Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Her mother, Beverly, was a jazz singer, and father, Grant, worked at the Honeywell plant. She spent her entire childhood in Deptford, New Jersey. Raised the daughter of a Jehovah's Witness mother, she claims she had a strong religious, Bible-based education but left organized religion as a teenager because she felt it was too confining. (She later wrote the opening line of her cover version of Them's Gloria in response to this experience.) After graduating from Deptford Township High School in 1964, Smith went to work in a factory.
In 1967 she left Glassboro State Teachers College (now Rowan University) and moved to New York City. She met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe there while working at a book store with friend, poet Janet Hamill. Mapplethorpe's photographs of her became the covers for the Patti Smith Group LPs, and they remained friends until Mapplethorpe's death in 1989. In 1969 she went to Paris with her sister and started busking and doing performance art. When Smith returned to New York City, she lived in the Hotel Chelsea with Mapplethorpe. The two frequented the fashionable Max's Kansas City and CBGB nightclubs. The same year Smith appeared with Wayne County in Jackie Curtis's play "Femme Fatale". As a member of the St. Mark's Poetry Project, she spent the early '70s painting, writing, and performing. In 1971 she performed – for one night only – in Sam Shepard's "Cowboy Mouth". (The published play's notes call for "a man who looks like a coyote and a woman who looks like a crow".) She collaborated with Allen Lanier of Blue Öyster Cult, who recorded several of the songs to which Smith had contributed, including Debbie Denise (after her poem "In Remembrance of Debbie Denise"), Career of Evil, Fire of Unknown Origin, The Revenge of Vera Gemini, and Shooting Shark. During these years, Smith also wrote rock journalism, some of which was published in Creem magazine.
By 1974 Patti Smith was performing rock music herself, initially with guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye, and later with a full band comprising Kaye, Ivan Kral on bass, Jay Dee Daugherty on drums and Richard Sohl, on piano. Financed by Robert Mapplethorpe, the band recorded a first single, "Hey Joe/Piss Factory", in 1974. The A-side was a version of the rock standard with the addition of a spoken word piece about fugitive heiress Patty Hearst ("Patty Hearst, you're standing there in front of the Symbionese Liberation Army flag with your legs spread, I was wondering were you gettin' it every night from a black revolutionary man and his women..."). The B-side describes the helpless anger Smith had felt while working on a factory assembly line and the salvation she discovered in the form of a shoplifted book, the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations.
Patti Smith Group was signed by Clive Davis of Arista Records, and 1975 saw the release of Smith's first album, Horses, produced by John Cale amidst some tension. The album fused punk rock and spoken poetry and begins with a cover of Van Morrison's Gloria, and Smith's opening words: "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine."
As Patti Smith Group toured the United States and Europe, punk's popularity grew. The rawer sound of the group's second album, Radio Ethiopia, reflected this development. Considerably less accessible than Horses, Radio Ethiopia received poor reviews. However, several of its songs have stood the test of time, and Smith still performs them regularly in concert. On January 23, 1977, while touring in support of the record, Smith accidentally danced off a high stage in Tampa, Florida and fell 15 feet into a concrete orchestra pit, breaking several neck vertebrae. The injury required a period of rest and an intensive round of physical therapy, during which time she was able to reassess, re-energize and reorganize her life. Patti Smith Group produced two further albums before the end of the 1970s. Easter (1978) was her most commercially successful record, containing single Because the Night co-written with Bruce Springsteen. Wave (1979) was less successful, although songs Frederick and Dancing Barefoot both received commercial airplay.
Before the release of Wave, Smith, now separated from long-time partner Allen Lanier, met Fred Sonic Smith, former guitar player for Detroit rock band MC5 and his own Sonic's Rendezvous Band, who adored poetry as much as she did. ("Wave"'s "Dancing Barefoot" and "Frederick" were both dedicated to him.) The running joke at the time was that she only married Fred because she would not have to change her name. Patti and Fred had a son, Jackson, and later a daughter, Jesse. Through most of the 1980s Patti was in semi-retirement from music, living with her family north of Detroit in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. On June 1988 she released Dream Of Life, which included song People Have the Power. Fred Smith died on November 4, 1994. Shortly afterward, Patti faced the unexpected death of her brother, Todd, and original keyboard player, Richard Sohl. When her son Jackson turned 21, Smith decided to move back to New York. After the impact of these deaths, her friends Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Allen Ginsberg (whom she had known since her early years in New York) urged her to go back out on the road. She toured briefly with Bob Dylan in December 1995 (chronicled in a book of photographs by Stipe).
In 1996, Smith worked with her long-time colleagues to record the haunting Gone Again, featuring About a Boy, a tribute to Kurt Cobain. Smith was a fan of Cobain, but was more angered than saddened by his suicide. That same year she collaborated with Stipe on E-Bow the Letter, a song on R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which she has also performed live with the band. After release of "Gone Again", Patti Smith has recorded two new albums: Peace and Noise in 1997 (with the single 1959, about the invasion of Tibet) and Gung Ho in 2000 (with songs about Ho Chi Minh and Smith's late father). A box set of her work up to that time, "The Patti Smith Masters", came out in 1996, and 2002 saw the release of "Land (1975–2002)", a two-CD compilation that includes a memorable cover of Prince's When Doves Cry. Smith's solo art exhibition, "Strange Messenger" was hosted at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh on September 28, 2002.
On April 27, 2004 Patti Smith released Trampin' which included several songs about motherhood, partly in tribute to Smith's mother who died two years before. Smith curated the Meltdown festival in London on June 25, 2005, the penultimate event being the first live performance of "Horses" in its entirety. Guitarist Tom Verlaine took Oliver Ray's place. This live performance was released later in the year as "Horses/Horses". In August 2005 Smith gave a literary lecture about the poems of Arthur Rimbaud and William Blake. On July 10, 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In addition to her influence on rock music, Minister also noted Smith's appreciation of Arthur Rimbaud. On October 15, 2006, Patti Smith performed at CBGB nightclub, with a 3½-hour tour de force to close out Manhattan's music venue. She took the stage at 9:30 p.m. (EDT) and closed for the night (and forever for the venue) at a few minutes after 1:00 a.m., performing her song Elegie, and finally reading a list of punk rock musicians and advocates who had died in the previous years.
Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame March 12, 2007. She dedicated her award to the memory of her late husband, Fred, and gave a performance of The Rolling Stones classic, Gimme Shelter. As the closing number of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Smith's "People Have the Power" was used for the big celebrity jam that always ends the program.
From March 28 to June 22, 2008 the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Paris hosted a major exhibition of the visual work of Patti Smith, "Land 250", drawn from pieces created between 1967 and 2007. At the 2008 Rowan Commencement ceremony, Smith received an honorary doctorate degree for her contributions to popular culture. Smith is the subject of a 2008 documentary film, "Patti Smith: Dream of Life". http://www.dreamoflifethemovie.com/
In June 2012, Smith released her 11th studio album, "Banga." In an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning on April 1, 2012, Smith explained the album's title: "for those who are curious, you can find what Banga is if you read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov." In The Master and Margarita, Banga is Pontius Pilate's dog who Pilate could freely complain about the hemicrania that tortured him. Other songs on the album were also inspired by literature, particularly "April Fool," inspired by Nikolai Gogol.
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Seven Ways Of Going
Patti Smith Lyrics
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Seven sweet disguises, seven ways of serving Thee
Lord, I do extol Thee, for Thou has lifted me
Woke me up and shook me out of mine iniquity
Oh, I was undulating in the lewd impostered night
Steeped in a dream to rend the seams to redeem the rock of right
Swept through the seas of Galilee and the Seven Hills of Rome
Lo I turned my neck toward home
Ah, I opened up my arms to You, and we spun from life to life
`Til you loosened me and let me go toward the everlasting light
In this big step I am taking seven seizures for the true
I got seven ways of going, seven ways of serving You
As I move through seven levels
As I move upon the slate
As I declare to you
The number of my moves
As I speculate the eighth
Seeking love without exception
A light upon the swarm
Seeking love without exception
A saint in any form
In "Seven Ways of Going," Patti Smith sings about her many paths and methods of serving God. The number seven appears repeatedly throughout the song, symbolizing completeness and spiritual fulfillment. Smith highlights the diversity of her experiences as she moves through different stages of her life and faith journey. The song touches on themes of redemption, forgiveness, and the search for meaning and purpose.
Throughout the song, Smith expresses her gratitude toward God for helping her overcome her past sins and leading her on a path forward. She sings, "Lord, I do extol Thee, for Thou has lifted me / Woke me up and shook me out of mine iniquity." Smith recognizes that her journey has not been easy, but she remains committed to serving and honoring God in every way she can.
The song ends on a hopeful note, with Smith seeking love "without exception" and declaring herself a "saint in any form." She acknowledges that her journey is ongoing and that she has much to learn and discover. Ultimately, "Seven Ways of Going" celebrates the resilience and determination of the human spirit, as well as the transformative power of faith and spirituality.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got seven ways of going, seven where's to be
I have multiple paths and destinations to choose from, seven of each.
Seven sweet disguises, seven ways of serving Thee
I have seven distinct personas I can take on, each serving you in a unique and admirable way.
Lord, I do extol Thee, for Thou has lifted me
I praise and honor you, for you have lifted me out of darkness and despair.
Woke me up and shook me out of mine iniquity
You awakened me and purged me of my immoral behavior.
Oh, I was undulating in the lewd impostered night
I was twisting and turning in the immoral and deceitful darkness.
Steeped in a dream to rend the seams to redeem the rock of right
Lost in a dream to tear apart the fabric of society and rebuild it with righteousness.
Swept through the seas of Galilee and the Seven Hills of Rome
Moved across vast landscapes, including the Sea of Galilee in Palestine and the Seven Hills of Rome in Italy.
Seven sins were wrung from the sight of me
Seven immoral behaviors were purged from me, never again to be seen.
Lo I turned my neck toward home
I began to long for my true home, my spiritual dwelling place.
Ah, I opened up my arms to You, and we spun from life to life
I embraced you and we journeyed together, moving from one existence to another.
`Til you loosened me and let me go toward the everlasting light
Until you set me free to move toward eternal bliss.
In this big step I am taking seven seizures for the true
As I take a significant step, I experience seven abrupt and intense changes on my path to the truth.
I got seven ways of going, seven ways of serving You
I have seven distinct paths to choose from, each one devoted to serving you.
As I move through seven levels
As I advance through seven stages of growth and development.
As I move upon the slate
As I begin a new chapter, a clean slate upon which I can write my next story.
As I declare to you
As I openly and honestly confess to you.
The number of my moves
The quantity of the actions I undertake in my endeavors.
As I speculate the eighth
As I consider my next step, beyond the seven that came before it.
Seeking love without exception
Searching for true love that doesn't discriminate or exclude anyone.
A light upon the swarm
A beacon of hope in the midst of chaos and confusion.
Seeking love without exception
Searching for true love that doesn't discriminate or exclude anyone.
A saint in any form
An honorable and virtuous person, regardless of their appearance or background.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAY DEE DAUGHERTY, LEONARD J KAYE, IVAN KRAL, PATTI SMITH, RICHARD A SOHL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind