Only So Much Oil In The Ground

Album: Urban Renewal (1975)
Charted: 102
Play Video
  • There's only so much oil on the ground
    Sooner or later there won't be much around
    Tell that to your kids while you driving downtown
    That there's only so much oil on the ground

    Can't cut loose without that juice
    Can't cut loose without that juice
    If we keep on like we doing things for sure
    Will not be cool - It's a fact
    We just ain't got sufficient fuel

    There's only so much oil in the ground
    Sooner or later there won't be none around
    Alternate sources of power must be found
    Cause there's only so much oil in the ground

    There's only so much oil in the earth
    It's a fact of life - for what it's worth
    Something every little girl and boy should know since birth
    That there's only so much oil in the earth

    There's no excuse for our abuse
    No excuse for our abuse
    We just assume that we will not
    Exceed the oil supply
    But soon enough the world will watch the wells run dry

    (Sax Solo)

    There's no excuse for our abuse
    No excuse for our abuse
    We just assume that we will not
    Exceed the oil supply
    But soon enough the world will watch the wells run dry

    There's only so much oil on the ground
    Sooner or later there won't be none around
    You can tell that to your children while you driving downtown
    That there's only so much oil on the ground

    There's only so much oil in the earth
    It's a fact of life - for what it's worth
    Something every little girl and boy should know since birth
    That there's only so much oil in the earth

    Can't cut loose without that juice
    Can't cut loose without that juice
    If we keep on like we doing things for sure
    Will not be cool - It's a fact
    We just ain't got sufficient fuel

    We just ain't got sufficient fuel
    We just ain't got sufficient fuel Writer/s: EMILIO CASTILLO, STEPHEN M. KUPKA
    Publisher: BOB-A-LEW SONGS
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

  • Tk from Pacific Beach CaThe Union oil spill of 1969 in Santa Barbara was over 10,000X worse than the tanker collision. See for yourselves how much oil gushed out of the well, for how long.and how far it spread to Baja. It also dwarfed the Exxon Valdez in AK
  • AnonymousI'm just a few years younger (b. 1962) so I don't remember the SF oil spill, but I definitely remember the "energy crisis," and the gas lines. My older brother worked at a gas station during this time. My dad bought a diesel VW Rabbit to take advantage of the (then) significantly lower price of diesel and the 40mpg. The crisis in the 70s was the result of the OPEC Arab oil embargo, in response to the US support for Israel in their 1973 war. So it wasn't about running out of oil. It was entirely man made.
  • Dan Sibley7 from TexasI'm trying not to be picky, but weren't Castillo and Kupka kind of old to have been in high school at the time of the 1971 oil spill: Castillo would have been about 21 and Kupka would have been about 25. I guess it does not matter. I still love the song, and I'm not a "funk" fan.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Queen

QueenFact or Fiction

Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.