by Pamela Winning
When I heard the announcement that Joe South had passed away, I felt personally bereaved. I remember the disbelief as I hurried to the radio at the end of my kitchen as if being in closer proximity to the source of information would change anything. It didn’t.
Joe South was an American songwriter and performer. His style has been described as country / soul. He wrote Lynn Anderson’s hit, ‘(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden)’ but the song I hold him dear for is ‘Games People Play’. I couldn’t get enough of that guitar intro, so rich and deep, then repeating through the song. I wasn’t listening properly to the words, just singing along without paying attention. It was 1969 and I was waking up to the music of the time and developing my life-long love of the blues and progressive rock. ‘Games People Play’ I thought was very bluesy. It was the best thing on the juke-box in our public bar. I was brought up in an assortment of pubs. My parents, grandparents and other family members were licensees. There was always music on, somewhere. I spent my childhood to mid- teens being drip-fed the ‘Hit Parade’ from juke-boxes, the wireless, as it was known, and my mother’s record collection. It’s a legacy I feel thankful and privileged for.1969 was a year of significant changes for my family. Those memories are wrapped in the music, including ‘Games People Play’.
Fast-forward a few years. Living in a house instead of a pub felt weird, too quiet and too small. I was working in my first proper job, which didn’t involve washing glasses or filling shelves with Britvic or Schweppes bottles. Sunday afternoons were for lazing around, listening to the Dave Lee Travis request show on Radio 1. He played good stuff. I decided to join in, so using a Parker fountain pen filled with turquoise ink and bright orange paper and envelope, (this is the early ‘70s), I wrote a letter to DLT requesting ‘Games People Play’ and was thrilled when he gave me a mention and played the record. My name on the radio! It was like being famous. My favourite DJ played one of my favorite songs for me. What a shame there was only me to hear it and no ‘listen again’ facility in those days. It was a memorable, special moment, none the less.
That guitar riff still stops me in my tracks and takes me straight back to those happy days. I’ve learnt to understand the poetry of the lyrics and when news of his death came through in September, 2012, I cried. With thanks to Joe South, for what his song means to me.
Games People Play
Oh the games people play now Every night and every day now Never meaning what they say now Never saying what they mean
While they wile away the hours In their ivory towers Till they’re covered up with flowers In the back of a black limousine
Chorus La da da da da da da La da da da da da de Talking ‘bout you and me And the games people play
Oh we make one another cry Break a heart then we say goodbye Cross our hearts and we hope to die That the other was to blame
But neither one ever will give in So we gaze at an eight by ten Thinking ‘bout the things that might have been And it’s a dirty rotten shame
Chorus
People walking up to you Singing glory hallelujah And they try to sock it to you In the name of the Lord
They’re gonna teach you how to meditate Read your horoscope, cheat your fate And further more to hell with hate Come on and get on board
Chorus
Look around tell me what you see What’s happening to you and me God grant me the serenity To remember who I am
‘Cos you’ve given up your sanity For your pride and your vanity Turned your back on humanity And you don’t give a da da da da da
Chorus
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