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The phrase "Proud Mary" reminded John Fogerty of a domestic washerwoman, which is what he started writing the song about. When he wrote the music, the first few chords reminded him of a paddle-wheel going around, and he thought of the Mississippi River. Instead of "Proud Mary" being a clean-up lady, "she" became a boat. (Thanks to Ron Foster. More from Ron at
www.oldiesradioonline.com.)
Fogerty wrote the lyrics based on 3 song title ideas: "Proud Mary," "Riverboat," and "Rolling On A River."
This was a #4 hit in the US for Ike and Tina Turner in 1971, and a highlight of their live shows. Tina Turner recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971 how they came to record this on their Workin' Together album: "When we cut the album, we were lacking a few tunes, so we said 'Well, let's just put in a few things that we're doing on stage. And that's how 'Proud Mary' came about. I had loved it when it first came out. We auditioned a girl and she had sung 'Proud Mary.' This is like 8 months later, and Ike said, 'You know, I forgot all about that tune.' And I said let's do it, but let's change it. So in the car Ike plays the guitar, we just sort of jam. And we just sort of broke into the black version of it. It was never planned to say, 'Well, let's go to the record shop, and I'd like to record this tune by Aretha Franklin'... it's just that we get it for stage, because we give the people a little bit of us and a little bit of what they hear on the radio every day."
This was the first of 5 singles by Creedence that went to #2 on the US chart. They had the most #2 songs without ever having a #1.
Despite popular belief, John Fogerty was not writing from experience when he wrote this. Thanks to his military commitment, he hadn't ventured further east than Montana. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL)
"Proud Mary" attracted 35 covers in the year 1969 alone. Over 100 have been made so far.
Fogerty carried around a notebook with titles that he thought would make good songs. "Proud Mary" was at the top of the list.
The line, "Pumped a lot of pain down in New Orleans" is actually "Pumped a lot of 'Pane," as in propane. He was pumping gas.
Leonard Nimoy, who played "Mr. Spock" on Star Trek, recorded an infamous cover of this song. Near the end, he sings the chorus Elmer Fudd style - "Big wheel keep on toynin', Pwoud Mawy keep on boinin'..." It is included on a CD called Golden Throats.
John Fogerty (about how the guitar riff came about): "I don't know where the germ started. I can kind of remember writing the chords at the beginning of the song. Believe it or not, I was playing around with the famous riff from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I used to tell people that the song sounds like what it's about. I thought, by the way, that the opening riff sounded just like the wheel at the back of a boat. 'Proud Mary' is not a side-wheeler, it's a stern-wheeler." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for above 2)
Even though Creedence Clearwater Revival was from El Cerrito, California, many people thought they were from New Orleans or some other part of the South because of their swamp rock sound. They helped feed the rumor by naming their second album Bayou Country.
Ike and Tina Turner's version charted for the first time in the UK on the chart dated October 2, 2010 after it was performed on X-Factor by auditioneees Diva Fever. For a reason not known to us it was credited to Tina Turner only.
Ike and Tina performed their version on the season 2 premiere of Soul Train in 1972, becoming the first big act to appear on the program. The show became very popular its first season because of the dancers, but they were able to book many famous guests in subsequent seasons.
The first time that Fogerty heard Ike and Tina's version he was in the car. He recalled to
Spinner: "When it ended, if they had a camera and came back to me it'd be like, when Shrek and the donkey go to Far, Far Away and they push the button for that little arcade machine and it tells the whole story of their town! And the Donkey's like [Eddie Murphy impression] 'Let's do that again!' That's how I felt when that ended. I loved it, and I was so honored. I was like, 'Wow, Ike and Tina!' I had actually been following their career for quite some time. Way back in the day, when Janis and Grace Slick started to get known by the kids who were my age, I'd be like, 'Man, Tina Turner, c'mon!' She finally got her due, but for a while there, she wasn't noticed. It was a really good version, and it was different. I mean, that's the key. Instead of the same thing, it was really exciting."
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"Proud mary keep on burning"? People who smoke weed are often very affectionate of it. There's a million songs out there who personalize marijuana as an object or a person i.e.e Mary janes last dance from tom petty.
"Rolling, rolling, rolling"? Hard to believe a guy who probably smoked all day and was probably rolling a joint as he wrote the song didn't write this intentionally, right after proud mary keep on burning.
Pumped a lot of painpane might just be a play on words. Heroin initially gives a high but i bet it can be painful for someone without resources to try to deal with the addiction when they are all out of money and need another dose, maybe living in the street. Maybe pain wasn't the ideal word to describe itbut he needed to make it ambiguous with pane.
Now what really closes the deal
"
If you come down to the river,
Bet you gonna find some people who live.
You dont have to worry cause you have no money,
People on the river are happy to give."
meaning - If you decide to give the hippie community (general umbrella term for people who believe in alternative lifestyles, not specific people anywhere) a chance i bet you would leave with a good impression. I bet you are gonna find some people who live good lives despite not following the norm of society that is equating money with the ability to achieve happiness.
River = river of life, the flow of the universe and everyday life, a river is constantly changing and every second its flow and format is different, thought sometimes it might seem slow and at other times fast. Like life.
Now, i like other interpretations of the song too, and im not trying to put them down. Songs can have multiple meanings. But to think that the author didn't intentionally reference drugs in this song is like being in a room with an elephant and deciding to close yours eyes and say theres no elephant. It is there.
Also, it doesnt matter what the band said or didnt say. There could be a million reasons why he would rather give an answer in an interview rather than another, and Rob, Novi, MI - Did you write this straight from the DEA's headquarters? On your lunch break maybe? "Stop thinking and just hear", oh dear.
--WABC --song went to #2 -which played National hit songs-
this took wedding bands by storm-- when a band was asked to play a rock & roll song- they would always play "PROUD MARY"
How can I find the Conway Twitty album "I Love You More Today? Is it still In Print? If you have an answer, let me know por favor.
Thanks,
Garrett Miles
on the river as a deckhand years ago. My
husband John has worked on the river for
31 years. He's a Captain on a lineboat.
He thought this song "Proud Mary" would
be the perfect song to put on the Memorial.
We always loved this song. It's a good song
and I don't know why people have to talk
trash about such a great song! Marge,BG,IA.
A great song sung by anyone is still a great song!!!
(its code/slang) because a boy has a 'D'
a girl has a 'C' (think of private parts)
the word "Man" doesn't fit the equation
"Sometimes I write words to songs because they sound cool to sing. Sometimes the listener doesn't understand what I'm singing because I'm dedicated to singing the vowel, having fun with the word sounds coming out of my mouth. `Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis, pumped a lot of pain down in New Orleans,' is a good example. I think Tina Turner sang `tane' instead of `pain,' as in a contracted form of octane. But I knew what she meant," Fogerty said.
(country style) by Conway Twitty
from LP "I Love You More Today".
I do have it in MP3
Benitez
I think it's great that the good songwriters' lyrics are open to interpretation.