Strait Old Line

"Strait Old Line"
Single by Split Enz
from the album Conflicting Emotions
B-side	"Parasite"
Released	October 1983
Recorded	1983
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	4:03
Label	Mushroom Records
Songwriter(s)	Neil Finn
Split Enz singles chronology
"Next Exit" (1983) "Strait Old Line" (1983) "Message to My Girl" (1984)

"Strait Old Line" is a song by New Zealand group Split Enz, released in October 1983 as the lead single from their album Conflicting Emotions .

Neil Finn described the song as, "about ambition, temptation, being distracted, following your nose and not letting anything get in your way". ^[1]

The jazz guitar solo halfway in the song is actually the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer preset: GUITAR 1.

In order to achieve the slow motion effect in the music video, the band members mimed with their instruments while the song was played back at double speed. ^[2]

Track listing

1. "Strait Old Line" - 4:03
2. "Parasite" - 3:37

Personnel

• Neil Finn - vocals, guitar, piano
• Tim Finn - vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards
• Noel Crombie - vocals, percussion, drums
• Nigel Griggs - vocals, bass
• Eddie Rayner - keyboards and machines

Charts

Chart (1983/84)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [3]	42
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [4]	15

References

1. Stuart Metchett (November 1983). "Allz Well that Enz Well". Countdown Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 3.
2. "Enzology Part 9 - Conflicting Emotions (1983-1984)". RNZ. 2005-02-26.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
4. "Split Enz – Strait Old Line". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 November 2020.