“The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” (by Traffic).
The thing I see, whenever I look this song up, is “What is that song about?”
Well, let’s look at it. I feel like I always got it, but here’s the lyrics to help:
If you see something that looks like a star
And it’s shooting up out of the ground
And your head is spinning from a loud guitar
And you just can’t escape from the sound
Don’t worry too much, it’ll happen to you
We were children once, playing with toys
And that thing that you’re hearing is only the sound of
The low spark of high-heeled boys
The percentage you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams
But today you just read that the man was shot dead
By a gun that didn’t make any noise
But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest, was
The low spark of high-heeled boys
If you had just a minute to breathe
And they granted you one final wish
Would you ask for something like another chance
Or something sim’lar as this
Don’t worry too much It’ll happen to you
As sure as your sorrows are joys
And the thing that disturbs you is only the sound of
The low spark of high-heeled boys
The percentage you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams
But today you just read that the man was shot dead
By a gun that didn’t make any noise
But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest, was
The low spark of high-heeled boys (high heeled boys)
If I gave you everything that I owned
And asked for nothing in return
Would you do the same for me as I would for you
Or take me for a ride
And strip me of everything, including my pride
But spirit is something that no one destroys
And the thing that disturbs you is only the sound of
The low spark of high-heeled boys
So, what is that about?
I always thought this: Boys (men), in the 1960s and 70s, were openly playing with fashion and gender in a way they never had before, and some of them had long hair and high heels on their boots, and those in bands were being robbed blind (often) by their record companies(the percentage you’re paying is too high) and that, eventually, those bad, judgmental greedy men in suits who buy themselves cars from profits made from the creativity and dreams of the boys are going to be laid low by the spark of genius in these young gender-bending (read as “free”) boys.
There you go. Wasn’t that easy?
And the last verse is just asking lovers and friends to be kind to each other.
This song is about 1/3 of my desired length, much more than the others I have put in this series. Yay! Traffic!
I believe this song can be classified as a fugue.
I think it is absolutely delicious in the way that, rarely, booze of some sort can be delicious. I once had a lychee sake that was like that: perfumed, it hung there on my tongue like a first French kiss…. Then the booze hit my blood, and all my limbs weakened in an utterly delightful way.
“The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” does the same thing. It hangs there, slowly seeping into all your pores, and then it speeds up and moves you along to the next sip. Keep that simmering buzz going.
Once my sweet brother made me a CD that contained nothing but the song “Smooth” by Santana six times in a row.
“The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” is the same. It should be on a long lazy loop through your entire weekend. And you should be feeling your beauty as you listen to it, dancing slowly through your kitchen, knowing that it won’t be a gun that makes things better, but the low spark of genius from you, and those high heeled boys.
Can you dig it?
