The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys Traffic

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys Album: The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971)
by Traffic

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys is the title track from the 1971 album by British rock band Traffic, written by Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood. Despite never being released as a single due to its long duration, it became a staple of North American AOR-format FM radio stations in the 1970s.

The title refers to an inscription written by diminutive American actor Michael J. Pollard in Jim Capaldi's notebook while they were both in Morocco. Capaldi and Pollard were planning to work on a movie that was never filmed. Capaldi said:

Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and The Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys'. For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level.
At 11 minutes and 41 seconds, it is the longest track on the album. The song (and the album) received wide praise, both in print and on broadcasts. It begins with a gradual fade-in and ends with a slow fade-out. The signature two-chord[a] piano vamp enters after the fade-in, cued by the dry rattle of a vibraslap. Verses are sparsely arranged with a slow deliberate pace in D minor, contrasting with double-time densely-layered pop choruses modulating to D major. The tune fades out with a dissonant, reverberating final chord sustained over the vamp.

The album cut features extended solos, by Chris Wood on tenor saxophone and by Winwood both on piano and on a Hammond organ distorted through a fuzzbox. David Lubin wrote in his album review that appeared in Rolling Stone in 1972, "Each member of the group lays down a track or tracks which could in parts stand alone".

Capaldi had originally written only two verses of lyrics. He quickly wrote the third verse while Winwood was recording the song's vocal and slipped it in front of him in time for him to sing it.

Steve Winwood - vocal, piano, Hammond organ
Chris Wood - tenor saxophone
Ric Grech - bass guitar
Jim Gordon - drums
Reebop Kwaku Baah - congas
Jim Capaldi - additional percussion
Written by: Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi
Low Spark of High Heeled Boys released 1970
Traffic

If you see something that looks like a star
And it's shooting up out of the ground
And your head is spinning from a loud guitar
And you just can't escape from the sound
Don't worry too much, it'll happen to you
We were children once, playing with toys
And the thing that you're hearing is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys
The percentage you're paying is too high priced
While you're living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he's made on your dreams
But today you just read that the man was shot dead
By a gun that didn't make any noise
But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest was
The low spark of high-heeled boys
If you had just a minute to breathe
And they granted you one final wish
Would you ask for something like another chance?
Or something similar as this?
Don't worry too much it'll happen to you
As sure as your sorrows are joys
And the thing that disturbs you is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys
The percentage you're paying is too high priced
While you're living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he's made on your dreams
But today you just read that the man was shot dead
By a gun that didn't make any noise
But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest was
The low spark of high-heeled boys, high-heeled boys
If I gave you everything that I owned
And asked for nothing in return
Would you do the same for me as I would for you?
Or take me for a ride
And strip me of everything including my pride
But spirit is something that no one destroys
And the sound that I'm hearing is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys, heeled boys