1. A country music sin… Read Full Bio ↴Roger Miller is a name of at least two musicians:
1. A country music singer/songwriter from Oklahoma, USA
2. An alternative rock singer/songwriter from Massachusetts, USA
1) Roger Dean Miller (b. 2 Jan 1936 - d. 25 Oct 1992), was an American singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs. His most recognized tunes included the chart-topping country/pop hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me" and "England Swings", all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era.
After growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the United States Army, Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s, penning such hits as "Billy Bayou" and "Home" for Jim Reeves and "Invitation to the Blues" for Ray Price. He later started a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the late-1960s, but continued to record and tour into the 1990s, charting his final top 20 country hit "Old Friends" with Willie Nelson in 1982. Later in his life, he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River, in which he also acted.
Miller died from lung cancer in 1992, and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later. His songs continued to be recorded by younger artists, with covers of "Tall, Tall Trees" by Alan Jackson and "Husbands and Wives" by Brooks & Dunn, each reaching the number one spot on country charts in the 1990s. The Roger Miller Museum in his home town serves as a tribute to Miller.
Although usually grouped with country music singers, Miller's unique style defies easy classification. Many of his recordings were humorous novelty songs with whimsical lyrics, coupled with scat singing or vocalese riffs filled with nonsense syllables. Others were sincere ballads, which also caught the public's fancy, none more so than his signature song, "King of the Road." The biographical book Ain't Got No Cigarettes described Miller as an "uncategorizable talent", and stated that many regarded him as a genius.
On his own personal style, Miller remarked that he "tried to do" things like other artists but that it "always came out different" so he got "frustrated" until realizing "I'm the only one that knows what I'm thinking." He commented that the favourite song that he wrote was "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd." Johnny Cash discussed Miller's bass vocal range in his 1997 autobiography. He commented that it was the closest to his own that he had heard.
1) Roger Miller (b. 1968), is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.
His main instruments are guitar and piano. Guitar Player magazine describes Miller's guitar playing as balancing rock energy with cerebral experimentation, while his keyboard work has earned comparisons to Béla Bartók and even Cecil Taylor.
Born in Boston, Miller was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Detroit-area bands like the Stooges and the MC5, Miller formed several garage bands in his teens. With brothers Benjamin (Ben) Miller and Laurence B. (Larry) Miller, he formed Sproton Layer; their recordings were collected and released in 1992 as With Magnetic Fields Disrupted. Miller played bass guitar and was the primary singer and songwriter, and the ongoing collaboration M3. Attending CalArts in 1976, majoring in composition, Miller also studied piano and French Horn, and studied music by 20th century experimental composers like John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He would eventually drop out of college in favor of punk rock.
Relocating to Boston, Massachusetts, Miller was a member of the short-lived Moving Parts before co-founding Mission of Burma in 1979. The group was popular in and around Boston, but was unable to expand their audience. Miller played guitar and sang, and slightly edged out bassist/singer Clint Conley as the more productive songwriter. It was also Miller's idea to invite Martin Swope to join the group and add tape loop effects, giving the group an unusual, experimental sound.
Mission of Burma disbanded in 1983 due in large part to Miller's worsening tinnitus, attributed in large part to their notoriously loud live performances. In subsequent years, Mission of Burma's small body of recordings grew to be regarded as important and influential.
During the Burma years, Miller worked as a freelance piano tuner.
After Burma broke up, Miller turned his attention to playing piano with the more experimental, instrumental group Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic, which he left in 1987. Afterwards, Miller had several collaborations, solo efforts and film scores; many of these post-Burma albums were released by SST Records.
Not in Nottingham
Roger Miller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has its ups and downs
Sometimes ups
Outnumber the downs
But not in Nottingham
I'm inclined to believe
If we were so down, we'd up and leave
We'd up and fly if we had wings for flying
Can't there be some happiness for me?
Not in Nottingham
The lyrics of Roger Miller's song Not in Nottingham from Disney's animated movie Robin Hood reflect the struggles and hardships of the common people portrayed as animals in the story. The song compares the ups and downs of life in different towns and cities, but portrays Nottingham as a place where the downs outweigh the ups. The song suggests that people would leave Nottingham if they had the means to do so, and implies that the people of Nottingham are faced with poverty and despair.
The lyrics also convey a feeling of hopelessness and desperation, as the people of Nottingham seem to be trapped in their situation. The line "If we were so down, we'd up and leave" expresses a yearning for escape, but the lack of wings for flying is an obstacle that cannot be overcome. The tears that the people of Nottingham are crying represent the sadness and pain that come with poverty and hardship. The repeated refrain "Not in Nottingham" underscores the idea that this is not a place where people can find happiness or success.
Overall, the song Not in Nottingham paints a picture of a bleak and difficult existence for the people of Nottingham. It serves as a commentary on social and economic inequality, and the hardships of everyday life for the working class.
Line by Line Meaning
Every town
Every location has its unique characteristics.
Has its ups and downs
There are positive and negative experiences in every place.
Sometimes ups
Occasionally, the positive outweighs the negative.
Outnumber the downs
There are either more good experiences than bad or the good experiences are more intense than the bad ones.
But not in Nottingham
This is not the case in Nottingham.
I'm inclined to believe
I am likely to assume that
If we were so down, we'd up and leave
If we were unhappy, we would simply leave the location.
We'd up and fly if we had wings for flying
If we had the ability to, we would quickly depart.
Can't you see the tears we're crying?
Can't you see that we are unhappy?
Can't there be some happiness for me?
Can't we experience some joy here?
Not in Nottingham
Unfortunately, this will not happen in Nottingham.
Contributed by Blake V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Erick Oberholtzer
Every town
Has its ups and downs
Sometimes ups
Outnumber the downs
But not in Nottingham
I'm inclined to believe
If we weren't so down
We'd up and leave
We'd up and fly if we'd had wings for flyin
Can't you see the tears were cryin
Can't there be some happiness for me
NOT SINCE COVID-19
Tom
LYRICS
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Every town
Has its ups and downs
Sometimes ups
Outnumber the downs
But not in Nottingham
I'm inclined to believe
If we were so down
We'd up and leave
We'd up and fly
if we had wings for flying
Can't you see the tears we're crying?
Can't there be some happiness for me?
Not in nottingham
Gooby
Every town
Has its ups and downs
Sometimes ups
out number the downs
But not in Nottingham
I’m inclined to believe
If weren’t so down
We’d up and leave
We’d up and fly
If we had wings for flying
Can’t you see the tears from crying
Can’t there be some happiness for me?
Not in Nottingham
Allen Holloway
@Hamesh Point.
I'm not saying that Disney doesn't hire good artists. It's more the main decision makers that have me mad. A lot of potentially great movies have been scuttled by bad decision-making.
It's like at certain game companies, where artists may do their best to make a great product, but are either constrained by terrible and rushed schedules, or predatory business practices.
Walt Disney may have been a little unstable, and almost a slave driver when it came to the people working for him, but he cared about quality more than marketability, much to the consternation of people around him. When his brother took over the company, he was much more economically minded. I don't know if his brother is actually in direct control anymore, but regardless, profit has been the main concern of Disney for years now. Good artists may flock to Disney, which means that some movies will be far superior, but they are no longer the paragon of quality OR heart.
And due to corporate influence, they do not take NEARLY as many risks as they used to.
BrokenGod Ent.
Such a beautiful song. I wish Disney made movies with as much heart as Robin Hood had. What a wholesome movie.
barnacle bob
I agree. Eat the rich.
George Clinton
one of the only disney movies where moral superiority is more important than falling in love.
Lawman
Disney panders to wokeism now.. Sadly have you seen all the warnings and labels now..
WJS Productions
I mean the warning labels are necessary……a lot of the films made during that era depicted harmful stereotypes that still negatively affect us POC to this very day. And what’s even worse is that these stereotypes ruin otherwise great films like Peter Pan and Dumbo by breaking the escapism and reminding us about the terrible ways minorities were treated back then.
Lawman
@WJS Productions good lord remember the days when we could tell. Jokes and laugh about ourselves? Mom jokes.. Black jokes... Jew jokes.. White jokes...fat jokes... Those were the days everyone is offended now we have to do warning labels on all these yet killing and murdering in games and watching family guy is fine..
mcrfan343
I appreciate this song a lot more as an adult than I was a kid.
ZX15
As a kid we were all oblivious to what songs were meaning, but as adults you finally understand to the point where it's relatable.
Jonny Watts
Me too! So depressing. I think many of us now really know what it's like to feel this way.
Jason Swearingen
Exactly! Me too.