This 1968 hit by singer/songwriter Ray Stevens marked a departure from the "novelty song" mode he (at the time) has been stuck in for the longest time.
Ray Stevens apparently figured that along with a switch to another record label (Monument) he should also do a "reinvention" of himself into that of a "poet laureate" type singer/songwriter.
And this song does have some classic lines:
Do you ever stop to smell the fragrance of the roses growing in your yard?
And did you stop to hear the laughter of your children as they play?
Do you find it great to be alive, or are the limits of your senses such as only "to survive"?
You can "wheel and deal" the best of them and steal it from the rest of them.
You know the score.
Their ethics are a bore.
Unfortunately songs like UNWIND and MR. BUSINESSMAN were not among his bestselling singles (even though they did make the top-40 as "minor" hits)
So, the following year, he made a return to the "AHAB THE ARAB mode" with GITARZAN, trading the desert for the jungle.
Ray Stevens apparently figured that along with a switch to another record label (Monument) he should also do a "reinvention" of himself into that of a "poet laureate" type singer/songwriter.
And this song does have some classic lines:
Do you ever stop to smell the fragrance of the roses growing in your yard?
And did you stop to hear the laughter of your children as they play?
Do you find it great to be alive, or are the limits of your senses such as only "to survive"?
You can "wheel and deal" the best of them and steal it from the rest of them.
You know the score.
Their ethics are a bore.
Unfortunately songs like UNWIND and MR. BUSINESSMAN were not among his bestselling singles (even though they did make the top-40 as "minor" hits)
So, the following year, he made a return to the "AHAB THE ARAB mode" with GITARZAN, trading the desert for the jungle.
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