Pop Song 466 of 500 'The Joker' The Steve Miller Band 1973

Pop Song 466 of 500 'The Joker' The Steve Miller Band 1973

Miller borrowed from the hit song "Lovey Dovey", which shares the lyric, "You're the cutest thing that I ever did see / I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree / Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time". Ahmet Ertegun wrote the song, and the Clovers had the highest charting version in 1954.

It is one of two Steve Miller Band songs that feature the nonce word "pompatus". The first line of the lyrics is a reference to the song "Space Cowboy" from Miller's Brave New World album. The following lines refer to two other songs: "Gangster of Love" from Sailor and "Enter Maurice" from Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden. The line "some people call me Maurice / 'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love" was written after Miller heard the song "The Letter" by the Medallions. In "The Letter", writer Vernon Green made up the word puppetutes, meaning a paper-doll erotic fantasy figure;[6] however, Miller misheard the word and wrote pompatus instead.

Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love
People talk about me, baby
Say I'm doing you wrong, doing you wrong
Well, don't you worry, baby, don't worry
'Cause I'm right here, right here, right here, right here at home
'Cause I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I get my loving on the run
You're the cutest thing that I ever did see
I really love your peaches, want to shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time
Oh, baby, I'll sure show you good time
'Cause I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I get my loving on the run
I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one
People keep talking about me, baby
Say I'm doing you wrong
Well, don't you worry, don't worry, no, don't worry, mama
'Cause I'm right here at home
You're the cutest thing I ever did see
I really love your peaches, want to shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time
C'mon, baby, and I'll show you a good time