Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)

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Released
  
August 23, 1972

Recorded
  
1972

Length
  
3:50

Format
  
7" 45 RPM

Genre
  
Folk rock

B-side
  
"Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)"

"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" is a 1972 single written and recorded by Jim Croce. It was released August 23, 1972 and was the second single released from his album You Don't Mess Around with Jim. It reached a peak of 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1972 after spending twelve weeks on the chart.

Contents

Content

The song relates one side of a conversation with a telephone operator. The speaker is trying to find the phone number of his former lover, who has moved to Los Angeles with his former best friend. He wants to confront her, telling her he is well and over her betrayal of him, but admits to the operator that he isn't. After the operator has given him the number, he is unable to read it, apparently due to the tears in his eyes. He then changes his mind and tells the operator not to place the call, appreciatively adding "you can keep the dime" (the standard toll he had deposited).

The story was inspired during Jim Croce's military service, where he saw lines of soldiers waiting to use the outdoor phone on base, many of them calling their wives or girlfriends to see if their Dear John letter was true.

To this day, several fans leave dimes on his tombstone because of his line at the end of the song "you can keep the dime."

Live performances

In 1973 Croce performed "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" on the series The Midnight Special. Live versions of the song have also been released on the albums Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour, and "Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live".

Covers

The song "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" has been covered by a number of artists, in both recordings and live performances:

  • By Toby Lightman on the Everwood soundtrack album.
  • By Rodney Crowell on the tribute album Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute.
  • By Diana Krall in 2015 on the Canadian jazz singer-songwriter and pianist's album Wallflower.
  • By Jesse Malin on his 2008 covers album On Your Sleeve.
  • The Avett Brothers often play this song in concert. Their rendition usually features Seth Avett playing the guitar and singing. He is usually joined by the band's bassist, Bob Crawford.
  • Tori Amos also covered the song in concert, which was recorded and released on one of the albums in her The Original Bootlegs package.
  • Garth Brooks for the 2013 "The Melting Pot" album in the "Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences" compilation.
  • Barbara Belloni featuring Four Fried Fish on Photographs & Memories (tribute to Jim Croce) (2012)

    • Track listing

    7" Single (ABC-11335)

    1. "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)" - 3:45
    2. "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) " - 2:40

    References

    Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA