Lowe began his recording career in 1966 as a member of psychedelic rock group Kippington Lodge, founded with his friend Brinsley Schwarz. That band released a few singles on Parlophone. Three years later, Kippington Lodge had changed its name to Brinsley Schwarz and its musical focus to country and blues rock.
After leaving Brinsley Schwarz in the mid-1970s, Lowe began playing in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds. In August 1976 Lowe released "So It Goes" b/w "Heart of the City", the first single on the Stiff Records label where he was in-house producer (the label's first EP was Lowe's 1977 four-track release Bowi, apparently named in response to David Bowie's contemporary LP Low) . On this and other labels, Lowe would go on to produce The Damned's Damned Damned Damned and many albums by Elvis Costello. Upon moving from Stiff to Jake Riviera's Radar and F-Beat labels, Lowe became extremely selective in his choice of production tasks.
Because the two main writers in Rockpile had contracts with different record labels and managers, albums were always credited to either Lowe or Edmunds, so there is only one official Rockpile album, from the very end of the collaboration - 1980's Seconds of Pleasure, featuring the Lowe songs "When I Write the Book" and "Teacher Teacher" - but all of Lowe's and Edmunds' solo albums from the period were effectively Rockpile albums. Rockpile's demise was hastened by a number of conflicts, not between the group, but their management.
Lowe's best-known song from this era is probably "I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll" (a reworking of Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell", a.k.a. "Teenage Wedding"). On the 1977 Live Stiffs compilation with a pickup band called Last Chicken in the Shop, he virtually sneers out his contempt for all concerned; in 1985, fronting Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit on the album The Rose of England, he hasn't changed the words, but the tone is entirely different, even affectionate. The latter recording featured Huey Lewis & the News as his backing band.
In 1979, Lowe married country singer Carlene Carter, daughter of country singers Carl Smith and June Carter Cash and step-daughter of Johnny Cash. He adopted her daughter, Tiffany Anastasia Lowe. The marriage with Lowe lasted until the mid-1980s, but they remained friends, and Lowe remained close to the Carter/Cash family; he and Johnny Cash played and recorded together, and Cash recorded several of his songs.
After the demise of Rockpile, Lowe toured for a period with his band Noise to Go and later with The Cowboy Outfit, which also included the noted keyboard player Paul Carrack. Lowe was also a member of the short-lived mainly studio project Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, and Jim Keltner.
In 1992, "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was covered by Curtis Stigers on the soundtrack album to The Bodyguard, an album that sold over fifteen million copies. Because Lowe received royalties from these sales, he suddenly found himself a millionaire. Freed from commercial constraints, Lowe has recorded more solo albums in his own very individual style to critical acclaim.
Lowe played Glastonbury 2011, performing a short solo set of Brinsley Schwarz tracks on The Spirit Of 71 stage, where they played back in 1971, before heading to the Acoustic Stage for a full band show.
Lowe performed as an opening act for Wilco in their North American tour, September 2011. He performed solo with acoustic guitar.
His more recent albums include
At My Age (2007)
The Old Magic (2011)
36 Inches High
Nick Lowe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
L rode on a big white horse
Silver pistols at my side
Carryin' the flags of war
And I Iost track of the men who fell
In the canon's roar
L never got over bein' a soldier
Once I was a tax man
L heard the rich man grumble
I heard the poor man cry
Some few couldn't afford to pay
Were put to a shackle and key
L never got over bein' a tax man
Once I was a ruler
About twelve inches long
Three times me made a yardstick
36 inches high
36 inches high was l
36 inches high
I never got over 36 inches high
Nick Lowe's song "36 Inches High" begins with the singer narrating his past experiences as a soldier. He mentions how he once rode on a big white horse while carrying silver pistols and the flags of war. However, he also lost track of the men who fell in the roar of the canon. This loss of direction and purpose is a recurring theme in the song. He then transitions to his time as a tax collector where he collected dollars and dimes from people. He heard the rich man grumble and the poor man cry, and he had to put some people in shackle and key when they couldn't afford to pay. The singer seems to regret his time as a tax collector and expresses that he never got over it. Lastly, he mentions his experience as a ruler that was about twelve inches long, which is equivalent to a foot. He then repeats the phrase "36 inches high" three times, which is the equivalent of three feet or a yardstick. This repetition reinforces the theme of measuring one's worth and purpose.
The lyrics in "36 Inches High" suggest a quest for a better sense of self and purpose. The singer's experiences as a soldier, tax collector, and ruler stand as symbols for his search for a greater understanding of his life's meaning. The references to measuring tools such as a foot and yardstick highlight the idea that the singer is searching for a tangible way to evaluate his life. Since he never got over any of his past professions, it seems as though he has yet to find his true calling in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I was a soldier
I used to be a soldier in the past
l rode on a big white horse
I rode on a big white horse while serving as a soldier
Silver pistols at my side
I carried silver pistols on both sides of my uniform while being a soldier
Carryin' the flags of war
I carried the flag of war with me while being a soldier
And I lost track of the men who fell
I lost count of the number of men who died while fighting in the war
In the canon's roar
In the midst of the sound produced by guns
l never got over bein' a soldier
I could not forget about my experience as a soldier
Once I was a tax man
I used to collect taxes from people
Collectin' dollars and dimes
I collected both coins and paper currency as taxes
l heard the rich man grumble
The rich people complained about paying taxes
I heard the poor man cry
The poor people expressed their sadness about paying taxes
Some few couldn't afford to pay
A few people were unable to pay the taxes
Were put to a shackle and key
These people were punished and put in jail
l never got over bein' a tax man
I could not forget about my experience as a tax collector
Once I was a ruler
I used to be a ruler or a measuring tool
About twelve inches long
I measured twelve inches in length
Three times me made a yardstick
Three of my length made a yardstick for measuring
36 inches high was l
I was used as a measurement of 36 inches in height
36 inches high
I was 36 inches high in height
i never got over 36 inches high
I could not forget about my experience being a measuring tool with a height of 36 inches
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JAMES HENRY FORD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@scrumplydumply
Once I was a soldier
I rode on a big white horse
Silver pistols at my side
Carryin' the flags of war
And I Iost track of the men who fell
In the canon's roar
I never got over bein' a soldier
Once I was a tax man
Collectin' dollars and dimes
I heard the rich man grumble
I heard the poor man cry
Some few couldn't afford to pay
Were put to a shackle and key
I never got over bein' a tax man
Once I was a ruler
About twelve inches long
Three times me made a yardstick
36 inches high
36 inches high was I
36 inches high
I never got over 36 inches high
@seetheforest
40+ years later I still think this is a cool song.
@pedrojimenez5387
This song should be way more well known. It's so damn good.
@pearlynx
I love everything about this album!
@Crabslammer
This song is one giant throwaway joke and I love it
@capitalismmorelikecrapital6723
This is my favourite song ever
@seetheforest
Definitely part of the soundtrack of my life.
@membersonlydave
yo this whole album is aweome
@mikeyyaya8394
Such a classic trippy song!!
😘😎👍🎵
@walrtbstudios5430
Great album from an unsung genius. Sense of humour too- when Bowie released the ‘Low’ album Nick retaliated with an EP entitled ‘Bowi’…
@bodensick
Another of the great 'lost' albums from 1978. Nick's 'Jesus of Cool' was sooo cool. Check out 'Nutted By Reality" off the same lp