The British band Supertramp has been performing on and off since the early 1970s.
Back then, they were considered one of the “adult” bands on the scene and were quite successful, but they faded over time. Today, they go on nostalgia tours periodically and play festivals in Australia and Germany and such.
Their name, incidentally, came from “The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp,” written in 1908 by the Welsh poet William Henry Davies.
“The Logical Song,” is one of the few tunes in which you’ll hear a slide whistle. Adults are allowed to be whimsical, too, you know.
The Logical Song
By Supertramp, 1979
Written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful.
A miracle. Oh, it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well, they’d be singing so happily.
Oh, joyfully, oh, playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible.
Logical, oh, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable.
Oh, clinical, oh, intellectual, cynical.
There are times when all the world’s asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned.
I know it sounds absurd,
But please tell me who I am.
I said watch what you say, or they’ll be calling you a radical.
A liberal, oh, fanatical, criminal.
Won’t you sign up your name, we’d like to feel you’re acceptable.
Respectable, oh, presentable, a vegetable.
But at night, when all the world’s asleep,
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned.
I know it sounds absurd,
But please tell me who I am.
Who I am.
Who I am.
Who I am.
Who I am.
(Cue slide whistle)

“The Logical Song” was on Supertramp’s quadruple-platinum album “Breakfast in America,” which some critics called “faultless” and “textbook perfect.” It was number one in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, Austria, and Norway. In France, it’s the top-selling English-language album of all time. Also, take a moment to look closely at the details of the wonderful album cover.
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