Music Blog

Walk This Way

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Our host Glyn says “In the month of January, the Mixed Music Bag theme is to find a group or solo singer beginning with the letter A or B.” I missed last week so I’ll just jump in today.

When I was 14, somebody incredibly cool entered my life; he came and went for a couple of years, never really sticking around very long. He was a 17-year-old beanpole named Steven Tallarico – Google him; I’ll wait.

There were one or two times when I felt like kicking myself for not running off with him but my whole life would have turned out differently and I’m sure not for the better. On my short list of “No Regrets”, that 3-year-period during my teen years would be very near the top.

If you’ve finished Googling, you are now aware that the guy I knew all those years ago as Steven Tallarico is the legendary Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith …. that Boston band with a front man born in The Bronx, NY (my hometown).

I’ve written a story or two about Steven but I’m not here to talk about him. And there’s certainly no need to talk about Aerosmith. To paraphrase Hyman Roth in The Godfather: “They’re bigger than U.S. Steel”.

One of my favorite Aerosmith tunes is “Walk This Way”, written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, which was originally released as the second single from their album Toys in the Attic (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s.

This song is one of the reasons Toys in the Attic was a must-have for everyone growing up in the 70s. “Walk This Way” has a trademark Joe Perry riff and quite a few of Steven Tyler’s slyest lyrics; it’s a wonder some of his double entendres ever made it onto AM radio. It also became a groundbreaker ten years later when the group re-cut the song with Run-DMC.

Check out Steven’s clever and colorful lyrics as we listen to “Walk This Way” by one of the greatest bands in the US …. Aerosmith!

Lyrics

Backstroke lover always hidin’ ‘neath the cover
‘Till I talked to my daddy, he say
He said, “You ain’t seen nothing
‘Till you’re down on a muffin
Then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways”

I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder
All the times I can reminisce
‘Cause the best thing lovin’ with her sister and her cousin
Only started with a little kiss, like this

See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school
With your feet flyin’ up in the air
Singin’ “Hey diddle-diddle with the kitty in the middle
Of the swing” like I didn’t care

So I took a big chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Wasn’t me she was foolin’
‘Cause she knew what she was doin’
And I know love is here to stay
When she told me to

Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Ah, just give me a kiss

Like this

School girl sweetie with the classy kinda sassy
Little skirt’s climbin’ way up her knees
There was three young ladies in the school gym locker
When I noticed they was lookin’ at me

I was a high school loser, never made it with a lady
‘Til the boys told me something I missed
Then my next door neighbor with a daughter had a favor
So I gave her just a little kiss, like this

See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school
With your feet flyin’ up in the air
Singin’ “Hey diddle-diddle with the kitty in the middle
Of the swing” like I didn’t care

So I took a big chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Wasn’t me she was foolin’
‘Cause she knew what she was doin’
When she told me how to walk this way
She told me to

Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, walk this way
Walk this way, talk this way
Just give me a kiss

Like this

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Joe Perry / Steven Tyler
Walk This Way lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Mixed music bag 2024 – Week 2

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26 thoughts on “Walk This Way”

  3. Great post , Nancy. I remember Steven Tallarico from a previous post you shared, I was truly fascinated by it. What I didn’t know was just how colorful this song was, I sang it all the time but never paid attention. 🤣🤣🤣. Thanks for for sharing. This truly made my morning.💕

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  6. This song was so big in the 80s that you couldn’t go out to a club without hearing it played by every band. That is so cool having steven Tyler as your neighbor. I wonder if you are the person who showed him how to walk this way.

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    1. Looks like I have some ‘splaining to do! 😂
      Yes, I knew Steven Tallarico …. not Steven Tyler. My parents and a group of their friends ‘hung out’ at the home his favorite Aunt & Uncle, Phyllis & Ernie. Steven would often be there and we teens would gather in the den, talking and listening to music. It was just on the cusp of his Aerosmith life; Steven was fun and cool with a motor mouth, even back then.

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    1. Thanks, David. I’m glad I picked a song that you really like.
      My life is full of many “whoa” moments from the 60s and 70s
      and as I hinted above, I have a very short list of regrets from those days.
      Now I can sit back and write about them! Appreciate your comments. 😊

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  10. Nancy I hope you weren’t any of the females in this song (or your sister or your cousin) 😉 I’m a big fan of Aerosmith, that’s no secret. Saw them in my little berg of a town when they were touring for Toys in the Attic. Great choice of band!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Guaranteed, Lisa; no one has written a book about me (that I’m aware of); I had one dedicated to me once but those were very different circumstances. After Steven started with Aerosmith, I saw him a couple of times and, of course, in concert but we never connected after that. Those are times I will hold dear and never forget. Thanks for your great comments!

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