Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967-8 in San Franci… Read Full Bio ↴Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967-8 in San Francisco, California, USA. The band features Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of (mainly) mid-1970s hit singles that continue to be staples of the classic rock radio format.

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.

Going To The Country
Steve Miller Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gonna leave the city put my troubles behind
People in the city goin' out of their minds
Goin' to the country just to feel like gold
People in the country really let themselves go

Hey, ho, one thing I know
People in the country got one thing for sure
Hey, ho, one thing I know

Every mother's child really lets himself go

Goin' to the country and leavin' right away
No time to talk I got to make a getaway
Gonna leave the city it's a crime and a shame
People in the city are goin' insane

Hey, ho, one thing I know
Every mother's child really lets himself go
Hey, ho, one thing I know
People in the country really let themselves go

Joining hands
Making plans

Come on down
Look around

Overall Meaning

The Steve Miller Band’s song, “Going to the Country” is a fun, upbeat tune with simple lyrics that express the desire to escape from the city and head to the country. The song begins with the singer announcing his intent to leave the city and its problems behind in search of something better. The people in the city are “going out of their minds” and so he is heading to the country just “to feel like gold”. The country, he suggests, is a place where people can really let themselves go and be themselves. The repetition of the phrase “Hey, Ho, one thing I know” reinforces the idea that there is something special about the country, and that people who live there have a special freedom that those in the city do not.

The singer is eager to leave and is in a hurry to do so. He notes that there is “no time to talk” and that he has to make a “getaway”. He feels that leaving the city is both a “crime and a shame” but that he must do so in order to preserve his own sanity. The phrase “Every mother’s child really lets himself go” is repeated and suggests that everyone who lives in the country is able to be their true selves and let loose. The final few lines of the song, “Joining hands / Making plans / Come on down / Look around” suggest that the country is a place of community and togetherness, where people come together and work to make things better.

Line by Line Meaning

Gonna leave the city put my troubles behind
I am going to leave the city to get rid of my troubles and start afresh

People in the city goin' out of their minds
People in the city are losing their sanity.

Goin' to the country just to feel like gold
I am going to the country to refresh and rejuvenate myself.

People in the country really let themselves go
People in the country are ready to relax and have fun.

Hey, ho, one thing I know
I am sure of one thing

People in the country got one thing for sure
People in the country know one thing for sure

Hey, ho, one thing I know
I am sure of one thing

Every mother's child really lets himself go
Everyone in the country is ready to relax.

Goin' to the country and leavin' right away
I am going to the country soon.

No time to talk I got to make a getaway
I need to get going and have no time to talk.

Gonna leave the city it's a crime and a shame
It's a pity I have to leave the city.