But just because a record has a groove
Don't make it in the groove
What's a record?
Submitted by: Robert Ballinger
Down by the station early in the morning,
See the little pufferbellies all in a row.
"Pufferbellies" is a colloquialism for steam locomotives. Once upon a time, perhaps active passenger train stations had numerous "pufferbellies" in a row to be seen, either early in the morning or at other times of day as well. But passenger train travel has since declined to the point that relatively few cities or towns have highly active stations where a lot of locomotives would be seen in a row. Furthermore, steam locomotives have been nearly all been replaced by diesel locomotives for regular train runs, either passenger or freight. The only places where pufferbellies may still commonly be seen include: (1) inactive ones preserved as monuments to bygone days, such as near old depots or in museums., and (2) Active ones running on historical railroads, preserved for scenic excursions and the like, rather than regular intercity transportation. And even in those cases, seeing several pufferbellies in a row would not be likely.
Submitted by: Tess O. Gosset
Her home is on the south side, high upon a ridge,
Just a half a mile from the Mississippi bridge.
When this song came out in 1963, "the Mississippi bridge" was an adequate reference to a bridge whose official name is the "Memphis And Arkansas Bridge". It opened in 1949 and from then until 1973 was the only bridge carrying road traffic across the mighty Mississippi anywhere near Memphis, railroad bridges being then the only other bridges to parallel it nearby. The next closer road bridges across the Mississippi were at least 50 miles to the north or south. The Mississippi And Arkansas Bridge still exists today and carries Interstate 55 and a few US highways across the Mississippi River. In 1973, the Hernando de Soto Bridge opened to carry Interstate 40 across the Mississippi, only about a mile and a half north of the Mississippi And Arkansas Bridge. Now with these two bridges carrying road traffic across the river from Memphis to Arkansas, they are referred to in the Memphis area as the "Old Bridge" and the "New Bridge" to distinguish them. So there would not tend to be a now ambiguous reference to "the Mississippi bridge".
Submitted by: Karen Smith
Here's a quarter, call someone who cares
Today, Travis would be singing, "Here's a cell phone, call someone who cares."
Submitted by: Glenn
But my heart keeps calling me backwards
As I get on the 707
Today, Steve would probably be boarding a 767 or 777.
Submitted by: Glenn
My grandpa, he's 95
And he keeps on dancin'
He's still alive
My grandma, she's 92
She loves to dance
And sing some, too
Steve Miller himself is approaching 70 years of age; his grandparents must be long dead by now.
Submitted by: David Jones
I've got credit down at the grocery store and my barber tells me jokes.
And I'm the number one attraction of every super market parking lot.
I'm the king of Kansas City, No thanks, Omaha, thanks a lot.
In this song, Roger Miller is singing as if he's a TV personality in Kansas City, making him a local celebrity there. In these lines, he's citing some of the frills that come with his celebrity status, those being among the reasons why he's turning down a new job offer in Omaha. Everything in these lines might still make sense today, except the part about having credit down at the grocery story. Back when the song came out, grocery stores may have generally been cash only business for ordinary citizens, making his credit there a status symbol of his local celebrity status. But today most all grocery stores accept credit cards from whoever has them. So no longer would credit at a grocery store be anything to cite as a status symbol. Today's younger listeners may be mystified as to why the line about credit at the grocery store is in the song, and wonder how it is supposed to contribute to the song's meaning or theme.
Submitted by: Karen Smith
More for Gore or the son of a drug lord. None of the above, f*** it, cut the cord!
This is referencing the then - upcoming election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Two more elections have passed since then and one more is coming up. (and of course this comment will be dated eventually but I don't really care)
Submitted by: Thaddeus Gammelthorpe
She's a 20th century fox. She's a 20th century fox.
I can't believe these lyrics aren't already on here! If she's fashionably lean and fashionably late (assuming my take on the meaning of "fashionably late" is the right one) she shouldn't look like she belongs in last century!
Submitted by: Thaddeus Gammelthorpe
Don't say nothin' just listen. Got me a plan to break Tyson out of prison.
This is a cover of an Ice Cube song. The original version was released in 1992 while Mike Tyson was serving time for rape and assault, though KoRn's version, released in 1996 and featuring Chino Moreno of the Deftones, was dated as Tysone was released in 1994 (I believe) and was at the time a free man.
Submitted by: Thaddeus Gammelthorpe
