This, That, and the Other

My theme for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge is classic rock songs. Each day during the month (except for the first four Sundays, I will post a classic rock song: a video from YouTube, along with a brief bit of background about the song and the recording artist(s).

This is much more difficult than I thought it would be. For every letter of the alphabet there are dozens of fantastic classic rock songs to choose from and picking just one song for each letter is maddening. But this is what I signed up for. My G song is “Give a Little Bit” from Supertramp.

“Give a Little Bit” was the opening song on Supertramp’s 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments. The song was released as a single that same year and became an international hit for the band, peaking at number 15 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was a chart hit in the band’s native UK, reaching number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.

Writing credits are given to Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, although it is Hodgson’s work. Hodgson and Davies shared writing credits from 1974 until 1983, when Hodgson left Supertramp.

Hodgson wrote this song when he was a teenager, but didn’t record it until much later. It was about five years between when he wrote the song and when he brought it to the band. He said he wrote it around 1970. “The late ’60s, early ’70s, was a very idealistic time, one of hope,” he said. “A lot of peace and love and the dream of the ’60s was still very alive and maturing.” He said he was inspired by the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” which was released during the love and peace movement of the 1960s.

“Give a Little Bit” has a pure and simple message. It’s a call to share your love with your fellow man. Hodgson said that, “It’s a song that really inspires people to give a little bit, not give a lot, just give a little bit, and see how it feels and show that you care, and I know for me, every time I play it in concert, there’s something about that song.”

Interesting factoid: Princess Diana loved this song, and Hodgson performed it in her honor at the 2007 Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium. Hodgson said, “I was kind of sad that I never got to actually play for the princess while she was alive but I was very, very happy that the princes [Diana’s sons] invited me to play for her honor 10 years after her death to celebrate her life.”

Here are the lyrics to “Give a Little Bit.”

Ooh, yeah
Alright
Here we go again
Na-na, whoa, no, da-na, hey, hey, yeah

Give a little bit
Oh, give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
There's so much that we need to share
So send a smile and show you care
(Alright)

I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
So give a little bit
Oh, give a little bit of your time to me
See the man with the lonely eyes
Oh, take his hand, you'll be surprised

Oh, take it
Ah, yeah
Come along
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Come a-
Long

Give a little bit
Oh, give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
Now's the time that we need to share
So find yourself, we're on our way back home

Oh, going home
Don't you need, don't you need to feel at home?
Oh, yeah, we gotta sing
Ooh, yeah, gotta get a feeling
Ooh, yeah, come along too
Woo

Come a-, come along too, yeah
Come a-, come a-, come a-, come along

Cha-ka-doom, yeah
Ooh, yeah, come along too
Yeah, come along too, yeah
Sing, Betty Lou
Come along too
What a long ride
Come a long way
Oh, sing it, tonight
Ooh, yeah

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Previous 2023 A to Z posts: A B C D E F