Initially known as "Seafood Mama", the group gained a strong local following playing bars and nightclubs in Portland, Oregon. In the spring of 1980, Seafood Mama recorded Marv's new composition "Harden My Heart" on a private record label. The single received considerable airplay on Portland radio stations, and the band felt that they were ready for something more
Signed by a then young label, Geffen Records, the group released their first album, 'Quarterflash', in 1981. The label's marketing organization had urged getting rid of the "Seafood Mama" name, so they changed things. The new name supposedly came from an colloquial Australian reference to new immigrants as "one quarter flash and three parts foolish".
A new version of "Harden My Heart" was recorded and released; and rose to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached number 8 on Billboard's Top Albums, and sold over a million copies, earning RIAA gold certification on February 5, 1982, and platinum status on June 29, 1982. Their follow-up single from the album, "Find Another Fool", reached #16.
Quarterflash released their second album, Take Another Picture, in 1983. It reached #34 on Billboard, and scored the single "Take Me to Heart", which reached #14. The group released their final album, Back Into Blue, in 1985. It peaked at #150 in Billboard, and group disbanded after getting dropped from their record label.
In 1991, Marv & Rindy Ross were awarded a commision by the state of Oregon to produce a stage musical based on diaries of migrants on the historic Oregon Trail. From that project came a nine disc collection of traditional Americana music, recorded as The Trail Band.
"Harden My Heart" still receives air play on "Classic" rock radio.
Cruisin' With The Deuce
Quarterflash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shake it, it was breaking, and it's always to fast
I can't quite hold on to this life
Only at moments at night when I drive
Does anything ever feel right
Crusin' with the Deuce Tonight
Crusin' with the Deuce Tonight
I woke up and the heats down
Roll through the backroads I find
Just when you feel like your losing control
Everything falls into line
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
Cruisin' with the Duece tonight
Parking? on front line I was never at ease
Broken, convinced?, and confused
On the bypass, on the freeway I holding my own
Nothing to lose Nothing to lose
Car lights? like a spotlight live out your dreams
Forget what you know in your heart
You could hold it, you can shake it, you can shout out your fear
Nobody can screw your up
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight tonight
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
The lyrics of Quarterflash's "Cruisin' With The Deuce" depict the feeling of lack of control and being lost in life, but finding solace in driving through the night. The singer seems to rely on the excitement of driving and cruising as a way to forget about the difficulties of life. The opening line "I can roll by, shake it, it was breaking, and it's always to fast" suggests the adrenaline rush of driving fast, but also the feeling of everything falling apart at times. The mention of being "broken, convinced, and confused" further emphasizes the singer's struggle with their own identity and place in the world.
However, when the singer is driving, they feel like everything falls into line and there is nothing to lose. The line "Car lights like a spotlight live out your dreams" depicts the idea of cruising as a form of escape and living out a fantasy. The mention of holding on, shaking it, and shouting out fear suggests that driving can be a way to overcome fears and gain control over one's life.
Overall, the lyrics of "Cruisin' With The Deuce" convey the idea of finding comfort and freedom in driving through the night, and using it as a way to escape from the struggles of everyday life.
Line by Line Meaning
I can roll by
I can drive by in my car
Shake it, it was breaking, and it's always to fast
The car is shaking and breaking because it's going too fast
I can't quite hold on to this life
The singer feels like they can't hold onto their life
Only at moments at night when I drive
They only feel alive when they are driving at night
Does anything ever feel right
The singer is questioning if anything in their life feels right
Crusin' with the Deuce Tonight
The singer feels good when they are driving their car at night
I woke up and the heats down
When the singer wakes up, the heater in their car is not working
Turn off your lights
The singer is telling someone to turn off their car lights
Roll through the backroads I find
The singer drives through backroads that they have discovered
Just when you feel like your losing control
The singer feels like they are losing control
Everything falls into line
Things start to fall into place
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
The singer feels good when they are driving their car at night
Parking? on front line I was never at ease
The singer was never comfortable parking their car at the front of a line of parked cars
Broken, convinced?, and confused
The singer feels broken, convinced of something, and confused
On the bypass, on the freeway I holding my own
The singer is able to hold their own when driving on the bypass or freeway
Nothing to lose Nothing to lose
The singer feels like they have nothing to lose
Car lights? like a spotlight live out your dreams
The car lights make it feel like a spotlight, allowing the singer to live out their dreams
Forget what you know in your heart
The singer is telling themselves to forget what they know in their heart
You could hold it, you can shake it, you can shout out your fear
The singer can hold onto their car, shake it, and shout out their fear
Nobody can screw your up
No one can ruin the singer's experience
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
The singer feels good when they are driving their car at night
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
The singer feels good when they are driving their car at night
Cruisin' with the Deuce tonight
The singer feels good when they are driving their car at night
Contributed by Isabelle D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.