‘Draggin' the Line’ is a hit song by American rock musician Tommy James, who went solo after the Shondells disbanded in 1970. It was first released as the B side of ‘Church Street Soul Revival’ in 1970. The song was judged to have some hit potential so they went back in the studio and added horns to the master and re-released it as an A side single in 1971. It was included on his second album, Christian of the World in 1971 on the Roulette Records label. The song was James' biggest hit as a solo artist selling more than a million copies, and appears as the fifth track on James' 1991 retrospective album The Solo Years (1970-81) released by Rhino.
Written and produced by himself and Bob King, the song reached the top 40 on the U.S.'s Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 26, 1971, climbed to a peak of #4 for the week of August 7, 1971, and remained in the top 40 rankings for 11 weeks total. The song reached even higher in Cash Box magazine's competing jukebox singles charts, attaining the #2 spot for the week of August 9, 1971. ‘Draggin' the Line’ was ranked at #54 overall for hot songs of 1971 by U.S. music industry pillar Billboard magazine.
‘Draggin' the Line’ features a notable bassline as the main sound. It has been described as a "lazy psychedelic shuffle whose hypnotic feel perfectly expressed its title." Asked about the meaning of the title in a 2009 interview, Tommy James said: ‘Draggin' the Line’ just meant working every day. Nothing really very mysterious about it." However, it has been falsely speculated that the song's title and lyrics refer to cocaine use, citing the title, the lyrics, Tommy James' documented drug use, and because another Tommy James and The Shondells song, Crystal Blue Persuasion, has been previously associated with the use of speed, the song’s having been described in 1979 by noted music critic Dave Marsh as "a transparent allegory about James' involvement with amphetamines. In addition, it has been widely accepted that the song could more specifically refer to the tedious job of setting up power lines back in the early 1950s and 1960s. This view has gained a large amount of support, especially since the lyrics are commonly interchanged with 'Checkin the line''"
In a Songfacts interview with Tommy James, he explained: "'Draggin' The Line' I wrote up at my farm in 1970, and it was with Bob King. My farm was in upstate New York, I had a couple hundred acres. It was a song I probably couldn't have written in the city. We just kind of toyed with it. We wrote it, and it was a very repetitious track, and a very sort of hypnotic track. We had the track before we had the song. We went into the studio and just laid down, I don't know, eight or 10 bars of track. We looped it and looped it and looped it, and created the hypnotic rhythm. Bob played bass, Russ Leslie from Neon played drums, and I played guitar. And so we just created loops of tape based on this little riff, and when we had three-plus minutes of it put together we stopped, and then we wrote the song around the track. Second time I had ever done that - first one was 'Mony' actually. 'Draggin' the Line' just meant working every day. Nothing really very mysterious about it."
So how did he come up with title? Says James: "It's almost like the bass guitar was speaking. And it just seemed to say 'draggin' the line' to me. It's weird. But we had the track before we had the song, and it was like the bass was speaking."
Label – Roulette Records
Songwriters – Tommy James, Bob King
Producers – Tommy James, Bob King
SONG LYRICS
Makin' a livin' the old, hard wayTakin' and givin' by day by day
I dig snow and rain and the bright sunshine
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
My dog Sam eats purple flowers
Ain't got much, but what we got's ours
We dig snow and rain and the bright sunshine
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
I feel fine
I'm talkin' 'bout peace of mind
I'm gonna take my time
I'm gettin' the good sign
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
Lovin' the free and feelin' spirit
Of hugging a tree, when you get near it
Diggin' the snow and rain and the bright sunshine
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
I feel fine
I'm talkin' 'bout peace of mind
I'm gonna take my time
I'm gettin' the good sign
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line) (La-la la-la la-la la-la)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line) (La-la la-la la-la la)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line) (La-la la-la la-la la-la)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line) (La-la la-la la-la la)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line) (La-la la-la la-la la-la)
Draggin' the line (Draggin' the line) (La-la la-la la-la la)