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.
Pushed Me To It
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
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You pushed me to it
But I was wrong, girl
Yeah, you didn't do it
My friends tried to tell me
But I was blind
All I can say, babe
I didn't mean to be unkind
In Steve Miller's song "Pushed Me to It," the lyrics delve into the idea of how sometimes we think we don't need someone in our lives, but they end up pushing us to become better versions of ourselves. The singer admits that he was wrong to have doubted the girl and that she didn't actually do anything to cause the change in him - it was all him. He explains how he was blind to the advice of his friends, who tried to tell him that he was being unkind. The song portrays the idea that personal growth and development can come from unexpected circumstances and people, and that sometimes it takes an outside push to bring about our best selves.
The lyrics also explore the idea of regret and the feeling of being sorry. The singer admits that he was wrong to have acted in the way he did towards the girl and that he wants to make amends. This can be interpreted as a lesson in humility and learning to take responsibility for our actions. The overall message of the song is that accepting our mistakes and asking for forgiveness is an important part of personal growth and development.
Line by Line Meaning
Thought I didn't need you
I believed I could live without you
You pushed me to it
Your actions forced me into doing something regrettable
But I was wrong, girl
I now realize my mistake, and I apologize
Yeah, you didn't do it
You are innocent and not responsible for what happened
My friends tried to tell me
My friends warned me about my behavior
But I was blind
I was not able to see the truth and ignored their advice
All I can say, babe
The only thing I can say, my love
I didn't mean to be unkind
I did not intend to be hurtful, and I regret my actions
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: STEVE MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind