The Free Electric Band

Album: The Free Electric Band (1973)
Charted: 19 48
Play Video
  • Our father is a doctor, he's a family man
    My mother works for charity whenever she can
    And they're both good clean Americans who abide by the law
    And they both stick up for liberty and they both support the war
    My happiness was paid for when they laid their money down
    For summers in a summer camp and winters in the town
    Our future in the system was talked about and planned
    But I gave it up for music and the free electric band

    I went to school in hand-washed shirts with neatly ordered hair
    And the school was big and newly built and filled with light and air
    And the teachers taught us values that we had to learn to keep
    And they'd clip the ear of any idle kid who went to sleep
    And my father organized for me a college in the east
    But I went to California, the sunshine and the beach
    My parents and my lecturers could never understand
    Why I gave it up for music and the free electric band

    Well, they used to sit and speculate upon their son's career
    A lawyer or a doctor or a civil engineer
    Just give me bread and water, put a guitar in my hand
    'Cause all I need is music and the free electric band

    My father sent me money and I spent it very fast
    On a girl I met in Berkeley in a social science class
    Yes, and we learned about her body but her mind we didn't know
    Until deep-rooted attitudes and morals began to show
    She wanted to get married even though she never said
    And I knew her well enough by now to see inside her head
    She'd settle for suburbia and a little patch of land
    So I gave her up for music and the free electric band

    Ooh, the free electric band
    Da, ba, da, ba, da, da, dee, dee with the free electric band
    Da, ba, da, ba, da, da, dee, dee with the free electric band
    Da, ba, da, ba, da, da, dee, dee with the free electric band
    Da, ba, da, ba, da, da, dee, dee with the free electric band
    Da, ba, da, ba, da, da, dee, dee with the free electric band Writer/s: Albert Louis Hammond, Mike Hazlewood
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • C from UsI think this song is satire. The narrator has all this opportunity around him, but chooses to ignore it because he is so focused on his music.
  • Dj from SocalGreat song...heard it for the first time last month. It's a lot of fun. It's funny to hear Hammond sing about being an American with a British accent!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Music Video Director David Hogan

Music Video Director David HoganSong Writing

David talks about videos he made for Prince, Alabama, Big & Rich, Sheryl Crow, DMB, Melissa Etheridge and Sisters of Mercy.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.