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.

The Sun Is Going Down
Steve Miller Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Do doot do do dooo
Do doot doot do do
Do doot do do dooo
Do doot doot do do

Sittin' in a bar in San Francisco
Got no place to go
Sun is going down, man

Sun is going down

Sittin' in the bar out at the airport
Tryin' to flag a plane
Plane she won't fly
Plane she won't fly

I've been travellin' such a long, long time
Out here on this road
I've been livin' such a lonely life
Tryin' to get back home
Livin' a lonely life, tryin' to get back home

Do doot do do dooo
Do doot doot do do

I've been livin' such a lonely life
Out here on this road
I've been livin' such a lonely life
Tryin' to find a home
Tryin' to find a home
Sun is going down

Do doot do do dooo
Do doot doot do do

Overall Meaning

The song "The Sun Is Going Down" by Steve Miller Band is a poignant expression of the loneliness and isolation one feels when they are away from home for a long time. The song opens in a bar in San Francisco where the singer finds himself with nowhere to go. He watches as the sun slowly sets, and the day comes to an end. The repetitive "Do doot do do dooo" melody creates a sense of melancholy and sets the tone for the rest of the song.

The second verse of the song finds the singer at an airport, trying to flag a plane, but to no avail. The plane won't fly, leaving him stranded and in desperate need of a way to get back home. The chorus repeats the line "I've been living such a lonely life, trying to get back home" which emphasizes the theme of the song.

The final verse of the song is a repetition of the second verse, but with a slight alteration in the lyrics. Instead of trying to find a way back home, the singer is "trying to find a home." This suggests that he has been away for so long that he has lost his sense of belonging and is trying to find a place where he can feel that he actually belongs.

Overall, Steve Miller Band's "The Sun Is Going Down" is a poignant expression of the loneliness and isolation one experiences when they are away from home for an extended period.

Line by Line Meaning

Do doot do do dooo
Instrumental intro

Do doot doot do do
Instrumental intro

Do doot do do dooo
Instrumental intro

Do doot doot do do
Instrumental intro

Sittin' in a bar in San Francisco
I am currently sitting in a bar in San Francisco

Got no place to go
I have nowhere to go and nothing to do

Sun is going down, man
The sun is setting

Sun is going down
The sun is setting

Sittin' in the bar out at the airport
Now, I am sitting in the airport bar

Tryin' to flag a plane
I am attempting to get on a plane

Plane she won't fly
The plane I want to get on is not in service