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.
Got Love
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What I'm gonna do to you
You may not see it
But you sure do need it
And I'll change your mind 'fore you're through
Been cool so far, but I'm gonna steal your car
And you'll learn to dig it too, baby
Before you feel me comin' through
I've got no hands on the wheel
But I'm drivin' by feel
And I got you sewn up and surrounded too
Take you down the track in a burlap sack
And you'll learn to dig it too
You're my horse and you never win a race
But I got to foot this {??} to you
You better not brag, you're a hunky old hag
And that goes for your mother too
Well you tell me you love, gonna slug you in the eye
And you'll learn to dig it baby
Well you've got a job and I've heard that before
And you're in the same line as Pussy Galore
You wear your dresses short
And I'll see you in court
You better bring me back some money or don't knock on my door
Gonna get me a whip and I'm gonna teach you to skip
And you'll learn to dig it baby
Well, I'm movin' faster
Than the plaster casters
And all your groupies too
Got love cause you need it, baby
And we're gonna mess with you
The lyrics of the Steve Miller Band's song "Got Love 'Cause You Need It" may seem a bit confusing at first glance, but they are actually quite straightforward. It starts with the singer waiting and anticipating for something to happen, something that he is going to do to the other person. The other person may not realize it, but they need what the singer is about to do to them, and he is going to change their mind about it before they are done.
The lyrics then take a bit of a strange turn, as the singer talks about stealing a car and taking the other person down a track in a burlap sack. The tone of the lyrics is playful and flirtatious, with a touch of domination, as the singer talks about the other person being like a horse that never wins a race. The singer also hints at a sexual relationship with the other person, talking about how they wear short dresses and how he's going to teach them to skip.
Overall, the lyrics of "Got Love 'Cause You Need It" are about a playful and flirtatious relationship between two people, with a bit of a dominant tone on the part of the singer. The lyrics are also somewhat nonsensical, with random images and phrases thrown in for effect.
Line by Line Meaning
Sittin' here waitin', anticipatin'
I'm patiently waiting, anticipating what I'm about to do to you.
What I'm gonna do to you
I have something planned for you.
You may not see it
You might not realize it yet, but you need what I'm about to give you.
But you sure do need it
You definitely need it, even if you don't know it yet.
And I'll change your mind 'fore you're through
By the time I'm done with you, you'll have a different perspective.
Been cool so far, but I'm gonna steal your car
I've been patient up until now, but I'm about to get more aggressive and take something from you.
And you'll learn to dig it too, baby
Eventually you'll come to enjoy it as well.
Come {??} and it won't be long
I'm coming for you soon, and it won't be much longer.
Before you feel me comin' through
You'll know when I'm about to make my move.
I've got no hands on the wheel
I'm moving towards my goal without any real plan or control.
But I'm drivin' by feel
I'm relying on my instincts to guide me.
And I got you sewn up and surrounded too
I have you cornered and there's no escape.
Take you down the track in a burlap sack
I'm going to take you on a journey you didn't ask for.
And you'll learn to dig it too
Eventually you'll learn to enjoy it.
You're my horse and you never win a race
You're mine to control, and you'll never win against me.
But I got to foot this {??} to you
I have to pay the price for this situation.
You better not brag, you're a hunky old hag
Don't boast about yourself, you're just an old, unattractive woman.
And that goes for your mother too
The same applies to your mother.
Well you tell me you love, gonna slug you in the eye
If you tell me you love me, I'll hit you in the face.
And you'll learn to dig it baby
Eventually you'll come to enjoy it.
Well you've got a job and I've heard that before
I know you have a job, and I'm not impressed.
And you're in the same line as Pussy Galore
You work in the same field as someone else I don't think highly of.
You wear your dresses short
You dress provocatively.
And I'll see you in court
I'm willing to take legal action against you.
You better bring me back some money or don't knock on my door
If you owe me money, don't bother coming to see me unless you have it.
Gonna get me a whip and I'm gonna teach you to skip
I'm going to punish you in a humiliating way.
And you'll learn to dig it baby
Eventually you'll come to enjoy it.
Well, I'm movin' faster
I'm speeding up.
Than the plaster casters
I'm moving faster than the people who make plaster casts of famous people's body parts.
And all your groupies too
I'm even faster than your fans who idolize you.
Got love cause you need it, baby
I'm giving you love because deep down, you need it.
And we're gonna mess with you
I'm going to play around with you and disturb your life a bit.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEN SIDRAN, STEVE MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
KowKowCalqulator
Really; a very good album by Miller.
Patrick Kadas
Got Love 'Cause You Need It - Miller, Steve Band [San Francisco, California] - 1969 - "'Can't You Hear Your Daddy's Heartbeat' sounds like it was lifted right off of Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced, and 'Got Love 'Cause You Need It' also has a Hendrix-ian feel." - Brave New World (Capitol)-1989.
Daniel Cook
wickedddd
Patrick Carroll
joe bonamassa does too many slow blues. Is there any better tune to spice up his repertoire than this one? He might extend the guitar solo while maintaining the rhythm; should be a showstopper.