Three Dog Night is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California best … Read Full Bio ↴Three Dog Night is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California best known for their music from 1968 to 1975, during which time they achieved twenty-one consecutive Billboard Top 40 Hits and 12 consecutive Gold Albums. Three Dog Night are still active in 2012, touring and recording 43 years after their first album was released. The first of the band's 7 million-selling singles was One in 1969. They scored three number one singles: Mama Told Me (Not to Come), Joy to the World and Black and White.

The original lineup included three lead vocalists — Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells — along with Michael Allsup on guitar, Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards Floyd Sneed on drums and Joe Schermie (from the Cory Wells Blues Band) on bass.

Three Dog Night recorded some tracks with Beach Boys producer, composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist Brian Wilson before signing with Dunhill Records and at the time went under the name Redwood. The band changed their name based on an article describing how Australian Aborigines slept with their dogs for warmth on cold nights, the coldest being a "three-dog night."

overture
Three Dog Night Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Captain Walker
Didn't come home.
His unborn child
Will never know him.
Believe him missing
With a number of men.
Don't expect
To see him again.

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of Three Dog Night's song Overture are deeply emotional and somber. The lyrics are about Captain Walker, who didn't come home, and his unborn child who will never get a chance to know him. The lyrics suggest that Captain Walker is missing along with a number of other men, and that his family and loved ones have given up hope on ever seeing him again. The sorrowful tone of the lyrics is enhanced by the haunting melody that accompanies them, making the song a moving tribute to all those who served and never made it home.

Line by Line Meaning

Captain Walker
Introducing the character of Captain Walker

Didn't come home.
Captain Walker did not return home, indicating that something has happened to him

His unborn child
Referring to the fact that Captain Walker has a child on the way, which adds to the emotional weight of his absence

Will never know him.
The child will never be able to know their father, since he is missing or presumed dead

Believe him missing
Stating that Captain Walker is officially considered missing, and that there is no information on his whereabouts

With a number of men.
Implying that Captain Walker was not alone when he went missing, which could mean that there were others involved in the incident

Don't expect
This line sets a tone of resignation and acceptance, suggesting that there is little hope of Captain Walker being found alive

To see him again.
Reiterating the finality of Captain Walker's disappearance, and the painful reality that there will be no closure for his friends and family

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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