Only So Much Oil In The Ground

Album: Urban Renewal (1975)
Charted: 102
Play Video
  • There's only so much oil on the ground
    Sooner or later there won't be much around
    Tell that to your kids while you driving downtown
    That there's only so much oil on the ground

    Can't cut loose without that juice
    Can't cut loose without that juice
    If we keep on like we doing things for sure
    Will not be cool - It's a fact
    We just ain't got sufficient fuel

    There's only so much oil in the ground
    Sooner or later there won't be none around
    Alternate sources of power must be found
    Cause there's only so much oil in the ground

    There's only so much oil in the earth
    It's a fact of life - for what it's worth
    Something every little girl and boy should know since birth
    That there's only so much oil in the earth

    There's no excuse for our abuse
    No excuse for our abuse
    We just assume that we will not
    Exceed the oil supply
    But soon enough the world will watch the wells run dry

    (Sax Solo)

    There's no excuse for our abuse
    No excuse for our abuse
    We just assume that we will not
    Exceed the oil supply
    But soon enough the world will watch the wells run dry

    There's only so much oil on the ground
    Sooner or later there won't be none around
    You can tell that to your children while you driving downtown
    That there's only so much oil on the ground

    There's only so much oil in the earth
    It's a fact of life - for what it's worth
    Something every little girl and boy should know since birth
    That there's only so much oil in the earth

    Can't cut loose without that juice
    Can't cut loose without that juice
    If we keep on like we doing things for sure
    Will not be cool - It's a fact
    We just ain't got sufficient fuel

    We just ain't got sufficient fuel
    We just ain't got sufficient fuel Writer/s: EMILIO CASTILLO, STEPHEN M. KUPKA
    Publisher: BOB-A-LEW SONGS
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

  • Tk from Pacific Beach CaThe Union oil spill of 1969 in Santa Barbara was over 10,000X worse than the tanker collision. See for yourselves how much oil gushed out of the well, for how long.and how far it spread to Baja. It also dwarfed the Exxon Valdez in AK
  • AnonymousI'm just a few years younger (b. 1962) so I don't remember the SF oil spill, but I definitely remember the "energy crisis," and the gas lines. My older brother worked at a gas station during this time. My dad bought a diesel VW Rabbit to take advantage of the (then) significantly lower price of diesel and the 40mpg. The crisis in the 70s was the result of the OPEC Arab oil embargo, in response to the US support for Israel in their 1973 war. So it wasn't about running out of oil. It was entirely man made.
  • Dan Sibley7 from TexasI'm trying not to be picky, but weren't Castillo and Kupka kind of old to have been in high school at the time of the 1971 oil spill: Castillo would have been about 21 and Kupka would have been about 25. I guess it does not matter. I still love the song, and I'm not a "funk" fan.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")Song Writing

Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."