The lyrics tell the story of someone who regrets having wasted too much time doing useless things instead of aspiring to become someone successful. Musically, the song has a dark and depressed feeling with a light-hearted break just before the final verse.
The song features a string quartet, which is heard in the second portion of the song.
The single reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the B-side to "San Franciscan Nights" in the U.S. The B-side "Ain't that So" was included as part of the soundtrack to the film Stranger in the House (1967). Every band member, except Burdon, appeared at the premiere.
In 1987, it was released as a single again, while it was the soundtrack to the movie Die Katze starring Götz George. This version reached #53 in Germany.
Ozzy Osbourne covered the song for his album Under Cover, 2005.
It was also featured on Burdon's live album The Official Live Bootleg #2 (2000) by Eric Burdon's I band.
The song was featured in the 2017 film Small Town Crime and most recently in a commercial for YouTube TV.
The Animals are an English rock band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963.
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.
Alan Price is an English musician who first found prominence as the original keyboardist of the English rock band the Animals. He left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set; his hit singles with and without the group include "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear", "The House That Jack Built", "Rosetta" and "Jarrow Song". Price is also known for work in film and television, taking occasional acting roles and composing the soundtrack of Lindsay Anderson's film O Lucky Man! (1973). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Animals.
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a comedy song written by Monty Python member Eric Idle that was first featured in the Python film Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals.
"Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliffie Stone played bass on the recording. It was first released in July 1947 by Capitol on Travis's album Folk Songs of the Hills. The song became a gold record.
James Leslie Binks is a Northern Irish heavy metal drummer. He was the drummer for Judas Priest from 1977 to 1979.
"Sky Pilot" is a 1968 song by Eric Burdon & the Animals, released on the album The Twain Shall Meet. When released as a single the song was split across both sides, due to its length (7:27). As "Sky Pilot " it reached number 14 on the U.S. pop charts, number 15 on the Canadian RPM chart, and number 7 on Canada's CHUM Chart.
"Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single "Johnny B. Goode".
"Please Send Me Someone to Love" is a blues ballad, written and recorded by American blues and soul singer Percy Mayfield in 1950, for Art Rupe's Specialty Records. It was on the Billboard's R&B chart for 27 weeks and reached the number-one position for two weeks; it was Mayfield's most successful song.
"Spill the Wine" is the debut single by singer Eric Burdon and the band War, released in May 1970. It was backed by the non-album track "Magic Mountain", and was War's first Billboard chart hit.
"Pale Blue Eyes" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground, written and sung by Lou Reed. He recorded a demo with John Cale in May 1965. It was included on the band's 1969 album The Velvet Underground.
"California Sun" is a rock song first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Joe Jones. Henry Glover is credited on the original 45 rpm single as the songwriter, although Roulette Records owner Morris Levy's name sometimes incorrectly appears on re-issues. In 1961, Roulette issued the song with "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" as the B-side. The single reached number 89 on Billboard's Hot 100.
"Heaven" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released on their 1979 album Fear of Music. The song was performed live in their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, and a live recording from 1979 was included on the 2004 CD reissue of the band's live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads. The lyrics refer to heaven as a "place where nothing ever happens", where a party and a kiss repeat the exact same way endlessly. The song has been called "the calm after [the band's] unusual ominous storm" by Bill Janovitz of AllMusic, as well as something "psychologists would certainly have a field day with" by author and The Guardian journalist Ian Gittins.
"Monterey" is a 1967 song by Eric Burdon & The Animals. The music and lyrics were composed by the group's members, Eric Burdon, John Weider, Vic Briggs, Danny McCulloch, and Barry Jenkins. The song provides an oral account of the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, at which the Animals performed. Burdon namedrops several of the acts who performed at the festival such as the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, the Who, the Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix. In 1968, two different video clips of the song were aired.
Winds of Change is the debut album by British-American band Eric Burdon & the Animals, released in October 1967 by MGM Records. The album was recorded following the 1966 dissolution of the original group the Animals and singer Eric Burdon's move to San Francisco, where he and drummer Barry Jenkins formed the new Animals lineup with musicians Vic Briggs, Danny McCulloch and John Weider. The album was produced by Tom Wilson and arranged by Briggs in sessions that spanned several months.
"Inside-Looking Out", often written "Inside Looking Out", is a 1966 single by the Animals, and their first for Decca Records. It was a moderate hit, reaching number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, number 23 in Canada, and number 34 in the United States on the U.S. pop singles chart. It was the group's final single with drummer John Steel, who left shortly after its release. He was replaced by Barry Jenkins, who would go on to play with Eric Burdon and the Animals.
Eric Is Here is a 1967 album billed to Eric Burdon & The Animals, although the actual bands with Burdon are the Benny Golson orchestra and the Horace Ott Orchestra.
"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" is a song by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman. It appears on Julius La Rosa's 1966 album You're Gonna Hear from Me, Eric Burdon's 1967 album Eric Is Here, on Newman's 1968 debut album Randy Newman, in The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003), and in Newman's official and bootleg live albums. It is one of his most covered songs.
"You Only Live Twice", performed by Nancy Sinatra, is the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film of the same name. The music was by veteran Bond film composer John Barry, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The song is widely recognized for its striking opening bars, featuring a simple 2-bar theme in the high octaves of the violins and lush harmonies from French horns. It is considered by some to be among the best James Bond theme songs, and has become one of Nancy Sinatra's best known hits. Shortly after Barry's production, Sinatra's producer Lee Hazlewood released a more guitar-based single version.
"When I Was Young" is a song released in March 1967 by Eric Burdon and the Animals; it was written by five of the band members – Eric Burdon (vocals), Barry Jenkins (drums), John Weider (guitar/violin), Vic Briggs (guitar), and Danny McCulloch (bass) – and was the first release to feature this lineup. It charted in Australia, peaking at No. 2 and staying 4 weeks there. Later, it hit No. 10 on the Canadian RPM chart, No. 15 in the United States, and No. 9 in the Netherlands.
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