Couldn't Get It Right

Album: Gold Plated (1976)
Charted: 10 3
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  • Time was drifting
    This rocker got to roll
    So I hit the road and made my getaway
    Restless feeling, really got a hold
    I started searching for a better way

    But I kept on looking for a sign
    In the middle of the night
    But I couldn't see the light
    No, I couldn't see the light
    I kept on looking for a way
    To take me through the night
    I couldn't get it right
    I couldn't get it right

    LA fever made me feel alright
    But I must admit it got the best of me
    Getting down, so deep I could have drowned
    Now, I can't get back the way I used to be

    But I kept on looking for a sign
    In the middle of the night
    But I couldn't see the light
    No, I couldn't see the light
    I kept on looking for a way
    To take me through the night
    I couldn't get it right
    I couldn't get it right

    New York City took me with the tide
    And I nearly died from hospitality
    Left me stranded, took away my pride
    Just another no account fatality

    I kept on looking for a sign
    In the middle of the night
    But I couldn't see the light
    No, I couldn't see the light
    I kept on looking for a way
    To take me through the night
    I couldn't get it right
    I couldn't get it right

    I kept on looking for a sign
    In the middle of the night
    But I couldn't see the light
    No, I couldn't see the light
    I kept on looking for a way
    To take me through the night
    I couldn't get it right
    I couldn't get it right

    I kept on looking for a sign
    In the middle of the night
    But I couldn't see the light
    No, I couldn't see the light
    I kept on looking for a way
    To take me through the night
    I couldn't get it right
    I couldn't get it right Writer/s: COLIN F R COOPER, DEREK HOLT, DEREK JOHN HOLT, FREDERICK JOSEPH JONES, JOHN HAYCOCK PETER, JOHN WILLIAM CUFFLEY, PETER JOHN HAYCOCK, WILLIAM CUFFLEY JOHN
    Publisher: Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 10

  • Bob H. from 8th HeavenJeff Michaels, you are correct -- they are a two-hit wonder: Couldn't Get It Right (hit #3) and I Love You (topped out at 12). Both excellent songs. You could argue they are a 4-hit wonder with "Gotta Have More Love" and "Makin' Love" which penetrated the Hot 100 to positions 47 and 91 respectively. But as a former DJ, I typically define a hit as breaking into the Top 40 (thanks Casey Kasem).
  • Jeff Michaels from Zephyrhills FloridaBirdman.... Except they are NOT a one hit wonder. Like the other song or not, it was a hit, making them NOT a one hit wonder.
  • Seventhmist from 7th HeavenSomehow, it's hard to picture Holiday Inn using this song in a commercial.
  • Tony from San DiegoYa know I agree with ya Birdman. I play drums and have always found this groove to be ultra-tight. The cowbell lulls u into the essence of the song.
  • Birdman_euston from London, UkThanks for the band's chart record, Barry, but for me, "Couldn't Get It Right" is a one-hit wonder from 1977 (I was working in the States at the time) with simply the best groove in pop history. It's currently (May '15) getting more airplay than ever on the retro rock stations here.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 13th 1977, "Couldn't Get It Right" by the Climax Blues Band entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #94; and thirteen weeks later on May 15th, 1977 it peaked at #3* {for 1 week} and spent 22 weeks on the Top 100...
    Between 1977 and 1981 the British quartet had four Top 100 records; their next biggest hit was "I Love You", it reached #12 {for 1 week} on June 14th, 1981 and stayed on the Top 100 for over a half-year {27 weeks}...
    * The week it was at #3; the #2 record was "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer and at #1 was "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder.
  • Luke from Auckland, New ZealandThe 'chance' rediscovery of this gem from my teenage years has become my favourite 'oldie' at the moment (Apr/May '12). It has such a simple but catchy melody, with definite tones of 'laidback-ness'. Though many would pass it off as just another 'funky white-boy' offering (and that's not meant as a racial slur), it nevertheless has the polish and class of a 'Doobie-esque' number, for sure.
  • Wendell from Milton, PeWhen I first heard this song it immediately became my favorite song at the time. I love you was a decent song but it isn't even close to Couldn't get it right.
    Wendell Milton PEI
  • Scott from Palm Desert, CaExcellent song from the 70's that has aged very well.
  • Mike from Denver, CoI love the attitude in this song--the way the verses are sung fits the mood and lyrics of the song perfectly. Listening to this always makes me wish I could go back to the 70s and experience the nightlife of the era as a young man. I always wondered what the 'sign' they were looking for was, and I always thought it was a sign on the path of life that they looked for--something to give it meaning or show the way. Great song!
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