Originally from Nottingham in the UK, this band of virtuoso musicians under the leadership of Alvin Lee conquered the UK scene and then spread their wings to the USA. Their blend of jazz, blues and rock was initially slightly awkward but their first album provided an opening for them. In October, their 1967 self-titled debut album was released.
In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, Ten Years After released their second album, live Undead, which brought their first classic, "I'm Going Home." This was followed in February 1969 by studio issue, Stonedhenge, a British hit, that included another classic, "Hear Me Calling" (it was released also as a single, and covered in 1972 by British glam rock rising stars, Slade). In July 1969 they appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, in the first event to which rock bands were invited. In August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at Woodstock; their furious-to-soft-to-furious rendition of "I'm Going Home" featuring Alvin Lee as the lead singer was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and catapulted them to star status.
During 1970, Ten Years After released "Love Like a Man", their only hit in the UK Singles Chart. This song was on their fifth album, Cricklewood Green. The name of the album comes from a friend of the group who lived in Cricklewood, London. He grew a sort of plant which was said to have hallucinogenic effects. The band did not know the name of this plant, so they called their album Cricklewood Green. It was the first record to be issued with a different playing speed on each side – one a three-minute edit at 45rpm, the other, a nine-minute live version at 33rpm. In August, Ten Years After played the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 to an audience of 600,000.
In 1971, the band released the album A Space in Time which marked a move toward more commercial material. It featured their biggest hit, "I'd Love To Change The World". But a few albums later, the band broke up after the 1974 album Positive Vibrations. They re-united in 1983 to play the Reading Festival and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions - Live At Reading '83. In 1988, they re-united for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989). Finally, in 1994, they participated in the Eurowoodstock festival in Budapest.
Alvin Lee has since then mostly played and recorded under his own name. In 2003, the other band members replaced him with Joe Gooch and recorded the album Now. Material from the following tour was used for the 2005 double album Roadworks.
Lee died on March 6, 2013. According to his website, he died from "unforeseen complications following a routine surgical procedure."[2][3][4] He was 68. His former bandmates lamented his death, Leo Lyons called him "the closest thing I had to a brother", while Ric Lee (no relation) said "I don't think its even sunk in yet as to the reality of his passing." Billboard Magazine wrote of his passing, highlighting such landmark performances as "I'm Going Home" from the Woodstock festival and his 1974 hit single "I'd Love to Change the World."[5]
Band members:
Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals
Leo Lyons – bass
Chick Churchill – keyboards
Ric Lee – drums
Joe Gooch – guitar, vocals (joined in 2003)
You can also see Alvin Lee and / or Alvin Lee & Ten Years After and / or Alvin Lee & Co and / or The Alvin Lee Band on Last.fm.
Good Morning Little School Girl
Ten Years After Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can I go home, home with you?
Good morning little schoolgirl
Can I go home, home with you?
Tell your mama and your papa
Big be schoolboy, too
I won't bore you, yeah
Yes, I do
Baby, I want to ball you
I want to ball you all night long
Tell your mama and your papa
Baby, baby, doing nothing wrong, child
I'm doing nothing wrong, yeah
I won't bore you, yea, yea, huh
Baby, I want to ball you all night long
Yes, I do, child
I won't bore you, darling, yea
I won't bore you all night long
Tell your mama and your papa
Baby, baby, we're gonna do nothing wrong
Wrong , wrong, wrong
Baby, I want to ball you every night
Oh, yeah, come on now
The lyrics of Ten Years After's "Good Morning Little School Girl" are a classic example of a blues song focusing on sexual desire. The song's speaker is a young man who is addressing a schoolgirl and asking for permission to take her home with him. The repeated phrase "Can I go home, home with you?" demonstrates the singer's desire for the girl's companionship. He also adds a request for the girl's parents' approval by saying, "Tell your mama and your papa."
The singer's sexual attraction to the young girl is evident in lines such as "Baby, I want to ball you all night long." The singer also wants to assure the girl that he is not going to cause any harm and is "doing nothing wrong." He repeats this phrase a few times, suggesting his desire to convince the girl that his intentions are pure. However, this seems to contradict the sexual language he uses throughout the remainder of the song.
In conclusion, the song's lyrics are an example of how blues music historically addressed taboo subjects such as sex and desire. The singer's yearning for the schoolgirl is a central theme, while his repetition of the phrase "doing nothing wrong" could be interpreted as a reflection of the societal taboos of the time. Overall, the song is an interesting reflection of the blues genre's rich history in addressing topics that were not typically addressed in popular music.
Line by Line Meaning
Good morning little schoolgirl
Addressing a young girl who attends school
Can I go home, home with you?
Can I come home with you?
Tell your mama and your papa
Inform your parents
Big be schoolboy, too
I am a big schoolboy too
I won't bore you, yeah
I won't be tedious
Baby, I won't bore you all night long
I promise not to be dull all night
Yes, I do
I do want to
Baby, I want to ball you
I want to have sex with you
I want to ball you all night long
I want to have sex with you all night
Baby, baby, doing nothing wrong, child
I am not doing anything immoral, kid
I'm doing nothing wrong, yeah
I am not doing anything immoral
I won't bore you, yea, yea, huh
I promise not to be tedious
Baby, I want to ball you all night long
I want to have sex with you all night
Yes, I do, child
I do want to
I won't bore you, darling, yea
I promise not to be tedious, darling
I won't bore you all night long
I promise not to be dull all night
Baby, baby, we're gonna do nothing wrong
We are not going to do anything immoral, baby
Wrong , wrong, wrong
Doing something immoral would be wrong
Baby, I want to ball you every night
I want to have sex with you every night
Oh, yeah, come on now
Expressing excitement
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@warrendemartini6533
Alvin Lee was one of the greats. This was 10th grade for me. Stoned to the bone .. take me back lord I wanna relive my days rock on to all the greats ❤
@videoogler
Everyone in this band was a top notch musician. Alvin is definitely my all time favorite guitar player.
@BuckrBill
Rick Lee was an incredibly underrated drummer, he was exceptionally good.
@Teachering
Yes, he was a good player. He was also my introduction to the Gibson ES335.
@patriciastone3501
Yup. Alvin has no peers. Doubt if he ever will at this point.
@howardmarks8647
Leo Lyons and Chick Churchill were also unsung TYA members. TYA was a one-in-a-million combo of very talented indivuduals.
@loriematthews6418
500 years after. Would STILL be amazing.
@seanmackenzie8726
Alvin Lee rest in peace!!
@jarettkuhn1399
People keep typing that Alvin Lee was most underrated. He was voted fastest guitar player back in the early seventies. Yes lots of people today have no idea who he is or who TYA is. Only great ears know of them. Thus everyone on this site qualifies.
@Tessmage_Tessera
LOL he wasn't underrated back in our day. Far from it. Ten Years After were one of the high points of Woodstock.