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The Guess Who - Hang On To Your Life

The Guess Who - Hang On To Your Life Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Share The Land
Released: 1970

Hang On To Your Life Lyrics

Thinking 'bout the people gone by
Screaming that I don't want to die
Well you can push your head
But don't you push it too far

Thinking 'bout it's here and it's real
Wondering how I really should feel
Well you can sell your soul
But don't you sell it too cheap

Hang On To Your Life, oh life, oh life, oh life, oh life
Hang on to your life

Thinking 'bout betraying a friend
Thinking 'bout delaying the end
Well you can ride the wind
But don't you ride it too high

Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life, life, life, life, life,
Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life, life, life, life, life
Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life, life, life, life, life
Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life, life, life, life, life
Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life, your life, your life, your life, your life, your life
Your life, your life, your life, your life, your life, your life, your life

They gaped upon me with their mouths
As a ravening and a roaring lion
I am poured out like water
And all my bones are out of joint
My heart is like wax
It is melted in the midst of my bowels
My strength is dried up like a potsherd
And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws
And thou has brought me into the dust of death

Writer/s: BURTON CUMMINGS, KURT WINTER
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Hang On To Your Life

Lead singer Burton Cummings says that he wrote the lyrics to this song after getting a very severe case of sunburn while in Hawaii. He composed the track with guitarist Kurt Winter, who joined the band for the Share The Land album following the departure of Randy Bachman .

The version released as a single has a slightly different mix. (thanks, Barry Kesten - Bellmore, United States, for above 2)

The spoken section at the end ("They gaped upon me with their mouths...") was taken from Psalm 22 in The Bible.

The Guess Who - Clap For The Wolfman

The Guess Who - Clap For The Wolfman Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Road Food
Released: 1974

Clap For The Wolfman Lyrics

Clap For The Wolfman
He gonna rate your record high
Clap for the Wolfman
You gonna dig him 'til the day you die

Clap for the Wolfman
He gonna rate your record high (hmm, yes gracious)
Clap for the Wolfman
You gonna dig him 'til the day you die

Do Ron Ron and the Duke of Earl
They were friend's of mine
The highway's on my moonlight drive
Snuggled in, said baby, just one kiss
She said no, no, no
Romance ain't keepin' me alive
I said hey babe, do you want to coo, coo, coo
She said uh, uh, uh
So I was left out in the cold
I said you're what I've been dreamin' of
She said I don't want to know
Oh you know, she was diggin' the cat on the radio

Clap for the Wolfman
He gonna rate your record high
Yes baby, I your doctor in love
Clap for the Wolfman
You gonna dig him til the day you die
Everybody talkin' about the Wolfman's confidence of love

Seventy five, eighty miles an hour
She hollers slow, slow, slow
Baby I can stop right on a dime
I said hey baby, give me just one kiss
She said no, no, no
But how was I to bide my time
I said hey baby, do you want to coo, coo, coo
She said uh, uh, uh
Said I'm about to overload
I said you're what I've been livin' for
She said I don't want to know
Oh, you thought she was digging you but she was digging me

Clap for the Wolfman
He gonna rate your record high
As long as you got the curves baby, I got the angles
Clap for the Wolfman
You gonna dig him 'til the day you die
It's all according to how your boogaloo situation stands, you understand

Clap for the Wolfman
He gonna rate your record high
You ain't gonna get 'em, 'cause I got 'em
Clap for the Wolfman
You gonna dig him 'til the day you die
You might want to try, but I'm gonna keep 'em
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman (and I got them all)
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman
Clap for the Wolfman

Writer/s: CUMMINGS, WALLACE, WINTER
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Clap For The Wolfman

Burton Cummings explained that the song began as a jam and was originally called "Clap For Napoleon." As they were appearing on NBC's Midnight Special a few times in 1973 (they hosted the show in '74), they changed the lyric as a tribute to the show's host, the late Wolfman Jack (real name: Robert Smith). Wolfman Jack even did a couple of live dates with the group, adding his trademark "vocal" rap, which was usually done live by Cummings. The Wolfman legend began in the 1960's when the DJ manned an unregulated Mexican radio station with the capacity to transmit 250,000 watts of power. His husky voice howled across the United States after the midnight hour and inspired artists like Todd Rundgren ("Wolfman Jack") and the Grateful Dead ("Ramble on Rose"). (thanks, Barry Kesten - Bellmore, NY)

"Clap for the Wolfman" is featured on the band's 1974 album, Road Food. The song reached #4 on the charts in Canada and #6 in the US. It couldn't have come at a better time: A few years earlier, guitarist Randy Bachman left the band, leaving a trail of insults in his wake and striking what seemed like a lasting blow to the band's popularity. By the time the band was revived with the success of "Clap for the Wolfman" and "Star Baby," Burton Cummings still hadn't cooled off. According to an interview with Creem in 1975, he told a fan, "I hate the guy. He was down on the rest of us 'cause he thought we were blowing it with dope and all this ridiculous s--t. He was like some kind of Mormon or something."

Apparently, guitarists for the Guess Who have a short shelf life. Not long after Road Food was recorded, Kurt Winter and Don McDougal got their walking papers. "They were drunks. We got tired of babysitting them," Cummings said.

In his autobiography Have Mercy!: Confessions of the Original Rock 'n Roll Animal, Wolfman Jack singles out Burton Cummings for adding his name to the song and taking him on tour to promote it. According to the Toronto Sun, the Wolfman quit his job at WNBC (where he enjoyed "$350,000 - plus a secretary, a chauffeured limousine, a bodyguard, and a well-ventilated private room at Rockefeller Center for the smoking of dope in") to go on tour with The Guess Who.

The Guess Who - No Sugar Tonight

The Guess Who - No Sugar Tonight Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: American Woman
Released: 1970

No Sugar Tonight Lyrics

Lonely feeling deep inside
Find a corner where I can hide
Silent footsteps crowding me
Sudden darkness but I can see

No Sugar Tonight in my coffee
No sugar tonight in my tea
No sugar to stand beside me
No sugar to run with me

(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)
(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)
(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)
(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)

In the silence of her mind
Quiet movements where I can find
Grabbing for me with her eyes
Now I'm falling from her skies

No sugar tonight in my coffee
No sugar tonight in my tea
No sugar to stand beside me
No sugar to run with me

(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)
(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)
(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)
(Dat'n-doo-dow-dow-dat'n-doo-dow)

Jocko says yes, and I believe him
When we talk about the things I say
She hasn't got the faith or the guts to leave him
When they're standing in each other's way
You're tripping back now to places you've been to
You wonder what you're gonna find
You know you've been wrong but it won't be long
Before you leave 'em all far behind

'Cause it's the new Mother Nature taking over
It's the new splendid lady come to call
It's the new Mother Nature taking over
She's gettin' us all
She's gettin' us all

Jocko said no, when I came back last time
It's looking like I lost a friend
No use callin' 'cause the sky is fallin'
And I'm getting pretty near the end
A smoke-filled room in a corner basement
The situation must be right
A bag of goodies and a bottle of wine
We're gonna get it on right tonight

'Cause it's the new Mother Nature taking over
It's the new splendid lady come to call
It's the new Mother Nature taking over
She's gettin' us all
She's getting' us all

(Lonely feelin')
Jocko says yes and I believe him
(Deep inside) when we talk about the things I say
(Find a corner) she hasn't got the faith or the guts to leave him
(Where I can hide)when they're standin' in each other's way
(Silent footsteps) you're driven back now to places you've been to
(Crowdin' me) you're wonderin' what you're gonna find
(Sudden darkness) you know you've been wrong and it won't be long
(But I can see) before you leave 'em all far behind

'Cause it's the new Mother Nature takin' over
It's the new splendid lady come to call
It's the new Mother Nature takin' over
She's gettin' us all, yeah, she's gettin' us all

Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow (Mother Nature)
Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow (nature)
Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow (sugar)
Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow (sugar)
Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow (sugar)
Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow (nature)
Da-un-do-dow dow, da-un-do-dow

Writer/s: RANDY BACHMAN, BURTON CUMMINGS
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

No Sugar Tonight Song Chart

John Presho, who knew Randy Bachman and worked security for his band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, gave us this account of how the song came together:
"Randy told me that the inspiration for writing 'No Sugar Tonight' came to him from an experience he had walking in downtown Berkeley, California. Randy was walking and talking with a band mate when he looked up and saw four big biker guys walking on the same sidewalk approaching them. Randy made up his mind to cross the street rather than confront the bikers, then he heard the skidding of car tires. Just as Randy was stepping off the sidewalk the car came to a skidding stop and a biker lady got out of the car, walked over to one of the bikers and engaged in a heated conversation with him. When the argument ended the biker lady walked back to the car, opened the door, turned around, then shouted to the biker, 'One more thing honey, you're not getting any sugar tonight' indicating he was not going to get any sex that night from her. The car took off, Randy crossed the street went back to his hotel and started writing the song based on that experience."

This was the last Guess Who hit Randy Bachman played on. He left due to his Mormon religious beliefs before this became popular, and went on to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The band did not tour America when this was a hit there because Bachman left the group. They reunited and toured in 2000, 30 years after this was a hit.

At the same time this was released as a single, it was included as the B-side of The Guess Who's hit "American Woman."

On the album, this goes seamlessly into "New Mother Nature." Disc Jockeys usually play them together. Guess Who vocalist Burton Cummings was not finished with "New Mother Nature," and Bachman was not done with "No Sugar Tonight," so they put the 2 songs together to make a complete piece on the album.

In 2001, this was honored by a Canadian music association for getting over 100,000 plays on Canadian radio.

The Guess Who - No Time

The Guess Who - No Time Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: American Woman
Released: 1970

No Time Lyrics

(No Time left for you) On my way to better things
(No time left for you) I found myself some wings
(No time left for you) Distant roads are callin' me
(No time left for you), da da da da da

No time for a summer friend
No time for the love you send
Seasons change and so did I
You need not wonder why
You need not wonder why
There's no time left for you
No time left for you

(No time left for you) On my way to better things
(No time left for you) I found myself some wings
(No time left for you) Distant roads are callin' me
(No time left for you), deh, deh, deh, deh, deh

No time for a gentle rain
No time for my watch and chain
No time for revolving doors
No time for the killin' floor
No time for the killin' floor
There's no time left for you
No time left for you

No time for a summer friend
No time for the love you send
Seasons change and so did I
You need not wonder why
You need not wonder why
There's no time left for you
No time left for you

No time, no time, no time, no time
No time, no time, no time, no time
I got, got, got, got no time
I got, got, got, got no time
I got, got, got, got no time
No-no-no, no-no-no, no time
No-no-no, no-no-no, no time
I got, got, got, got no time
No-no-no, no-no-no, no-no-no,
No-no-no, no-no-no, no-no-no, no time
I got no time, got no time, got no time, got no time, got no time
Got no time, got no time

Writer/s: BURTON CUMMINGS, BACHMAN
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

No Time Song Chart

This song about moving on and finding your true calling was written by Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings.

In our interview with Bachman , he explained that musically, the song was inspired by two tracks on the Buffalo Springfield Again album: "Rock & Roll Woman" and "Hung Upside Down." Neil Young of Buffalo Springfield (a fellow Canadian) played an acetate of the album for Cummings and Bachman when his travels took him to Winnipeg. The they heard it, they loved the country-rock sound and set out to write something like it. "That was our country-rock song," Bachman said. "Me and Burton trying to be like Neil and Stephen Stills."

According to Randy Bachman, the guitar lick on this song is an inversion of what Stephen Stills played on the Buffalo Springfield track "Hung Upside Down." When Bachman heard the theme song to the TV show Law & Order (composed by Mike Post), it sounded familiar. "It's the same riff," Bachman told us. "It's just recycling the riff in a different context."

Note that Bachman doesn't fault Post for lifting the riff: Randy believes that just about any modern music music is based on something that came before.

The Guess Who - American Woman

The Guess Who - American Woman Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: American Woman
Released: 1970

American Woman Lyrics

American Woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
American woman, you gonna mess your mind
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind

Say A, say M, say E
Say R, say I, C
Say A, N

American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
American woman, you gonna mess your mind
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind

American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come a hangin' around my door
I don't want to see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin' old with you
Now woman, I said stay away
American woman, listen what I say

American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come a knockin' around my door
Don't want to see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say-ay-ay-ay

American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don't come a hangin' around my door
Don't want to see your face no more
I don't need your war machines
I don't need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be

Go, gotta get away, gotta get away now go, go, go
I'm gonna leave you woman
Gonna leave you woman
Bye-bye bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye
You're no good for me
I'm no good for you
Gonna look you right in the eye
Tell you what I'm gonna do
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go-o, woman
I'm gonna leave you woman
Goodbye American woman

Writer/s: RANDY BACHMAN, BURTON CUMMINGS, GARY PETERSON, MICHAEL KALE
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

American Woman Song Chart

One of the most misinterpreted songs ever, this is often heard as a patriotic ode or a tribute to American women. It's usually American listeners who arrive at the jingoistic conclusions, ignoring a very clear lyric: "American Woman, get away from me."

The Guess Who are Canadian, and Burton Cummings (the song's lyricist) insists it has nothing to do with American pride. "What was on my mind was that girls in the States seemed to get older quicker than our girls and that made them, well, dangerous," Cummings told the Toronto Star in 2014. "When I said 'American woman, stay away from me,' I really meant 'Canadian woman, I prefer you.' It was all a happy accident."

Some songs take months to write, others come quickly in writing sessions or during studio jams. This one, however, had a much more spontaneous genesis: it was written on stage. Randy Bachman explained the origins in our interview. The band was playing a show at a curling rink in Ontario when he broke a string on his guitar. In those days, that meant stopping the show until he could replace it. His bandmates left the stage, and Bachman put a new string on his '59 Les Paul. The next challenge was getting it in tune (he didn't have a tech or even a tuner in those days), so he went in front of Burton Cummings' electric piano and hit the E and B notes to give him reference. As he tuned his guitar a riff developed, then something magical happened.

"I started to play that riff on stage, and I look at the audience, who are now milling about and talking amongst themselves," Bachman said. "And all their heads snapped back. Suddenly I realize I'm playing a riff I don't want to forget, and I have to keep playing it. So I stand up and I'm playing this riff. I'm alone on stage."

The band's drummer Garry Peterson, who had made his way to the audience, jumped on stage and started playing. Bassist Jim Kale heard the ruckus and joined them, and finally Burton Cummings came up and grabbed the microphone. "Sing something!" Bachman implored him. Burton obliged: the first words out of his mouth were, "American woman, stay away from me."

In our interview with Randy Bachman , he called this "an antiwar protest song," explaining that when they came up with it on stage, but the band and the audience had a problem with the Vietnam War. Said Bachman: "We had been touring the States. This was the late '60s, they tried to draft us, send us to Vietnam. We were back in Canada, playing in the safety of Canada where the dance is full of draft dodgers who've all left the States."

The lines where the anti-Vietnam sentiment are most apparent are "I don't want your war machines, I don't want your ghetto scenes."

According to Burton Cummings, this song owes its creation to a piece of modern technology: a portable cassette recorder. He says that after his ad-libbed performance of the song, they discovered a kid in the crowd who was bootlegging the concert using the device (this is when bootlegging meant literally strapping the recorder to your leg). Listening back to his tape, they were able to jot down the words to recreate the lyric.

Fortunately for The Guess Who, American radio stations either didn't hear this as a protest song or didn't care. With a monster riff and the word "American" in the title, it was embraced and quickly added to playlists. By this time, the band were proven hitmakers, having scored with "These Eyes," "Laughing" and "No Time," so this single was widely anticipated. "Radio just played it automatically without even thinking we were saying antiwar words in there," Bachman told us.

This song's American success made The Guess Who stars in that country, and on July 17, 1970 they performed on the White House lawn for President Richard Nixon, whose daughter Tricia was a huge fan and asked her dad to bring them in.

It was a huge hit at the time, but The Guess Who didn't perform "American Woman" that day because they were asked not to "as a matter of taste." That request came from the press liaison for first lady Pat Nixon, who may have been turned off by what she perceived as anti-American sentiment or political overtones
in the song.

The performance served as a royal reception for Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were guests at the White House. Looking back on the performance in 2014, Burton Cummings said it was a very stodgy affair, and that he felt the band was brought in to impress the royal guests. "It left a bad taste in my mouth," he told the Winnipeg Free Press. "They wanted a Commonwealth act when Charles and Anne went there. We were the token Commonwealthers."

The first time the band performed this in completed form was before 150,000 people at the Seattle Pop Festival in 1969. The crowd loved it even though they had never heard it.

Randy Bachman calls the distinctive guitar sound he used on this song "The Herzog." To get the effect, he would overdrive the preamp (setting it to 9 or 10) while the normal volume settings are turned down. The sound does not get any louder, but gradually it grows dirtier and finally ends up creating a cello-like effect.

Recorded at RCA Studios in Chicago with producer Jack Richardson, this was released as a double A-side with "No Sugar Tonight" and stayed at #1 in the US for three weeks. The Guess Who were already huge in Canada, but this broke them in the States.

In the late-'90s, this was used in a variety of commercials, including one for Tommy Hilfiger and another for Castrol motor oil. Nike also used in an ad featuring women's soccer.

Lenny Kravitz covered this in 1999, making #49 US. His version was used in the movie Austin Powers 2, The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Kravitz and The Guess Who performed this September 21, 2000 at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto. The Guess Who were given a lifetime achievement award.

The album version contains a sultry 1:05 acoustic intro, with Cummings spelling out the title ("I say 'A'... I say 'M'...). Radio stations often skipped past it to get to the riff.

Randy Bachman left the group the month after this hit #1 in America because the band's lifestyle did not jibe with his religious beliefs. Because of his departure, they did not tour the US when this was hot, which could have made them a lot of money.

The Guess Who reunited and toured in 2000, 30 years after this was a hit.

This was featured in the Jim Carrey movie The Cable Guy, where it appears in a Karaoke scene, and American Beauty, where Kevin Spacey rocks out to it while going through a mid-life crisis.

Jack Richardson, who produced this song, was also responsible for other big hits like The Guess Who's "These Eyes" and Bob Seger's "Night Moves." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Acts to cover this song include Krokus and Ringo Starr. Perhaps the most bizarre cover is by the Butthole Surfers, who released their version in 1986.