(Note: The ‘A Words Look’ series is where I highlight pieces of work that I feel use words well to convey a story or emotion. It’s mostly song lyrics, excerpts from books and articles, or just anything that catches my eye. I’m in the process of migrating the whole series of posts from my old writing blog, mikehaysbooks.wordpress.com.)
In the late 1970s, there were few entertainers as smooth and seemingly as cool as Boz Skaggs. I wasn’t lucky enough to see his show when he came to Kansas City on that tour, but I do recall a certain vibe of coolness from pictures of him on stage in an all-white suit entertaining under the spotlight. His 1976 album, Silk Degrees, is an absolute great listen. His sound during that period was timeless. I think Silk Degrees would still be a hit if it were released in 2019. One of my favorite Boz Skaggs songs and probably one of my Top 20 songs of the 1970s is Lowdown.
I woke up recently on a crisp, October morning with the fabulous line, “Got to have a Jones for this, Jones for that. This runnin’ with the Joneses, boy, just ain’t where it’s at” in my head. Isn’t that line magic? So much is said about the song’s relationship just from this one line. I couldn’t get the song out of my head and called it up on Spotify at first chance, which led to a listen to Silk Degrees, which led me to wonder why I’ve not followed any of Boz Skaggs later work. I vow to change that and catch up with the work of one talented musician and songwriter.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Lowdown won a Grammy in 1977 for Best R&B Song. That’s solid hardware.
Lowdown
by Boz Scaggs
Baby’s into running around
Hanging with the crowd
Putting your business in the street
Talking out loud
Saying you bought her this and that
And how much you done spent
I swear she must believe it’s all heaven sent
Hey boy you better bring the chick around
To the sad, sad truth the dirty lowdown
Taught her how to talk like that
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Gave her that big idea
Nothin’ you can’t handle
Nothin’ you ain’t got
Put your money on the table
And drive it off the lot
Turn on that old love light
And turn a “maybe” to a “yes”
Same old schoolboy game got you into this mess
Hey son, better get back on to town
Face the sad old truth, the dirty lowdown
Put those ideas in your head
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Yeah
Come on back down, little son
Dig the low, low, low, low, lowdown!
You ain’t got to be so bad, got to be so cold
This dog eat dog existence sure is getting old
Got to have a Jones for this
Jones for that
This runnin’ with the Joneses, boy, just ain’t where it’s at, no, no
You gonna come back around
To the sad, sad truth, the dirty lowdown
Got you thinking like that, boy
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Said I wonder, wonder, wonder, I wonder who
Oh, look out for that lowdown (ohh, I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
That dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty lowdown
Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Got you thinkin’ like that
Got you thinkin’ just like that
(Ooh I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Lookin’ that girl in the face is so sad
I’m ashamed of you
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Here is a 2014 live video of Lowdown with Boz Skaggs as a member of The Dukes of September. It’s a great version off the song, plus it shows an aged Boz, which is nice to see even 1970s legends get better with time.