The Boomers involves four musicians whose careers have intersected over a number of years. In 1974 when Ian Thomas was touring his second album (Long Long Way) he decided to produce a couple of songs for the bass player in his band. The bass player was Steve Hogg, a gifted writer player who had been in bands as a kid with a neighbor in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. That neighbor was none other than Bill Dillon. Well, Steve wanted his old friend Bill to play some guitar on the session and Ian trusting Steve's opinion said sure. The session was at a Toronto studio and in came this skinny kid chain smoking Rothman cigarettes. Bill's ear and skill impressed Ian immensely. Over the years they would bump into one another and always threaten to work together again.
As the seventies drew to a close there was another Canadian artist by the name of Mark Jordan who was out touring and promoting a new album. At some point on the tour they did a live recording of a tune Ian heard on the radio. Ian remembers that "the groove was killer", and he began making inquiries as to who the drummer was. The live engineer was a guy by the name of Paul DeVilliers. Paul who would later be involved in engineering the Boomer’s CDs was getting ready to go out on the road with Anne Murray and a bass player named Peter Cardinali.
As it turned out the drummer on that Mark Jordan record was Rick Gratton. Ian and Rick were not to meet until 1980 when Ian was recording tracks at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton for another solo album called The Runner. Rick was leaving the Studio one morning after recording late on another project and bumped into Ian. They finally met. They both told each other how much they admired the other's work. This of course is a standard schmooze and usually completely insincere. In this case however they were unaware of how earnest and heartfelt the compliments were.
Like a great many other Canadian recording artists Ian started to supplement his income by doing voice work on commercials in the mid seventies. Session after session as the musicians were leaving and the singers were arriving, Ian would bump into this bass player named Peter Cardinali. They usually had jokes for one another and over a period of time Ian realized that this friendly musician was the same guy who was playing and arranging for Rick James among others. The friendship grew and a desire to work together. The ultimate aim was to work and hopefully laugh at the same time. In 1980 Ian asked Peter if he would do some bass tracks on the album The Runner. Peter played on four tracks. The work was good. The laughter was great. The friendship grew.
For one reason or another it was not until 1986/87 that Ian and Bill after years of threatening to work together met at Ian's studio to noodle around on some tracks Ian was working on for WEA. They got playing with delays and reverbs for a song called "Back To Square One". Bill was on a pedal steel guitar. Bill ended up going to England with Ian to record the " Levity Album" and played on the whole damn thing. They liked making music together.
So it's 1990 and Ian is getting ready to do another record. He was thinking about who he wanted to work with and wanted to try a more off the floor approach to the recording process. Well Bill had blown him away with his work on the "Levity" album, so he knew he would love to work with Bill again. He and Peter had become quite good friends by this time and Peter's easy going manner combined with his incredible musicianship was an attractive combination. It was then Ian remembered that killer groove he had heard in the seventies and went looking for Rick's number. Ian called Rick and invited him over to play on a demo one afternoon. Rick arrived, set up, started to play, and Ian stopped him about 2 minutes later. Rick of course thought Ian didn't like his playing and had heard enough. It was however the contrary. The grooves, the skill and the wonderful sense of rhythm were as he remembered from 10 years before and Ian immediately asked Rick if he would like to do an album.
So they all got together in Ian's studio to record what was to be another Ian Thomas solo album. The first week went poorly. Ian was trying to get everyone to play the parts from his demos and was actually so used to the demos that everything seemed pale by comparison. Then into the second week on a song called "Love You Too Much" the demo went out the window and the band just jammed on the song. People began playing what they wanted. The music went off into a direction of it's own. This approach was taken on the other songs and a sound…The Boomers' sound emerged. What is the Boomer's sound? It is the sound you get when you put Ian, Rick, Bill and Peter in a room and ask them to play.
Well, Ian saw it wasn't a solo effort. It was a band nobody set out to form. Ian informed WEA, Canada that it wasn't an Ian Thomas album. They were angry at having a whole new thing to try and market. But V.P. David Tollington heard what Ian, Rick, Peter and Bill heard and said OK. So the Boomers' first album came out in Canada and was received in a rather luke warm manner. Ian went away to Mexico to be sad but warm.
When he got home there were a slew of messages to call WEA. Something wonderful was happening in Germany. In store play at WOM, a music store in Munich, had resulted in word of mouth promotion and the CD was being imported by the thousands. WEA Germany wanted to release it and did in 1991. Germany welcomed and embraced the Boomers. They did a tour. Playing the music live had a spiritual effect on both band and audience. Bill couldn't make the tour because of a recording commitment with Robbie Robertson. Neil Chapman from Toronto covered Bill's guitar parts and vibe man Tim Tickner who had co-produced the album filled in on keys. The gigs had a major impact on the players. Bill was missed.
Well as soon as the Boomers returned from Germany Ian began writing the next album, which was to be The Art Of Living. In the fall of 1992 they began recording. It was released in the spring of 1993 and this time Canadian radio took off with "You Gotta Know" becoming one of the most played songs on Canadian radio that year. Germany again responded and another tour followed. The response was even greater than before and the band began to feel like a drug to the members. Bill's father died two days before a concert in Toronto and Bill insisted on showing up for rehearsal the day of his father's funeral. Two days later the band played and every song was played with heart and soul for Bill. The bonds were transcending many plains. The last concert two weeks later was at the Ontario Place Forum. It was another deeply moving concert for all involved.
After the tour everybody went about making their livings. Bill went off to session work around the world, Ian started work on a film score or two, with a little acting on the side. Peter went off producing and playing on many other records and Rick published his drum technique books and tapes as well as returning to session work. Over the following months songs for the next Boomers album began to appear and something wonderful happened in the United States. One radio programmer in Phoenix Arizona started playing an imported copy of The Art Of Living and took the CD to a radio programming convention. Soon there were close to 80 stations on the Boomers and the CD was being imported again by the thousands. WEA in the USA didn't want it and it was eventually released on Wildcat/MCA. In the early summer of 1994 The Boomers toured Florida, California, Arizona and Colorado. The concerts left everyone with a wonderful feeling.
In the summer of 1995 they gathered again. The album was 25,000 days which was released in Canada, Germany, England, and the rest of Europe to rave reviews.
In August 2002, Midway, their fourth album, was released. Midway is filled with anecdotal gems of lives lived through the perspective and reality aging brings.
Giving In
The Boomers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I can't even change myself
That doesn't mean I never will, there's hope left in me still
Oh I've just been giving in
Giving in to the world I live in
What I believe I'd like to be
It doesn't seem we've come that far
But that's from where we are
I've just been giving in, giving in to the world I live in
Talk is cheap when we're stroking ourselves
Full of great intentions but knowing all too well
We might be giving in
So say I reach what I believe
Then what is left for me
I'll still be an average man, wanting much more than I am
And I might be giving in
Giving in to the world I live in
The Boomers' song Giving In is an introspective piece that explores the struggle of feeling powerless to change the world while also acknowledging the potential for personal growth and hope. The opening line, "I want to change the world, it isn't well," sets the tone for the rest of the song by establishing a desire to make a difference, yet the following line, "But I can't even change myself," highlights the conflict of feeling stuck or unable to make progress. Nevertheless, the singer expresses determination by stating, "That doesn't mean I never will, there's hope left in me still."
The chorus, "Oh I've just been giving in, giving in to the world I live in," further emphasizes the feeling of being defeated by the systems and institutions that shape our lives, and the acknowledgement that it can be hard to make impactful change. The second verse continues with the self-reflection, "What I believe I'd like to be, now don't lose faith in me," indicating that the singer has a vision of what they want to accomplish, but is aware that they have not yet reached that point.
The line "Talk is cheap when we're stroking ourselves" speaks to the idea that people often talk about the changes they want to make without taking action. The final verse poses a question of what happens after the singer achieves their desired change, and whether or not that feeling of still wanting more means that they are still "giving in to the world [they] live in."
Overall, the lyrics of Giving In provide an honest and relatable representation of the frustration and uncertainty that can come with attempting to make a difference in a world that often feels beyond our control.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to change the world, it isn't well
The singer has good intentions towards making the world a better place but acknowledges that the current state of the world is not favorable
But I can't even change myself
The singer recognizes that they struggle with making personal changes in their life, despite their desire to change the world
That doesn't mean I never will, there's hope left in me still
Although the singer has not yet been able to make changes, they remain hopeful that they will be able to do so in the future
Oh I've just been giving in
The singer admits to giving up on their aspirations, and falling back into old habits or complacency
Giving in to the world I live in
The singer believes that societal pressure and the current state of the world have caused them to abandon their aspirations
What I believe I'd like to be
The singer has a clear idea of the person they would like to become
Now don't lose faith in me
The singer is pleading with someone to continue to believe in them despite their failures
It doesn't seem we've come that far
The singer believes that although society has made progress, the world has a long way to go to become a better place
But that's from where we are
Despite the singer's recognition of society's shortcomings, they acknowledge that progress towards change has been made from where we started
Talk is cheap when we're stroking ourselves
The singer believes that it is easy to make grand statements of intent, but much harder to take action towards making actual change happen
Full of great intentions but knowing all too well
The singer recognizes that despite their good intentions, they are aware that it's easier said than done to make change happen
We might be giving in
The singer acknowledges that they, and others, may be giving up on their aspirations and falling back into complacency
So say I reach what I believe
The singer wonders what would happen if they did achieve their goals
Then what is left for me
The singer questions the meaning of life and personal fulfillment, even if they were able to achieve their goals
I'll still be an average man, wanting much more than I am
Even if the singer were able to achieve their goals, they would still feel unsatisfied with their life
And I might be giving in
The singer raises the possibility that they may still give up on their aspirations, even if they achieve their goals
Giving in to the world I live in
The singer blames societal pressures and the current state of the world for their failures to achieve their aspirations
Contributed by Tristan M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Victor Ryan
This is very true about baby boomers.
John Ngigi
So true. Where I come from we have at least 6 main churches in a 4 km stretch but not a single hospital.
Hilary Onyango
Every CS was told to build their home regions for political reasons
Ryder Goode
Divisions in Africa run deep. 1st pigmetism or colorism, then based on which colonial hegemon (francophone vs anglophone), then tribalism, regionalism (within the tribal blocks), clanism (all somali for instance are one tribe whether in Djibouti or mandera but they can still be divided based on clans). Until that divisive thinking instituted by boomers is undone. On the issue of National employment authority just yesterday uasin gishu county parents were crying out for money paid to some agent to secure jobs in Europe, they were all conned most claim to have sold land & other valueables just to pay unscrupulous agents to work abroad, while 🇺🇸 ambassador claims how here is perfect for foreign investors
Allan
The Uasin Gishu money was about scholarships to Europe
Ryder Goode
@Allan there's another one which was about jobs, charagei was with parents at the Senate. Seperate from the Finland saga.
zwqasdf zaani
I remember a few months ago I had an argument with these old people and I got so livid mpaka I just told them the next step nikuwatuma.
Useless fellows kabsa these boomers. A waste of time,money and space.
Rosemary mungai
I always say NO different between dogs of ocha who roam howly and BOOMERS
jkaris
Everyone must be call to action
Firog
On point.