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.
I Got Love If You Want It
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got love if you want it
I got love if you want it
I got love if you want it
I got love if you want it
Will you rock awhile?
Will you rock awhile?
'Cause you finally found a friend
Quit teasing me baby
'Cause you finally found a friend
I'd like to love you baby
Be your lovin' man
Be your lovin' man
I love you little woman
Than I do myself
I love you little woman
Than I do myself
But you mistreat me baby
For somebody else
For somebody else
Kinda sad about you baby
'Cause you finally found a friend
Kinda sad about you baby
'Cause you finally found a friend
I'd like to love you baby
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
To the crying shame
The Steve Miller Band's "I Got Love If You Want It" is a love song that features the singer, Steve Miller, offering his love to a woman who has finally found a friend. He repeatedly tells her that he has love to give, and asks her if she will rock awhile with him. However, he is also frustrated with her teasing him and mistreating him for somebody else, indicating that she may not be fully committed to him. Despite this, he declares his love for her, saying that he loves her even more than himself.
The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but are elevated by Miller's soulful and passionate delivery. The repetition of the chorus underscores the singer's desperation in trying to win the woman's affection. The song's bluesy instrumentation, with its driving guitar riffs and thumping bass line, further strengthens the sense of longing and desire expressed in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I got love if you want it
I have the ability to love and I'm willing to give that love to you
Will you rock awhile?
Would you like to stay and have a good time with me?
Quit teasing me baby
Stop leading me on and pretending to be interested in me
'Cause you finally found a friend
Because you have found somebody you enjoy spending time with
I'd like to love you baby
I have feelings for you and would like to pursue a romantic relationship with you
Be your lovin' man
I want to be the man who loves and takes care of you
I love you little woman
I have strong feelings of love towards you
Than I do myself
My feelings for you are even stronger than my feelings for myself
But you mistreat me baby
You don't treat me well
For somebody else
You have feelings for someone else
Kinda sad about you baby
I feel a bit sad about the situation with us
To the crying shame
It's unfortunate and unfair
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JAMES MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind