'And if your train's on time, you can get to work by nine' Print

You get up every morning from your alarm clock's warning Take the 8:15 into the city There's a whistle up above and people pushin', people shovin' And the girls who try to look pretty And if your train's on time, you can get to work by nine And start your slaving job to get your pay If you ever get annoyed, look at me I'm self-employed I love to work at nothing all day And I'll be taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) I've been taking care of business (it's all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime, work out If it were easy as fishin' you could be a musician If you could make sounds loud or mellow Get a second-hand guitar, chances are you'll go far If you get in with the right bunch of fellows People see you having fun just a-lying in the sun Tell them that you like it this way It's the work that we avoid, and we're all self-employed We love to work at nothing all day And we be taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) We be been taking care of business (it's all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime Mercy Whoo All right Take good care of my business When I'm away, every day Whoo They get up every morning from their alarm clock's warning Take the 8:15 into the city There's a whistle up above and people pushin', people shovin' And the girls who try to look pretty And if your train's on time, you can get to work by nine And start your slaving job to get your pay If you ever get annoyed, look at me I'm self-employed I love to work at nothing all day And I be taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) I've been taking care of business (it's all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime, take care Takin' care of business, whoo Takin' care of business Takin' care of business Takin' care of business Takin' care of business (every day) Takin' care of business (every way) Takin' care of business (it's all mine) Takin' care of business and working overtime, whoo Takin' care of business Takin' care of business We be takin' care of business We be takin' care of business Takin' care of business Takin' care of business Takin' care of business ‘Takin’ Care of Business’ by Bachman-Turner Overdrive Songwriter: Randy Bachman "Takin' Care of Business" is a song written by Randy Bachman and first recorded by Canadian rock group Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO) for their 1973 album Bachman–Turner Overdrive II. The lead vocal is sung by Randy. Randy Bachman had developed what would later become "Takin' Care of Business" while still a member of The Guess Who. His original idea was to write about a recording technician who worked on The Guess Who's recordings. This particular technician would take the 8:15 train to get to work, inspiring the lyrics "take the 8:15 into the city." In the early arrangement for the song, which had the working title "White Collar Worker,” the chorus riff and vocal melody were similar to that of The Beatles' “Paperback Writer.” When Bachman first played this version for Burton Cummings, Cummings declared that he was ashamed of him and that The Guess Who would never record the song because the Beatles would sue them. Bachman still felt like the main riff and verses were good, it was only when the song got to the chorus that everyone hated it. While BTO was still playing smaller venues in support of its first album, Bachman was driving into Vancouver, British Columbia for a gig and listening to the radio when he heard local DJ Daryl B's catch phrase "We're takin' care of business." Lead vocalist Fred Turner's voice gave out before the band's last set that night. Bachman sang some cover songs to get through the last set, and on a whim, he told the band to play the C, B-flat and F chords (a I-VII-IV progression) over and over, and he sang "White Collar Worker" with the new words "Takin' Care of Business" inserted into the chorus. Recalled Randy: "When we finished the song that night, people kept clapping, stomping, and shouting 'takin' care of business' over and over. So we picked up the tempo again and reprised the song for another ten minutes. Afterwards, we all knew we had something." After this, he rewrote the lyrics to "White Collar Worker" with a new chorus and the title "Takin' Care of Business.” Along with this he wrote a revised guitar riff, which was the I-VII-IV progression played with a shuffle. Bachman says he then handed over the lyrics to Fred Turner with the thought that Turner would sing the lead vocal. But Turner handed them back, saying Randy should sing the lead as it would give himself a needed vocal break when the band performed live. The original studio version, recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, Washington, features prominent piano, played by Norman Durkee. Durkee was recording commercials in the next studio when sound engineer Buzz Richmond asked him to play on "Takin' Care of Business.” With paid-by-the-hour musicians waiting, Durkee had only a few minutes to spare. Quickly conferring with Randy Bachman, he scribbled down the chords, and, without listening to the song beforehand, recorded the piano part in one take. The fact that Durkee wrote the chords down on a pizza box may have been the source of the long-standing myth – mischievously propagated by band members – that the part had been played by a pizza deliveryman who had heard the track being played back, and then cajoled the band into giving him a chance to add piano to it. Bachman–Turner Overdrive II is the second album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1973. The album features the hit single "Takin' Care of Business." Though it never cracked the Top 10 on the U.S. singles charts (reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974), it became one of the band's most enduring hits and stayed on the Billboard chart for 20 weeks. The album also produced another hit single, "Let It Ride", which peaked at #23 on the Billboard chart. Both singles would reach #3 on the Canadian RPM charts. Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated as BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner. Their 1970s catalogue included five Top 40 albums and six US Top 40 singles (eleven in Canada). BTO has five certified Gold albums and one certified Platinum album in the US; in Canada, they have six certified Platinum albums and one certified Gold album. The band has sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide, and has fans affectionately known as "gearheads" (derived from the band's gear-shaped logo). Many of their songs, including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You", and "Roll on Down the Highway", still receive play on classic-rock stations. The original lineup consisted of Randy Bachman (lead guitar, lead vocals), Fred Turner (bass guitar, lead vocals), Tim Bachman (guitar, vocals) and Robbie Bachman (drums). This lineup released two albums in 1973. The second and most commercially successful lineup featured Blair Thornton (lead guitar), in place of Tim Bachman. This lineup released four albums between 1974 and 1977, including two that reached the Top 5 in the U.S. pop charts, as well as the band's only U.S. No. 1 single ("You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"). Subsequent lineups enjoyed only moderate success. After the band went into a hiatus in 2005, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner reunited in 2009 to tour and collaborate on a new album. In 2010, they played the halftime show at the Grey Cup in Edmonton. The two stopped touring following Turner's amicable retirement in March 2018. On March 29, 2014, the classic Not Fragile line-up reunited for the first time since 1991 to mark Bachman–Turner Overdrive's induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and participated in performing in a tribute version of "Takin' Care of Business”. Source: Wikipedia