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.

Never Kill Another Man
Steve Miller Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When the wind blows you home
To the shores of home
Will you be one of those
Who killed another man

When the wind blows you home
To the shores of home
Will you be one

Who killed another man
Killed another man
Killed another man
Killed another man

If I can make it through this life
If I can make it through this life
If I can make it
If I can make it
I'll never kill another man
As my time rolls out
As my time rolls out
If I can make it
If I can make it

I'll never kill another man with these hands
Never kill another man

Overall Meaning

The Steve Miller Band's song Never Kill Another Man, from the album Number 5, is a song that asks listeners about the kind of person they will be when they return home. The song's lyrics open by asking whether, when the wind blows you home to the shores of your homeland, you will be one of those individuals who killed another man. The lyrics' use of repetition, asking the same question multiple times throughout the song, adds emphasis to the song's message. This repetition also serves to highlight the song's theme; namely, the idea that the choices that individuals make in their lives can have far-reaching consequences.

The second part of the song shifts the focus to the singer's own life. The lyrics suggest that the singer is determined not to be the kind of person who kills other people. This determination is expressed using the refrain "If I can make it through this life/I'll never kill another man." This refrain is repeated several times throughout the song, emphasizing the singer's commitment to his cause. The song's final lines are a poignant expression of the singer's hope that he will never harm another person with his own hands.

Overall, the song is a powerful expression of the consequences of our actions. By asking listeners whether they will be one of those who kills another person, the song emphasizes the importance of making the right choices in life. In the second part of the song, the lyrics suggest that the singer himself is committed to making the right choices and never harming another person. Ultimately, the song speaks to the universal human experience of trying to do the right thing and make a positive impact on the world around us.

Line by Line Meaning

When the wind blows you home
When you return to the place where you belong,

To the shores of home
To the familiar place you call home,

Will you be one of those
Will you be among the group of people,

Who killed another man
Who have taken the life of another person,

When the wind blows you home
When you come back to where you started,

To the shores of home
To the place you know so well,

Will you be one
Will you be a person,

Who killed another man
Who has murdered someone,

Killed another man
Taken somebody else's life,

Killed another man
Caused someone's death,

Killed another man
Committed a terrible crime,