Format 7" 45 RPM Label Fantasy | Length 2:35 | |
B-side "Long As I Can See the Light" Released July 25, 1970 (1970-07-25) Genre Southern rock, country rock | ||
"Lookin' Out My Back Door" is a song recorded by the American band Creedence Clearwater Revival, also known as CCR. The song was written by the band's lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter, John Fogerty. The song is included on their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory, the group's fifth album, which was also their fifth and final number-two Billboard hit.
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"Lookin' Out My Back Door" was a direct tribute to the Bakersfield Sound, a form of music that influenced Fogerty and the CCR sound. Buck Owens, one of the architects of the Bakersfield Sound, is even mentioned in the song's lyrics.
Background
After touring Europe in 1970, the band returned to their San Francisco studio and began recording what would be their fifth album, Cosmo's Factory, which is widely credited as their finest. The name of the album came from an inside joke between members referencing the strict factory-like work ethic they were adopting while practicing and writing. "Cosmo" came from Doug Clifford’s nickname, which was given to him because of his beliefs and interests in cosmic things. Later, Clifford even named his first solo album Cosmo. After Cosmo's Factory was released in July 1970, "Lookin' Out My Back Door" achieved number two on the Billboard’s Top 100 Hits. It reached number one on the Cash Box chart the week of October 3, 1970, and also reached number one in Norway.
Song information
The song is known for its upbeat tempo, its down-home feel, and a signature change in key and tempo towards the end. The song's lyrics, filled with colorful, dream-like imagery, led some to believe that the song was about drugs. According to the drug theory, the "flying spoon" in the song was a cocaine spoon, and the crazy animal images were an acid trip. Fogerty, however, has stated in interviews that the song was actually written for his then three-year-old son, Josh. Fogerty has also said that the reference to a parade passing by was inspired by the Dr. Seuss book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. One of Fogerty's musical influences, Buck Owens, is also mentioned in the song.
"Lookin' Out My Back Door", along with "Long as I Can See the Light" on the flip side, was released as a single in July 1970. The double-sided single, counted as one entry by the methodology used by Billboard magazine at the time, eventually climbed to number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart (by comparison, "Long as I Can See the Light" only reached number 57 on the concurrent Cash Box singles chart, which still tracked the performance on both sides of a single separately). This marked the fifth (and final) time the group had a double-sided single accomplish that feat on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. The single was held out of the top spot by Diana Ross's cover of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough ("Lookin' Out My Back Door" did top the Cash Box singles chart for one week). "Long as I Can See the Light" also reached number 20 on the U.K. Pop chart.