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.
Sweet Home Chicago
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
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Come on, baby don't you want to go
Back to that same old place
Sweet home Chicago
One and one is two
Two and two is four
The way I love you little girl,
Come on, baby don't you want to go
Back to that same old place
Sweet home Chicago
Four and two is six
Six and two is eight
Look here baby, don't you hesitate
Well hey
Baby don't you want to go
Back to that same old place
Sweet home Chicago
Come on, baby don't you want to go
Come on, baby don't you want to go
Back to that same old place
Sweet home Chicago
The lyrics in Steve Miller Band's song Sweet Home Chicago depict a longing for one's hometown, urging a female companion to return to the place where they both belong. The repetition of the line "come on, baby don't you want to go" emphasizes the urgency of leaving their current location and to return to the familiarity of their origin. The use of numbers in the lyrics is reminiscent of counting, simplifying the idea of love and the happiness they could find back in Chicago. The repetition of adding by twos, and the line "you'll never know" in the middle of the verse, lends itself to the simplicity of love and how it cannot be quantified.
The chorus repeats the longing to go back to "that same old place," emphasizing the comfortable and familiar feeling of being home. The final verse concludes with the repetition of the chorus and the addition of "well hey," which gives the impression of acceptance and acquiescence to returning home.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on, baby don't you want to go
The singer is begging his loved one to join him in a nostalgic trip to their sweet home in Chicago
Back to that same old place
He wants to visit the place where they used to live, filled with fond memories
Sweet home Chicago
A term of endearment for a place they both hold dear to their hearts
One and one is two
Starting a new verse, the singer reflects on the basics of arithmetic
Two and two is four
He confirms the equation and reminds us of the simplicity of math
The way I love you little girl,
He then turns to his beloved, proclaiming his deep love for her
You'll never know
He doubts she will ever fully understand the extent of his affection
Four and two is six
Returning to the arithmetic motif, he continues to state simple math equations
Six and two is eight
Another simple confirmation of math
Look here baby, don't you hesitate
He interrupts the equation recitation to plead with his partner not to doubt him
Well hey
A playful interjection before returning to the chorus
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ROBERT JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind