I was never a big Chicago fan, but band friends were thrilled that brass had made it big in Rock 'n Roll, and they were needed to perform these songs right. Few bands had brass players who could manage this, so they had a short run of being much in demand. "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" and "Earth, Wind, and Fire*" songs were also done by those bands.
For years I missed what the reference was to in the song title, and found it merely puzzling. "Waiting for the break of day" was apparently not enough of a clue for me. It was an age of overinterpreting songs to find drug, political, or religious meanings in them, while neglecting the obvious in mildly poetic language.
*What fun those two groups would have been in concert, eh? "Blood, Earth, Tears, Fire, Wind, and Sweat." Or something.
'Nasty, Brutish, Short, Toil, and Trouble."
ReplyDeleteOr my favorite from Pogo: "The froggy did a-courtin' go/Rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach."
I do not know what Chicago was referring to in the song's title. What the title reminds me of is working the night shift, which I did as an aide in a hospital and also in the oil field. That is about the time of night - up to 4:30- when there is the greatest chance of falling asleep on the job. If you can make it past that time, towards dawn, you will finish the shift awake- even if your shift doesn't end until noon.
ReplyDeleteI never drank coffee until I went to Latin America. Coffee is good for making it through the night shift.
I figured out the song title when I worked 3rd shift in my youth. It made perfect sense!
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I saw Chicago in concert with Earth, Wind, and Fire at the Verizon Wireless Center in Manchester a few years ago. The show opened with both bands performing a couple of songs together, then separate sets for each band, and closing with both bands. It was an awesome show.
My then 14 year-old son made the comment that he now understood why his mother and I enjoyed their music so much. He's been a fan ever since.