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.
Jungle Love
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
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You thought you had known me before
I brought you a crate of papaya
Then waited all night by your door
You probably wouldn't remember
I probably couldn't forget
Jungle love, in the surf, in the pouring rain
Everything's better when wet
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy
But lately you live in the jungle
I never see you alone
But we need some definite answers
So I thought I would write you a poem
The question to everyone's answer
Is usually asked from within
But the patterns of the rain and the truth they contain
Have written my life on your skin
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy, crazy
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy
You treat me like I was your ocean
You swim in my blood when it's warm
My cycles of circular motion
Protect you and keep you from harm
You live in a world of illusion
Where everything's peaches and cream
We all face a scarlet conclusion
But we spend our time in a dream
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy, crazy
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy, crazy
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy, crazy
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
It's makin' me crazy
The lyrics of Steve Miller Band's song Jungle Love describe the chaotic and confusing experience of being deeply infatuated and in love with someone, but also feeling like they are living in a different world or reality. The singer met the person on an island and instantly felt a connection, but is now struggling with the fact that the other person disappeared into the jungle and has become inaccessible. The lyrics suggest that the singer is longing for answers and some kind of resolution or closure, but also recognizes the futility of trying to understand someone else's inner world. The refrain "jungle love, it's driving me mad, it's making me crazy" captures the overwhelming and obsessive nature of infatuation when one's feelings are not reciprocated or understood.
The song also deals with themes of illusion and disillusionment, particularly in terms of relationships. The singer acknowledges that the other person treats them like an ocean, but also recognizes that this may be an illusion or a superficial and incomplete understanding of the other person's emotions. The line "we all face a scarlet conclusion, but we spend our time in a dream" suggests that the singer is aware of the inevitability of death or separation, but is still caught up in the fantasy of the relationship. Overall, the lyrics of Jungle Love convey a sense of intense emotion and uncertainty, as the singer tries to come to terms with their own desires and the complexities of human relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I met you on somebody's island
I first saw you on an island that belonged to someone else
You thought you had known me before
You had a feeling we had met in the past
I brought you a crate of papaya
I gave you a box full of papaya fruit
Then waited all night by your door
I sat by your door all night long waiting for you
You probably wouldn't remember
You might not recall the memories we made together
I probably couldn't forget
I'm sure I won't forget our time together
Jungle love, in the surf, in the pouring rain
Our love was wild like the jungle and we experienced it in the middle of the ocean, under the rain
Everything's better when wet
The love we shared was more intense during those moments
But lately you live in the jungle
Lately, you seem to prefer your life in the wild
I never see you alone
You are always with someone else, never alone
But we need some definite answers
I want to clarify some things between us
So I thought I would write you a poem
I decided to express my feelings through writing a poem for you
The question to everyone's answer
The solution to everyone's problems
Is usually asked from within
Comes from yourself, looking inside for it
But the patterns of the rain and the truth they contain
The way the rain falls shows the truth that it brings
Have written my life on your skin
My experiences with you have left a mark on your skin
You treat me like I was your ocean
You love me and use me as if I were the ocean
You swim in my blood when it's warm
You enjoy being with me when things are good
My cycles of circular motion
The rhythm of my movement
Protect you and keep you from harm
Keeps you safe and unharmed
You live in a world of illusion
You live in a world where you create your own reality
Where everything's peaches and cream
Where everything seems perfect and ideal
We all face a scarlet conclusion
We all have to face the end, death
But we spend our time in a dream
We ignore the end and live in a fantasy world
Jungle love, it's drivin' me mad
Our wild love is making me go crazy
It's makin' me crazy, crazy
It's driving me insane
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Lonnie Turner, Gregory Douglass
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind