Miller was born to Dr. George "Sonny" Miller, a pathologist, jazz enthusiast and amateur recording engineer, and Bertha, a jazz-influenced singer. In 1950, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. His first guitar chords were taught to him by the legendary Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar and also Miller's godfather. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, Miller formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught classmate Royce Boz Scaggs some guitar chords so he could join the band; Scaggs became better known by his nickname, Boz. Miller attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 1960s, where he formed The Ardells. Scaggs joined the Ardells the next year. Ben Sidran was added to the Ardells as a keyboardist the following year. Miller was only sixteen when he started college, and dropped out six credit hours shy of a literature degree. Les Paul encouraged young Miller to utilize his prodigal talents, and much of Miller's success has been attributed to Paul's tutelage during his childhood and teenage years.
Prior to forming the Steve Miller Band, Miller was in a band with Barry Goldberg called the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. They formed in 1965, and released one single, before Miller left the band.
In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Miller handling vocals, and released an album, Children of the Future, the first in a series of discs rooted solidly in the psychedelic blues style that dominated the San Francisco music scene at the time. Scaggs would leave the band after a couple of albums. Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace and Number 5 followed. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit. This first period in Steve Miller's music formed part of double album compilation "Anthology" which includes a guest appearance on drums by the then Beatle Paul McCartney on the song "My Dark Hour".
1973's The Joker marked the start of the second phase of Miller's career: more pop-oriented and simplistic, the album featured a number one hit in the U.S. in the title track as well as several other popular tunes. In fact, "The Joker" hit Number One on the UK singles chart in September 1990 after it was used on a television commercial.
Miller followed up The Joker with Fly Like an Eagle in 1976 and Book of Dreams in 1977. This pair of albums represented the peak of Miller's commercial career, both reaching the top echelons of the album charts and spawning a seemingly-endless series of hit singles, including "Rock'n Me", "Take the Money and Run", "Jet Airliner" and "Jungle Love". While critics lambasted Miller for abandoning his more ambitious approach and socially-aware lyrics for simple pop-rock and derivative blues tunes, fans gravitated towards the catchy, melodic songs in great numbers, and the Steve Miller Band co-headlined a major stadium tour with the Eagles in 1977.
On the heels of this massive success, Miller took a long hiatus from recording and touring, emerging in 1981 with Circle of Love, an ambitious album possibly intended to appease critics of his new style. Sales were disappointing, however, and in 1982 he returned to the pop formula with another hit album, Abracadabra. This was Miller's last great commercial success; a series of collections, live albums and attempts to find a new style appeared sporadically, but after 1993 Miller gave up producing records altogether. However, he collaborated with Paul McCartney on the former Beatle's 1997 Grammy-nominated album, Flaming Pie.
Junior's Farm
Steve Miller Lyrics
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I had a honey and I bet a grand,
Just in the nick of time I looked at his hand.
I was talking to an Eskimo,
Said he was hopping for a fall of snow,
When up popped a sea lion ready to go.
Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low,
Low life, high life, oh, let's go,
Take me down to junior's farm.
At the Houses of Parliament
Ev'rybody's talking 'bout the president,
We all chip in for a bag of cement.
Only hardy should have had more sense,
He bought a gee-gee and he jumped the fence,
All for the sake of a couple of pence.
I took my bag into a grocer's store,
The price is higher than the time before,
Old man asked me why is it more.
I said you should have seen me with the poker man,
I had a honey and I bet a grand,
Just in the nick of time I looked at his hand.
Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go
Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low,
Low life, high life, oh, let's go,
Take me down to junior's farm,
Let's go, let's go, down to junior's farm where I want to lay low.
Low life, high life, oh, let's go,
Take me down to junior's farm
Ev'rybody tag along.
Take me down to junior's farm.
The song "Junior's Farm" by Steve Miller is a whimsical and surreal tale of various bizarre encounters. The opening verse sees the singer playing poker with a large sum of money on the line, only narrowly avoiding losing it all by reading the other player's hand in time. The second verse takes a surreal turn as the singer speaks to an Eskimo who hopes for snow and is interrupted by a sea lion.
The chorus repeats the phrase "let's go down to Junior's farm," which is never explained but seems to represent a place of escape and adventure. The third verse references the Houses of Parliament and the President, with the suggestion that people are gossiping and involved in underhanded dealings. The final verse sees the singer in a grocer's store, noticing the rising price of goods and reflecting on his earlier poker game.
The song is full of nonsensical imagery and wild associations, but there is a sense of excitement and freedom in the singer's voice. The repeated refrain of "let's go" implies a restless spirit, inspired by the strange and unexpected encounters he has. The overall effect is a joyful celebration of life's oddities and surprises.
Line by Line Meaning
You should have seen me with the poker man,
I was so confident while gambling with the poker man that I won a great deal of money.
I had a honey and I bet a grand,
I had a beautiful woman as my companion and I placed a large bet of one thousand dollars.
Just in the nick of time I looked at his hand.
Fortunately, I looked at my opponent's cards right before it was too late and managed to win the game.
I was talking to an Eskimo,
I had a conversation with a person from a culture that was different from mine.
Said he was hopping for a fall of snow,
The Eskimo expressed his hope for a snowfall.
When up popped a sea lion ready to go.
Suddenly, a sea lion appeared and seemed eager to leave.
Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go
Excitement and enthusiasm for going somewhere or doing something.
Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low,
Heading to Junior's farm to relax and stay out of the public eye for a while.
Low life, high life, oh, let's go,
Regardless of one's social status, everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy themselves.
Take me down to junior's farm.
Directly asking to be taken to Junior's farm.
At the Houses of Parliament
Referring to the government and its activities.
Ev'rybody's talking 'bout the president,
The president is a topic of discussion for everyone.
We all chip in for a bag of cement.
To contribute a small amount of money towards a common cause or purchase.
Only hardy should have had more sense,
It should have been obvious to Hardy that his actions were risky or unwise.
He bought a gee-gee and he jumped the fence,
He purchased a horse and then rode over a fence, likely with the intention of showing off.
All for the sake of a couple of pence.
He risked everything for very little gain.
I took my bag into a grocer's store,
I went to a grocery store with my belongings.
The price is higher than the time before,
The cost of the items I wanted to purchase had increased since the last time I was at the store.
Old man asked me why is it more.
An older man questioned why the prices had gone up.
Ev'rybody tag along.
Encouraging everyone to join in and come along.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY, LINDA LOUISE MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind