SwanShadow Thinks Out Loud

Artist: The Doobie Brothers

Why this song is an adrenaline rush: Are you kidding? Have you not heard those opening guitar chords?

Lyric line that’s fun to belt at maximum volume:

But every day there’s a new thing comin’
The ways of an Oriental view
The sheriff and his buddies with their samurai swords
You can even hear the music at night
And though it’s a part of the Lone Star State
The people don’t seem to care
They just keep on lookin’ to the East…

Fun factoids:

• There really is a China Grove, Texas, down around San Antonio. It is not, however, a Chinese-American enclave; only 0.08% of the population is Asian. I think that’s, like, maybe two Asian guys.
• Samurai — and their swords — are Japanese, not Chinese. In case you were confused.
• The game show Don’t Forget the Lyrics! used the “China Grove” guitar riff as its theme music. Rickey Minor, now the bandleader on The Tonight Show, played the theme.
• The Doobie Brothers were one of the first — and one of the relatively few, to this day — hard rock bands to include both white and black musicians in their lineup. To the best of my knowledge, however, there has never been a Chinese Doobie Brother.
• On the other hand, several of the Doobies have performed and recorded with Japanese pop star Eikichi Yazawa, who might own a samurai sword or two.

Other songs by the Doobie Brothers that I could have chosen instead: “Listen to the Music,” “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me),” “Long Train Runnin’,” Jesus is Just Alright.”

[Late to the party? Here’s an explanation of 36 Days of Adrenaline.]

This entry was posted on February 10, 2011 at 3:22 pm and is filed under 36 Days of Adrenaline, Soundtrack of My Life, SwanStuff, That's Cool!. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.