, and he chose to leave school when he was 14 years old. He also played guitar in a band called John's Children. Marc was needed for this group as a 'Pete Townshend' figure, but after 3 months, he left the band.
Together with Steve Peregrin Took, he formed his own duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, which quickly gained a large underground following. After 3 successful albums, Steve Peregrin Took's drug habits and suggestion of doing some of his own songs was enough for Marc to kick him out of the duo. Mickey Finn quickly replaced Steve, and the new duo recorded the album A Beard Of Stars, with Marc replacing Steve's backing vocals on the tracks they already began recording.
On Marc's second album with Finn, he decided to shorten the name of the band to T. Rex, and found fame and chart succes in 1970 with Ride a White Swan.
Following that success, Marc wrote several more top 10 hits and albums, Electric Warrior(1971), The Slider (1972), Tanx(1973), Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow Or a Creamed Cage In August)(1974), Bolan's Zip-Gun(1975), Futuristic Dragon(1976) and the final album
Dandy In the Underworld(1977).
Marc Bolan tried to make it clear during his lifetime that he was NOT to be grouped in the lot called Glam Rock. In 1973, he appeared under the headline "Glam Rock Is Dead: Says Marc" - he felt he was not being treated seriously as an artist, so with Zinc Alloy onward, he moved into a Rock & Soul sound, radically different than what was the musical trend at the time. Many of Marc's fans stayed behind with the Glam movement, but Marc pursued further into less commercial music adventures, with the help of his soul-singer girlfriend, Gloria Jones. Together they had a son, Rolan Bolan, in 1975.
Tragically, Marc died in a car crash on 16 September 1977 in a purple Mini driven by Gloria Jones.
You Got the Power
Marc Bolan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You got the power
You got the power
You got the power
You got the power, the power to mend
My, my, my, my mind
You got the power, the power to look and see and
Fi-fi-fi-fi-find
Teddy bears with broken faces
Legless horses with distorted bad time nightmare faces
I wanna tell you now
You got the power
You got the power
You got the power
You got the power
You got the power, the power to mend
My, my, my, my mind
You got the power, the power to look and see and
Fi-fi-fi-fi-find
Thngs that've been lost in the mist of kisses
Teddy bears with broken faces
Legless horses with distorted bad time nightmare faces
You got the power
You got the power
You got the power
[repeat till fade]
The lyrics of Marc Bolan’s song “You Got the Power” express the idea of someone having the power to mend the singer’s mind and to uncover things that have been lost in the past. The repetition of the phrase “You got the power” emphasizes the importance and effectiveness of this person’s abilities. The line “things that’ve been lost in the mist of kisses” highlights the idea that memories can be buried but still exist somewhere and this person has the power to retrieve them. The reference to “teddy bears with broken faces” and “legless horses with distorted bad time nightmare faces” evokes a sense of sadness and lost innocence, further emphasising the power this person has to uncover and heal the singer’s past traumas.
Overall, the lyrics of the song can be interpreted as a yearning for someone to have a healing presence in the singer's life. The repetition of the phrase “you got the power” both emphasizes the importance of that person's ability to heal and also reinforces the idea that the singer feels powerless themselves. The references to lost innocence and broken toys suggest a woundedness in the singer that they hope this other person can help to heal.
Line by Line Meaning
You got the power
The subject of the song possesses a significant level of influence, authority, and dominance.
You got the power, the power to mend
The subject has the ability to repair and heal broken and wounded aspects of the singer's life.
My, my, my, my mind
The singer's mental state is the focus of the subject's power and attention.
You got the power, the power to look and see and
The subject possesses the ability to perceive and understand things that were lost or hidden in the past.
Fi-fi-fi-fi-find
The subject is capable of discovering and locating missing or forgotten things.
Things that've been lost in the mist of kisses
The subject can uncover things that were forgotten or abandoned in the midst of past romantic encounters.
Teddy bears with broken faces
The subject has the power to restore and fix damaged childhood possessions.
Legless horses with distorted bad time nightmare faces
The artist may have some unresolved childhood fears or anxieties, and the subject has the power to alleviate and overcome them.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARC BOLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind