Steve Miller (born 5 October 1943) is a blues and rock and roll guitarist and performer. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but attended high school in Dallas. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, he formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught one of his classmates, Royce Boz Scaggs, a few guitar chords so that 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.
In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Scaggs 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 with vocal chores taken over by drummer Tim Davis; Miller himself would begin singing occasional lead on 1969's Brave New World. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit.
In the 1970's the band had some hits that became classics over the years - Jet Airliner, with some evocative lyrics that brought home the loss of life on the road; and The Joker which includes the famous line about the "pompatus of love", which is of course nonsense, but that didn't stop a lot of stoned folks from spending years talking amongst themselves.
Steve Miller's father was a wealthy doctor in Dallas, and friends with famous guitarist and guitar designer Les Paul. Les Paul gave Miller his first guitar lessons.
Longtime member Norton Buffalo (harmonica player) died from lung cancer on October 30, 2009.
John King (drummer during "The Joker" era) died after a short bout of kidney cancer on October 26, 2010.
Band-member James Cooke died from cancer on 16 May 2011.
Close Together
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
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We gotta stay close together
If we don't want somebody
To get ahead of us
You know that this world
Is full of toil and tin
One little person, well
Take me to a bus
Going side by side
To try to keep each other
From being taken for a ride
We gotta stay close together
We gotta stay close together
If we don't want somebody
To get ahead of us
You know that this world
Is full of toil and tin
One little person, well
I just can't win
Take me to a bus
Going side by side
To try to keep each other
From being taken for a ride
We gotta stay close together
We gotta stay close together
If we don't want somebody
To get ahead of us
[Repeat: x4]
We gotta stay close together
If we don't want somebody
To get ahead of us
The lyrics in Steve Miller Band's "Close Together" are suggesting that in order to succeed and not be overtaken by others, people need to stick together and work as a team. The repetition of "We gotta stay close together" highlights the importance of unity and collaboration. The singer acknowledges the competitive nature of the world they live in, where one little person cannot win against the challenges they face.
The lyrics also suggest a sense of urgency and the need to act quickly, as demonstrated in the lines "Take me to a bus / Going side by side / To try to keep each other / From being taken for a ride". This could be interpreted as a plea for protection against those who are trying to manipulate or take advantage of them.
Overall, the song's lyrics suggest the importance of solidarity in overcoming the obstacles and challenges of life. The repetition of the phrase "We gotta stay close together" serves as a call to action, urging people to recognize the value of working together and supporting each other in order to succeed.
Line by Line Meaning
We gotta stay close together
The only way to keep up with the competition is to stick together and support each other.
If we don't want somebody
To avoid being left behind by competitors,
To get ahead of us
We need to remain united and work as a team towards success.
You know that this world
The world is a tough place with many challenges and obstacles to overcome.
Is full of toil and tin
It is filled with hard work and struggle, with little reward or recognition.
One little person, well
For an individual, it can be difficult to succeed or make a difference on their own.
I just can't win
Without the help of others, it is almost impossible to come out on top.
Take me to a bus
Let's board a bus and travel together towards our goals.
Going side by side
Side-by-side, we can support and motivate each other to keep going.
To try to keep each other
We must work together to prevent anyone from falling behind or being taken advantage of.
From being taken for a ride
We need to watch out for each other and make sure no one gets exploited.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JIMMY REED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind