Traffic reached a much wider audience when, on the dissolution of Cream, two thirds of that band, one third being Eric Clapton, joined Steve Winwood (during a temporary Traffic disbanding) to form Blind Faith, which also included future Traffic member and sometime Family man, Ric Grech.
In 1970, after the disbanding of Blind Faith, Winwood set about recording a solo album. After Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi became involved, the decision was taken to release this album (eventually what would become John Barleycorn Must Die) under the Traffic name, despite the absence of Dave Mason.
Around 1971, Mason left for good (having been in and out of the band from the beginning), and the the band experienced a variety of personnel changes. The resulting band added some jazzy elements to their style, pioneering the jazz-rock genre, and the compositions tended to stretch out over longer lengths. With their albums The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971) and Shootout at the Fantasy Factory (1973) their popularity in the US grew. After two more albums, personnel problems resulted in the band calling it quits (but for a brief reunion in 1994 without Wood, who had died in 1983). Winwood, Mason, Capaldi, and Wood all pursued solo careers, with Winwood garnering the most success.
There are/were other artists with the same name:
*2) Traffic is also a pop-rock band from Estonia.
3) Traffic is an upcoming rapper from Los Angeles.
2) The Estonian poprock band Traffic came together in 2006 and consists of five members: Silver Laas - Vocals, Stig Rästa - Guitars, Robert Vaigla - Guitars, Tõnis Kivisild - Bass, Ivo Priilinn - Drums. The band has been to Eesti Laul several times, trying to get to the semi-finals of Eurovision. In 2009 they ended up in the 2nd place, in 2014 in the 3rd place.
Traffic has two studio albums. Some of their most popular singles are "Für Elise", "See Päev", "Kesköödisko", "Päevast Päeva", "Elekter" and "Meie laul".
3) Darrail Cail, better known as Traffic, is a rapper from Los Angeles, CA. He first received major mainstream attention in the music industry when he was featured on “Tookie Knows II” from ScHoolboy Q’s fourth LP Blank Face. He is one of Schoolboy’s childhood friends.
4) The Spectes, a band that eventually became Status Quo discovered psychedelia in 1967 and named themselves Traffic, but were soon forced to change it to Traffic Jam to avoid confusion with Steve Winwood's Traffic, following an argument over who had registered the name first. Shortly after Rick Parfitt's recruitment, in August 1967, the band officially became The Status Quo
Hole In My Shoe
Traffic Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where an elephant's eye
Was looking at me
From a bubblegum tree
And all that I knew
The hole in my shoe
Was letting in water (letting in water)
That just wasn't real
Where a hundred tin soldiers
Would shoot at my shoulder
And all that I knew
The hole in my shoe
Was letting in water (letting in water)
(I climbed on the back of a giant albatross
Which flew through a crack in the cloud
To a place where happiness reigned all year round
Where music played ever so loudly)
I started to fall
And suddenly woke
And the dew on the grass
It stuck to my coat
And all that I knew
The hole in my shoe
Was letting in water (letting in water)
The lyrics to Traffic's song "Hole in My Shoe" are a perfect example of the psychedelic genre that was popular in the 1960s. The song gives us a glimpse into the surreal and dreamlike experience that the singer is having as they journey through a world that appears to be full of strange and wonderful things, all the while feeling a sense of unease due to water leaking into their shoe.
The opening lyrics set the tone for the whole song, as the singer looks up and sees an elephant's eye staring back at them from a bubblegum tree. This image is nonsensical and absurd, but it fits perfectly with the psychedelic experience of the music. The idea of an elephant looking down on us is both intriguing and terrifying, suggesting that we are small and insignificant compared to the vastness of the world around us.
The second verse takes us further into the singer's dream world, where they encounter a field that "just wasn't real." In this field, a hundred tin soldiers shoot at their shoulder, adding to the feeling of unease that was established in the first verse. This scene is reminiscent of childhood toys and games, but it has a sinister undertone that suggests that not all is as it seems.
The final verse brings us back to reality, as the singer wakes up to find himself lying on the grass, covered in dew. The experience of falling and waking up seems to suggest that the dream was a fleeting one, and that reality has once again taken over. However, the "hole in my shoe" is a reminder that even in the real world, things are not always as they seem, and that we are all vulnerable to the elements and the unexpected.
Overall, "Hole in My Shoe" is a fascinating journey into the mind of a person experiencing a psychedelic dream. Its surreal lyrics and catchy tune make it a classic of the psychedelic rock genre, and it continues to be popular with listeners today.
Line by Line Meaning
I looked to the sky
I gazed at the heavens
Where an elephant's eye
and saw an eye of an elephant
Was looking at me
focused its gaze on me
From a bubblegum tree
that was on a tree of bubblegum
And all that I knew
I only realized
The hole in my shoe
that there was a hole in my shoe
Was letting in water (letting in water)
and that water was coming in through the hole
I walked through a field
I strolled across a meadow
That just wasn't real
which seemed surreal
Where a hundred tin soldiers
where there were one hundred toy soldiers
Would shoot at my shoulder
and they aimed towards my shoulder
And all that I knew
I realized
The hole in my shoe
that the hole in my shoe was
Was letting in water (letting in water)
allowing water to pour in (allowing water to bisect the shoe)
I climbed on the back of a giant albatross
I ascended on a colossal bird called an albatross
Which flew through a crack in the cloud
that soared through a break in the clouds
To a place where happiness reigned all year round
to a kingdom that joy was present every day in every season
Where music played ever so loudly
where music was played at a deafening volume
I started to fall
I began to free-fall
And suddenly woke
and then abruptly awakened
And the dew on the grass
the water droplets resting on the grass
It stuck to my coat
clung to my coat
And all that I knew
I realized
The hole in my shoe
that the gap in my shoe was
Was letting in water (letting in water)
permeating water into my shoe (filtrated rainwater through my soles)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVE MASON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wilson mcphert
I've just uploaded a live version of Traffic's Hole In My Shoe on my channel. Check it out. I've put a link at the bottom of the description under this video.
Chuck Schuop
Close
Graham Forshaw
wilson mcpher
John Moore
wilson mcphert, Thanks you are appreciated.
Kevin🏴
I was born in 61 I woke up this morning with the song Green tambourine playing in my head
Joe
At 74 I'm a worn-out hippy. I managed to live through and love the sixties. A fantastic time in my life. I still get the rush when I listen to sixties and seventies music now. I have no time for rap music or the boring music of today.
In today's virus troubles we need something to give us a lift. I am sure there is still plenty of talent in the singers of today, they just seem to have lost their way musically.
Saint George
I feel the same way. I'm 63 and detest hip-hop and modern music. Music of the past lifted people up and made a deep and lasting positive impression on their lives. I feel sorry for the younger generation of today. Never having had that life enhancing experience.
David Richards
No, it’s just that things from your past always seem better as you tend to remember the nice bits - I’m 67 but I find musicians now are every bit as good as they ever were or ever will be: just open your ears to it all while taking pleasure from having a personal back catalogue that extends over your lifetime.
Saint George
@David Richards I do not doubt musicians of today are every bit as good. I would love to hear some challenging music. Other than the dire modern tripe that is endlessly churned out.
Landon Spearman
@David Richards you are right Dave...too bad you are casting pearls of wisdom before swine.