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 BĂ©la BartĂłk 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.
Reincarnation
Roger Miller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doo, doo, doo, doo, bow, bow
If I was a bird and you was a fish
What would we do? I guess we'd wish for
Re-incarnation, re-incarnation
Wouldn't it be a sensation
To come back too, like from reincarnation
If I was a tree and you was a flower
What would we do? I guess we'd wait for the power of
Re-uh-incarnation, re-uh-incarnation
Wouldn't it be a sensation
To come back too, like from reincarnation
I love you and don't you know I always will
You're a girl, I'm a boy
But suppose you was a rose and I was a whip-poor-will
If I was a bird and you was a fish
What would we do? I guess we'd wish for
Re-incarnation, re-incarnation
Wouldn't it be a sensation
To come back too, like from reincarnation
Bow, boo, boo, ba, boo, boo, boo, boo
Do, boo, ba, bow
I love you and don't you know I always will
You're a girl, I'm a boy
But suppose you were a rose and I was a whip-poor-will
If I was a bird and you was a fish
What would we do? I guess we'd wish for
Re-uh-incarnation, re-uh-incarnation
Wouldn't it be a sensation
To come back too, like from reincarnation
Bow, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo
Boo, boo, boo, bow, bow
Roger Miller’s “Reincarnation” is a playful and whimsical song that contemplates the possibility of coming back to life as entirely different entities. The singer asks what might occur if he were a bird and his love were a fish, or if he was a tree and she was a flower. He muses that they would likely long for reincarnation, leading them to experience a new and thrilling sensation of returning to the world as different creatures or even non-living things.
Essentially, the song is a lighthearted way of examining the concept of rebirth, allowing listeners to imagine what kinds of lives they might lead in altered forms or environments. Although the song does not interrogate the spiritual implications of reincarnation specifically, it evokes a sense of wonder and appreciation for the many forms life can take, and the singer’s admiration for his beloved remains constant throughout all of these hypothetical scenarios.
Line by Line Meaning
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
Doo, doo, doo, doo, bow, bow
Musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
If I was a bird and you was a fish
Ponders on hypothetical situations and what would happen if they were reversed
What would we do? I guess we'd wish for
Wondering what would be done if the hypothetical situation actually became reality
Re-incarnation, re-incarnation
Describes the concept of coming back to life in a different form after death
Wouldn't it be a sensation
Expresses the unique experience and feeling that would come from reincarnation
To come back too, like from reincarnation
Describes the excitement and anticipation of returning to life in a different form
If I was a tree and you was a flower
Ponders on another hypothetical situation with reversed roles
What would we do? I guess we'd wait for the power of
Reflects on the need to wait for the necessary means to bring the hypothetical situation to life
Re-uh-incarnation, re-uh-incarnation
Repetition of describing the concept of reincarnation
I love you and don't you know I always will
Affirms the love and commitment towards the person being addressed
You're a girl, I'm a boy
Describes the gender roles of the people in love
But suppose you was a rose and I was a whip-poor-will
Introduces another hypothetical situation with different creatures
Bow, boo, boo, ba, boo, boo, boo, boo
Musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
Do, boo, ba, bow
Musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
Bow, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo
Musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
Boo, boo, boo, bow, bow
Musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roger Miller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
scorekeepn
One of the best lyricists ever to grace the face of the Earth
Nathan Black
I used to listen to this song with my grandpa before he passed. Nice to hear it again after so many years
Shirley Jennings
I love this song!
X Woog
He's such a clever songwriter.
AYA AYA
love it:)
Drew Beck
I sure miss Roger Miller.
52 Dislikes
In the 1960s my Dad took us to his concert at Melodyland. And he was drunk!
Big Sad Wolf
Coming here from my homeboy Sean
Goodman Murphy-Smith
ajj gang
vinnieisntreal
Same!!