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.
Seasons
Steve Miller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of the seasons I will sing
To help you through your birth
As you spend your time on earth
In the wind
The summer song won't last long
When this warm old man has come
As you spend your time on earth
In the wind
And so it goes
As the wind blows
The seasons will flow
To help you through your birth
As you spend your time on earth
In the wind
A mother's child
A father's son
In this crowd, I'm only one
To tell you of your worth
As you spend your time on earth
In the wind
And so it goes
(And so it goes)
As the wind blows
(As the wind blows)
And so it goes
As the wind blows
The song Seasons by Steve Miller Band speaks to the cyclical nature of life and the passing of time. Miller sings about each of the four seasons, offering his voice as a way to help people through the various stages of their lives on earth. The song is a reminder that although each season may be distinct, they are interconnected and flow together seamlessly, just as life progresses forward with a rhythm.
Miller starts off by saying he will sing about all four seasons to assist with one's journey on earth. He then sings of summer, which he implies is fleeting and will not last long before winter comes. The reference to the "warm old man" might be talking about the sun, as it might give warmth in the summer, but Miller's voice is present to help during the changing times.
He shares that he is a part of the masses, just one voice in the crowd trying to offer guidance to "a mother's child". He wants to let people know of their value, as they spend their time on earth, which he describes in the line "In the wind". Lastly, the chorus emphasizes the cyclical nature of life, and how everything connects, just like the seasons.
Overall, Seasons is trying to bring comfort to listeners through the passing of time, demonstrating that every change is part of something more significant and worthwhile.
Line by Line Meaning
Summer, fall, winter, spring
The singer will sing about all four seasons
Of the seasons I will sing
The purpose of the singer's song is to describe the seasons
To help you through your birth
The song aims to guide listeners through the process of living their lives
As you spend your time on earth
The song's guidance is relevant to people living on earth
In the wind
Perhaps the wind represents the unstoppable passage of time
The summer song won't last long
Summer is fleeting and temporary
When this warm old man has come
The singer may be referring to old age or death
I'll sing your of your birth
The singer's song will guide people from birth to death
And so it goes
The passage of time is inevitable
As the wind blows
The wind represents the unstoppable passage of time
The seasons will flow
The passage of time is marked by the change of seasons
A mother's child
Every person is someone's child
A father's son
Every person is someone's son
In this crowd, I'm only one
The singer acknowledges their individuality in a world of many people
To tell you of your worth
The singer's song aims to remind people of their value
And so it goes
Time keeps moving forward
(And so it goes)
This line is a repetition of the previous line
As the wind blows
The wind represents the unstoppable passage of time
(As the wind blows)
This line is a repetition of the previous line
And so it goes
Time keeps moving forward
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Integrity Music
Written by: Steve Miller, Ben Sidran
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@profitmax1
Steve Miller carved a spot in history with his first five albums. I still play them.
@sambac2053
And yet most of his fans have never heard anything before The Joker
@brainscott8198
"A mother's child, a father's son...." gets me every time...i lost my parents earlier this yr. God bless u mom and dad.
@marstondavis
We would go to Winterland and The Avalon to see Steve Miller. My favorite group. We'd go every night he was headlining. That was a long time ago but not so far away. We had such a grand time. When I think of those days and play the music I always have a smile on my face. Not all of us are here any more but they're in my heart forever and a day. Thanks to you, Bill Graham. You made a lot of magic happen.
@josephobenauer3093
Bill Graham was legendary.
@drumplayerforever
One of my absolute favorites...I can close my eyes & listen...taking me back to the late 60's as a teenager...The 60's we're a time of upheaval, much like today...But there was hope, an optimism in life, & in people that I rarely see today...As Don Henley aptly stated, "we've come so far, so fast"...What a shame, if we let it all slip away...
@derpferguson5400
this is beautiful
@jacksims5812
Absolutely great tune. I was 15 when came out. Hair down to middle of my back. Played this song every spring, still do.
@tiniesttown
my brother, about a year or two before he was killed in vietnam turned me onto this album. can't hear this and not see him sitting on the bed across from me just a kid and his older brother dreaming ...
@morganpickering8980
thank you.............