Sweet Emotion

"Sweet Emotion"
Song

"Sweet Emotion" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as the first single from the band's breakthrough smash Toys in the Attic. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band that would continue for the remainder of the 1970s. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton.

Success

"Sweet Emotion" was released as a single in 1975, and peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's breakthrough single and the first Top 40 hit for the band. The day it hit #36 on the U.S. chart, July 19, 1975, Aerosmith was booked at a gig in New York City's Central Park, called the Schaefer Music Festival. The song was so successful that the band decided to ride the heels of success and re-release their first single, "Dream On", which had originally charted at #59 in 1973. The re-released version went on to hit #6, the highest chart performance in the 1970s for the band.

Lyrical Interpretation

Steven Tyler wrote the lyrics to the song about the tension and hatred between the band members and Joe Perry's wife. In fact, as mentioned in Aerosmith's tell-all autobiography Walk This Way and in an episode of Behind the Music, feuds between the band members' wives (including an incident involving "spilt milk") may have helped lead to the band's original lineup dissolving in the early 1980s.

Song Structure

The beginning of the song is a repeating bass riff by Tom Hamilton that continues throughout the rest of the song. There is also usage of a talk-box in the beginning by Joe Perry, which has become one of the more popular and famous uses of the guitar talk box in popular music (Joe Perry can be heard saying the title). Eventually Steven Tyler joins in, saying "Sweet Emotion" slowly, in sync with the talk-box. After that, the song kicks into a more rocking number with dueling guitars, and rapid-fire angry-sounding lyrics by Steven Tyler. The chorus in the song consists of a repeating guitar riff followed by a slow singing of "Sweet Emotion" twice.

Live in Concert

Ever since its inception, the song has been a live staple at Aerosmith concerts, and even to this day, the band almost never omits it from the setlist. Live, this song is Joe Perry's feature solo spot, of late complete with elaborate lights, smoke, theremin, and a variety of guitar tricks, as well as an extended guitar solo. The song is also a feature live spot for Tom Hamilton, as it is one of the more prominent Aerosmith songs featuring an opening bass solo. He often does an extended bass solo before the band goes into the song. In concert, Steven Tyler is also known to substitute racier lyrics such as "I'll be cummin' in your hand" instead of "I'll be eatin' from your hand" and is also known to grab or point to his crotch, during the lyrics "my get up and go". Steven Tyler also often encourages the crowd to chant "yeah...yeah...yeah..." during the repeating guitar riffs preceding the choruses.

Legacy

The song has been included on almost every Aerosmith compilation and live album, including Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, Pandora's Box, O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, Devil's Got a New Disguise, Live! Bootleg, Classics Live I, A Little South of Sanity, and Rockin' the Joint.

The song is frequently cited as Aerosmith's signature song, including in the World Almanac and Book of Facts, and regularly competes with "Dream On" and "Walk This Way" for the title of Aerosmith's "signature song" elsewhere.

It is often included on "greatest song" lists or "greatest rock song" lists, including a ranking of #408 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Re-Release

The song was re-released as a single in 1991, in coordination with the release of the band's box set Pandora's Box. The version of the song was slightly different from the original and a video was also released in conjunction. The re-released version reached #36 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #74 in the United Kingdom.

Trivia

• The band supposedly used a packet of sugar as the percussion instrument for the intro
• The song is used as the opening music for the film Dazed and Confused
• The song is played over part of the ending credits for the 2004 film Starsky and Hutch.
• Northern Irish band The Answer covered the song for a free Kerrang! CD of cover versions which was given away with the 6th June 2006 copy of the magazine.
• The song is played at every New York Rangers game