Frontman John Kay's mother escaped with him at age 4 from Soviet occupied East Germany, an event recounted in the song "Renegade" on the album Steppenwolf Seven. His family resettled in Hannover, West Germany, before moving to Canada in 1958. Kay is partially blind, hence the use of dark glasses
In 1968, Nick St. Nicholas replaced Moreve as bass player.
Steppenwolf had its origins in the Toronto blues band Sparrow, which was formed in 1964 and played coffeehouses in Yorkville. By 1967 they had settled in San Francisco.
Steppenwolf rocketed to fame after their third single, "Born to Be Wild" was used in the movie Easy Rider, as well as "The Pusher". The former song may have coined the term "heavy metal". This was followed by several more hits, including "Magic Carpet Ride" from Steppenwolf the Second, and "Rock Me" from At Your Birthday Party. Many fans consider their double album Steppenwolf Live [an extended single album in the UK] the best of Steppenwolf's releases. Monster and For Ladies Only were the band's most political albums, and are still fondly remembered by fans as two of the best rock & roll snapshots of the attitudes of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The band broke up in 1971, and Kay pursued a solo career. Steppenwolf reformed in 1974 with the album Slow Flux, and disbanded in 1976. Afterwards, several versions of the band toured North America until Kay reformed the official version of the group in 1980.
John Kay released a solo album in 2001.
Corina
Steppenwolf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Girl, where you been so long
Corina, Corina
Where you been so long
I've been worried about you baby
Why won't you please come home?
Then I got a bird that sings
I got a bird that whistles
Got a bird that sings
But I ain't got Corina
And life don't mean a thing
Corina, Corina
Girl, you're on my mind
Corina, Corina
Girl, you're on my mind
Everytime I think of you
I, I just can't keep from crying
Steppenwolf's song Corina Corina is a classic blues tune about heartbreak and longing for a lost love. The repeated refrain of "Corina, Corina, where you been so long?" emphasizes the singer's desperation to understand where his lover has gone and why she hasn't returned. The lyrics convey a sense of worry and anxiety as the singer struggles to come to terms with the fact that his life feels incomplete without his beloved Corina.
The verses provide additional details about the singer's situation. He mentions having two birds, one that whistles and one that sings, but even though he has possessions that bring him joy, he can't shake the feeling that something is missing. The line "but I ain't got Corina, and life don't mean a thing" expresses the depth of his despair.
The line "Everytime I think of you, I just can't keep from crying" is particularly poignant. It implies that the singer has been deeply hurt by Corina's absence and that he feels powerless to move on from the grief he's experiencing. The song creates a sense of empathy in the listener, as many people have experienced heartbreak and the sense of emptiness that can follow.
Overall, Steppenwolf's Corina Corina is a classic example of a blues song. It captures the emotional complexity of heartbreak and the struggle to find meaning in the wake of loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Corina, Corina
The singer is addressing Corina.
Girl, where you been so long
The singer is asking Corina where she has been for so long.
I've been worried about you baby
The singer is stating that he has been worried about Corina.
Why won't you please come home?
The artist is asking Corina to come home.
I got a bird that whistles
The artist has a bird that can whistle.
Then I got a bird that sings
The singer has another bird that can sing.
I got a bird that whistles
The singer has another bird that can whistle.
Got a bird that sings
The artist has yet another bird that can sing.
But I ain't got Corina
The artist does not have Corina.
And life don't mean a thing
Without Corina, life is meaningless for the artist.
Corina, Corina
The singer is addressing Corina.
Girl, you're on my mind
The artist is stating that Corina is on his mind.
Everytime I think of you
The singer is stating that every time he thinks of Corina.
I, I just can't keep from crying
The singer is stating that he cannot stop himself from crying when he thinks of Corina.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: McKinley Morganfield
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@notapplicable4185
This is the kind of music that transcends race, religion, age and education. If you can't feel this music, then you must be dead.
@dustythe2nd188
Not App., hey man, you got that right. Have no kind of love or heart or soul in them if they don't feel John Kay!! Been lovin' him since I was a kid. This album did a great job of compiling all there best songs. of course not all their best songs as John did some without Steppenwolf. But I love this album so much. And this song Corina Corina. Gets to me everytime I hear him sing it. Dusty the 2nd.
@ANDROLOMA
I must be dead.
@aportman58
I played drums for several years before transitioning to bass guitar and Steppenwolf was the band as a early teenager would literally play drums to these songs (especially carina carina) over and over for hours a day! I am 64 years old and retired 5 years ago from playing bass and yet these songs are still just as pure and fresh as it was yesterday!!! Simply there is no music like this any longer 😞
@dustythe2nd188
Corina Corina is so beautiful to me. I just love it, it hits me right in the middle of my heart.
@pursangtriss9445
Where has the world gone. Good luck finding songs like this.
@reaperronin8898
Amen to that.!.!.!
@hollyw9566
Old blues song. It'll be around forever. New people to cover it born every day. (But I'll never like any version more than this one. Kay's voice and the great guitar work - stunning.)
@timothymeyer4266
It's sucks that radio stations don't play anything by Steppenwolf other than "Born To Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride".
They did so many other tunes that just plain kick ass. This is one of them. The first 2 albums I bought as a kid was
"Space In Time" by Ten Years After and "Steppenwolf Live" and still play them to this day. Good music is timeless.
@robertanderson7049
+Timothy Meyer radio has gone to hell. don't even listen anymore. do not even have one. except in my car. never listen.