Date: Jan 12, 1974
Weeks: 1
You know those certain songs that come on the radio, and people around you start cheering and freaking out and singing along at the top of their lungs, and you don't really get why people love this song this much? And you know how sometimes the quality of the people who like it don't quite cast the best light on it? This is one of those songs for me. It was Homer Simpson's favorite song in high school. That's not exactly a quality endorsement. That said, it didn't take more than sitting down and giving it my undivided attention to let it win me over and change my mind.
It's the bass line that really sells this song, and the song gives it plenty of opportunity to shine. During verses, that bass is charming and compelling. The chorus lays extra guitars over the bass line and creates a really wonderful guitar harmony. That guitar harmony in the chorus is really what makes this song worthy of being considered a rock classic. The vocals throughout are pretty charming, as well, but again it's the harmony in the chorus that really elevates the song.
On the downside, the little breakdowns after the chorus before the verse comes back seem a little thin and flimsy, which is a real shame after the rich fullness of the chorus. And yeah, I'll say it, I don't care for the little "woo-woo" sound that punctuates the verses at odd times. Yes, they are attention-getting and are arguably the song's signature, and probably directly contributed to the popularity that put it on my list in the first place. But they're silly and weird and distracting. According to Wikipedia, those noises were made with a slide guitar, but I think the fact that that needs to be explained shows just how weird and out of place those noises are. Also, the song just kind of peters out at the end, trailing off in the middle of a verse, rather than in a repetition of the chorus like every other song ever. I wonder what that's about. I tried to find the LP version of the song to see if that answered anything, but I couldn't find it.
The lyrics are a bit of weird nonsense. The song is sung from the point of view of a bit of a directionless loser, who is affirming his commitment to his relationship. "People ... say I'm doing you wrong... But don't you worry, baby... 'cause I'm right here at home." But he's really rambling. Of course, the rambling is probably the most memorable part of the lyrics, with the whole "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker" thing. Of course, the "toker" line is probably part of the song's popularity, too, since it's basically an overt marijuana reference slipping through in a mainstream song. Overall, I think the lyrics are less about what they mean, and are more about how they sound. The rhyme scheme and the repetition and structure. Those things all work quite well, so the words sound good, even if there's not a lot of meaning.
My verdict: Like it. It's popcorn music. Fun if you just let it wash over you and don't over-analyze it.
Good grief. That slide guitar sounds like a strangled cat. It's not a pleasant sound.
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