Comments: 14

• Bill Lee from Nj It's my understanding that, all 4 of the Buckingham's biggest hits, Kind of a Drag, Hey Baby They're Playing Our Song, Don't You Care, and Susan were written about Susan. All By Jim Holvay. Makes you wonder what would have happened if Jim never met Susan.
• Dave from Wheaton, IlActually, I thought it was 'Susan' said backward, as 'Nasus'.
• Sam Williams from Sherman Oaks, CaFor those of you people who always wondered "was their a real Susan!?!?!", the song was written about a real person. Her nickname was "Susie Cream Cheese" and she was a Go Go dancer at the Whiskey a Go Go club on the sunset strip. She met the song's co-writer, Jim Holvay, when he and his band the Mob were playing a show at the Hollywood Bowl. Jim fell head over heals in love with Her, and decided to write a song about her. And for the record, it was the band's producer, Jim Guercio's idea to insert the weird ass psychedelic section in the middle of the song, not Jim's or the Buckinghams (he later went back into the studio to punch that in after the band's recording work was done)
• Matthew from Toronto, OnThe arrangement of this song is a total oxymoron. The psychedelic interlude comes out of nowhere--and goes back there just as fast. Can't think of any other song ever made this way.
• Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, CaI don't mind the psychedelic "Day In the Life orchestra montage..I think the tune and arrangement are great! But I hate the Stereo mix for this...its very bad! (at least the mix that on the greatest hits cd)-not sure if this was the original 4 Track mixdown to stereo, but if it is, it's awful!
• Michael from Wheaton, IlI think the psychadelic section is pure genius. It represents love breaking forth from insanity (a concept that was, as Chris mentioned, later copied by Zepplin). I'm sure this went right over the band member's heads.
• Joe from Yonkers, NyMy favorite song from the 60's; excellent vocals, harmony, drums, everything. Clearly don't make records like this any more. I never thought of the instrumental break as a "drug reference"; I always thought it was the inner workings of a man obviously distraught over the loss of love. I guess one can infer a drug reference, but I always thought this would be the only rational explanation to an otherwise irrational addition to a great song.
• Don from Manville, NjI'm a simple man. Who was the Susan they sang about?
• Dan from Wheaton, IlI agree with Mike. The middle part was nonsense -- an absolute rip-off of "A Day in the Life," and everyone knew it. It probably prevented "Susan" from becoming a Top 5 hit -- and maybe #1 -- because the song was well-crafted and catchy, but that middle section caused it to screech to a halt. Bad decision!
• Stephen from Sullivan, NhControversy and conjecture aside, the instrumental bridge serves to link the lead vocalist's pleading human emotion with sentient feeling. Despite producer Gurcio's marketing ploy of copying the Beatles' "A Day In The Life", a transcendent synthesis of teen love and ageless awareness is achieved. Thus the composition is elevated to a height greater and clearer than '60s pop psychedelia. "Susan" is the shadow image juxtaposition of every polarized boy/girl, man/woman, partner/partner relationship that ever has or will exist.
• Mike from New York, NyThe song has nothing to do with drugs. Chris, who posted here, is absolutely correct. The repeated word is "nasuS" ("Susan" backwards). I spoke to one of the Buckinghams, who told me that it was their producer Jim Gurcio (who later produced Chicago) that decided to add that psychedelic instrumental bridge to capitalize on the trend started the summer before with the Beatles "A Day in the Life". It was done without the knowledge of the Buckinghams. In fact, the first time they heard that version, was on their car radio and they hated it! Radio stations resisted it, and were starting to edit their own versions with that nonsense verse cut out, so finally Columbia Records issued the short version to radio stations.
• Chris from Boston, MaSorry, to disagree with the other posters, but the word that is repeated is "Nasus"...which of course is "Susan" backwards. "Susan" was the first pop song to include a psychedelic freak-out... and influenced Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love."
• Jonathan from Johnstown, PaSorry for the doulbe post, but I can't believe that a song like this, with the horns, would have a drug reference!
• Jonathan from Johnstown, PaA few days ago, my local oldies station played this song, and it had the instrumental break with the drug reference in it. Does anybody know how long the song is, with the break?

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