Robert Clark “Bob” Seger (born May 6, 1945) is an American rock musician wh… Read Full Bio ↴Robert Clark “Bob” Seger (born May 6, 1945) is an American rock musician who achieved his greatest success in the 1970s and 1980s and continues to record and perform today.

Seger started his musical career in the 1960s in his native Ann Arbor, Michigan, soon after playing in and around Detroit as a singer and as the leader of Bob Seger and the Last Heard, and then later the Bob Seger System.

In 1968, Bob Seger signed with major label Capitol Records and formed The Bob Seger System. This group was essentially a Michigan proto-punk band not unlike the SRC or The Frost. Their first single was the anti-war message song "2+2=?", which reflected a marked change in Seger's political attitudes from "The Ballad of the Yellow Beret". The single was again a hit in Detroit, but went unnoticed almost everywhere else.

The second single from The Bob Seger System was "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man". Predictably it was a smash hit in Detroit, but it also became Seger's first nationally charted hit, peaking at #17. The song's success led to the release of an album in 1969, and the Ramblin' Gamblin' Man album reached #62 on the Billboard pop albums chart.

Seger was unable to follow up this early moderate success; the Seger System's follow-up album Noah failed to chart at all, leading Seger to briefly quit the music industry and attend college. Seger returned the following year, however, with the System's final album, 1970's Mongrel. In 1971, Seger released his first solo album, the all-acoustic Brand New Morning. This was done in order to fulfill his Capitol contract.

Teachin' Blues
The Bob Seger System Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yeah, hell yeah, now I can hear the gypsy wind a howlin'
Ain't got time to lean against your wall
I gotta hit the road and keep on movin'
I'm gonna roll and smoke and boogie and ball now

Been abused, got my shoes, paid my dues, teachin' blues

Yeah, I'm goin' ridin' to the gates of freedom

Cruisin' till the sun she falls
I'm gonna follow my god into Eden

While I roll and smoke and boogie and ball
Light my fuse, get to choose, teachin' blues

Overall Meaning

The Bob Seger System's song Teachin' Blues is about a man who is fed up with his mundane life and is ready to hit the road and find freedom. He can feel the wind blowing and knows he can't waste any more time leaning against the wall. He needs to get moving and start living life to the fullest. The man sings about wanting to roll, smoke, boogie, and ball which represents his desire to have fun and let loose.

The lyrics "Been abused, got my shoes, paid my dues, teachin' blues" suggest that the man has been through some hardships in life but has learned from them and is ready to move forward. The idea of "teaching blues" could represent using his experiences to teach others how to overcome their hardships and live life to the fullest. The man wants to follow his god into Eden which could mean that he's ready to make a change in his life and achieve what he thinks is heaven on earth.

Line by Line Meaning

Yeah, hell yeah, now I can hear the gypsy wind a howlin'
Expressing excitement and acknowledgement of the freedom embodied in the music that he hears in the wind.

Ain't got time to lean against your wall
Not interested in sticking around for idle chit-chat, as it will hinder him from moving on to his next adventure.

I gotta hit the road and keep on movin'
He needs to continue his journey in order to maintain his independence and adhere to his sense of free-spiritedness.

I'm gonna roll and smoke and boogie and ball now
He's going to enjoy life to the fullest, with no strings attached and no expectations to conform to societal norms.

Been abused, got my shoes, paid my dues, teachin' blues
Despite his hardships and challenges, he's learned from his experiences and developed his own style of music that he shares with others.

Yeah, I'm goin' ridin' to the gates of freedom
He's determined to reach a new level of liberation that he's always yearned for, and he'll stop at nothing to achieve it.

Cruisin' till the sun she falls
Enjoying life's simple pleasures, and not concerned with the passage of time, but instead living in the moment.

I'm gonna follow my god into Eden
Trusting his instincts and following his own path, no matter where it leads him, and welcoming each new adventure with open arms.

While I roll and smoke and boogie and ball Light my fuse, get to choose, teachin' blues
He's putting his all into living in the moment, creating and experiencing his music with no restrictions, and sharing it with the world so that they too can be free and enjoy life to the fullest.

Contributed by Isaac F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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