"Tin Man" is a 1974 song by the pop rock band America. It was written by band member Dewey Bunnell and produced by George Martin, who also plays the piano part on the recorded version. The song was included on the band's album Holiday, also from 1974.
The song's title and some of its lyrics refer to the Tin Woodman from The Wizard of Oz. Songwriter Bunnell was quoted describing the parallel: "My favorite movie, I guess. I always loved it as a kid. Very obscure lyrics. Great grammar - 'Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man.' It's sort of a poetic license."
Dan Peek - who describes "Tin Man" as "quintessential Dewey, easy stream of consciousness with a major seventh acoustic bed" - states that Bunnell "actually begged us not to record the song. Knowing Dewey it was probably reverse psychology; if it was, Gerry [Beckley] and I fell for it, insisting it was perfect for the album."
Released as the first single from Holiday, "Tin Man" became the band's fourth top-ten hit in the US, spending three weeks at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1974. The song reached number one on the Billboard easy listening chart in October of that year. In the UK, the song was relegated to the B-side of another album track, "Mad Dog", released in July, but both sides failed to chart.
This song is about eschewing love for sex, the "perfect prize that waits among the shells," for which the bait is a quick, loveless seduction, while real love is the real reward. And anyone who remembers The Wizard of Oz knows that the Tin Man really wanted a heart, which the Wizard showed him he already had.
America was the trio of Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell until Peek left in 1977, leaving them as a duo. They wrote separately and split lead vocal duties: whoever wrote the song would sing it.
"Tin Man" was written by Bunnell, and Beckley would like you to know that its themes extend well beyond the movie. "There are so many other beautiful lyrical twists in that song, so it's not fair to simplify it as just a song about The Wizard of Oz," he said in his Songfacts interview. "To a surrealist, it's like a Dali painting."
America hit it big with their first single, "A Horse With No Name," and their second album contained the hit "Ventura Highway." Their third album didn't do nearly as well, with only a cover of a song about amorous rodents cracking the Hot 100.
For their fourth album Holiday, they brought in a ringer: George Martin. The Beatles producer was known for keeping up a faster pace in the studio than America was used to, so the band adjusted accordingly, making sure they were prepared for the sessions. This brought a new focus to the band, and the session were done in 13 days. "Tin Man," released as the lead single, was a solid hit and brought America back to the limelight.
Regarding the line, "The tropic of Sir Galahad," Sir Galahad is a knight of legend in King Arthur's court, but what he has to do with a tropic is not clear. Like many of the references in this song, Dewey Bunnell used poetic license to create them, as they kept the song flowing and added intrigue.
There is some sketchy grammar in the chorus: "Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't didn't already have."
This is a classic double-negative, as read literally, it means that Oz did give something to the Tin Man that he didn't have. While this would get flagged in an essay, it works for songwriting purposes, since "Oz didn't give anything to the Tin Man" wouldn't have scanned as well.
This was America's first #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, which is surprising considering their soft rock success. They would place two more songs at the top of the chart, both written by Dan Peek: "Lonely People" and "Today's the Day."
Дата на публикация: 14 януари, 2017
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