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.
Me And My Baby
Ten Years After Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me and my baby never get the blues
Me and my woman got nothing left to lose
Me and my baby never get uptight
Me and my baby never get uptight
Me and my woman never do a damn thing right
Me and my baby always feeling good
We love each other, sure no reason why we should
Me and my baby really got it made
Me and my baby really got it made
I get her loving when the other man is paid
Me and my baby living like we should
Me and my baby living like we should
We don't act bad 'cause we don't know what it's like to be good
In Ten Years After’s song “Me and My Baby,” the singer sings about his relationship with his significant other. The lyrics suggest that the couple is free from the woes of the world and is content with their life together. The repeated refrain “Me and my baby never get the blues” indicates the sense of emotional security and stability they have in each other’s company. The line “Me and my woman got nothing left to lose” implies that they have already faced the worst of life together and are now at a peaceful stage.
The singer further talks about how they never get uptight, which can be interpreted as meaning they don’t argue or fight. They accept each other as they are, even if they don’t always get things right. He goes on to say that they always feel good in each other’s company as they have a strong love and connection that just feels right. The line “We love each other, sure no reason why we should” hints at the simplicity and depth of their love, which is not based on superficial reasons.
Towards the end of the song, the singer boasts about how he and his baby are doing well in life and suggests that he doesn’t have to compete with other men to keep her happy. He says, “I get her loving when the other man is paid,” which could imply that his partner is not materialistic and doesn’t need expensive gifts or gestures to be happy. In the final lines, the singer reflects on the fact that they don’t “act bad” because they don’t know what it’s like to be good. This could suggest that they don’t have a desire to conform to societal norms and are happy living life their way.
Line by Line Meaning
Me and my baby never get the blues
My significant other and I don't get sad or depressed
Me and my woman got nothing left to lose
My partner and I have lost everything, so we have nothing left to lose
Me and my baby never get uptight
My partner and I never get stressed or anxious
Me and my woman never do a damn thing right
My significant other and I can't seem to get anything right
Me and my baby always feeling good
My significant other and I are always happy
We love each other, sure no reason why we should
We love each other for no particular reason
Me and my baby really got it made
My significant other and I have achieved a comfortable life
I get her loving when the other man is paid
I only receive her love when she is financially compensated by another man
Me and my baby living like we should
My significant other and I live the way we think we should
We don't act bad 'cause we don't know what it's like to be good
We don't behave poorly because we genuinely don't understand how to behave well
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ALVIN LEE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@daisywrabbit
Me and my baby never get the blues
Me and my baby never get the blues
Me and my woman got nothing left to lose
Me and my baby never get uptight
Me and my baby never get uptight
Me and my woman never do a damn thing right
Me and my baby always feeling good
Me and my baby always feeling good
We love each other, sure no reason why we should
Me and my baby really got it made
Me and my baby really got it made
I get her loving when the other man is paid
Me and my baby living like we should
Me and my baby living like we should
We don't act bad 'cause we don't know what it's like to be good
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Alvin Lee
Me and My Baby lyrics
@user-js6el7vn2r
"Me And My Baby"
Me and my baby never get the blues
Me and my baby never get the blues
Me and my woman got nothing left to lose
Me and my baby never get uptight
Me and my baby never get uptight
Me and my woman never do a damn thing right
Me and my baby always feeling good
Me and my baby always feeling good
We love each other, sure no reason why we should
Me and my baby really got it made
Me and my baby really got it made
I get her loving when the other man is paid
Me and my baby living like we should
Me and my baby living like we should
We don't act bad 'cause we don't know what it's like to be good
@69z281
Ten years after, Thin lizzy probably the 2 greatest rock bands ever
@tonyshalom3385
I remember back ....way back in the day....Ten Years After played at Fordham University in NYC and it was a bitter cold evening and they said to the audience " its too cold to go out so were just going to play " and for i want to say for more than 3 hours they just played and jammed and rocked the house !!! Truly a Great band.
@ronniedaddario
Always liked them best when they did blues. Me and My Baby - my favorite track on this album.
@tonyshalom3385
Great Band !!!!
@user-mv6sg2ub4h
My favorite TYA song, it just connects with me.
@psh6654
ah, those descending chords. jazz, man.
@mitchgawlik1175
Fifty years old and this tune still kicks ass. Everything about it is right on.
@bilyg5689
What a tune. Such masters.
@eavitale055
Truly one of the great songs by this band. This bleeds so handsomely into "Love Like A Man"
@bobsaturday4273
whata band ! light years ahead of the music of the time ...and TEN TIMES that today !