Boston’s self-titled debut album was a constant presence on radio in the mid-to-late ‘70s, with every single one of its eight tracks garnering airplay on album-oriented rock stations. Boston was a revelation to music fans, because they sounded like nothing else on radio. Tom Scholz’s blending of bold, melodic guitar riffs with acoustic guitar was not quite metal, pop, or prog, but it incorporated elements of each of those genres. And having Brad Delp’s soaring, powerful vocals on top of Scholz’s guitar-driven magic was the crowning touch.
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Lyrically, some of Boston’s songs were more typical of the fare one would hear on AOR stations. “More Than a Feeling” was a love song, “Smokin’” was a party song, and “Rock & Roll Band” was yet another song by a rock band about being in a rock band. Scholz (sometimes with assistance from Delp) was writing about what he knew, and that also includes the workaday life he had to support his music before Boston got big. That’s the part of his life he addressed on “Peace of Mind.” While it’s not a typical Boston song from a lyrical standpoint, it remains one of their best-known and most-cherished hits.
Scholz’s Message About Putting Career in Its Proper Place
Tom Scholz is not your typical rock star. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering, and then went to work for Polaroid Corporation in product development. By the time he got to writing “Peace of Mind” in 1974, Scholz was clear that he did not want to devote his life to developing cameras that made instant photos (which was still a pretty novel concept in the pre-digital photography of the ‘70s).
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At this point, Scholz had been playing in clubs for a few years, and he had built a studio in the basement of his house. He was increasingly invested in the idea of making music the focal point of his life. At his day job, Scholz saw his colleagues being far more concerned than he was about advancing in the company. He wrote “Peace of Mind” as a statement about his priorities and as a caution to his co-workers, whose priorities he questioned.
In the first verse of “Peace of Mind,” Scholz, via Delp’s vocals, relates to the frustrations of his colleagues who aren’t getting the promotions or raises they want.
Now if you’re feeling kinda low ‘bout the dues you’ve been payin’
Future’s comin’ much too slow
And you wanna run but somehow you just keep on stayin’
Can’t decide on which way to go
Where he parts from his colleagues is in the attitude he takes in response to that frustration. Scholz doesn’t see the point in the one-upmanship that is inherent in trying to advance in a corporate setting. In the chorus, he makes it clear that it’s just not worth the trouble.
I understand about indecision
But I don’t care if I get behind
People living in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind
Scholz could be content to just say “you do you” to his more competitive colleagues, but in the second verse, he takes the opportunity to caution them about the pitfalls of their careerist approach.
Now you’re climbing to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn’t take too long
Can’t you see there’ll come a day when it won’t matter
Come a day when you’ll be gone
Then he doubles down on his questioning of his colleagues’ priorities in the bridge with the lyric, Take a look ahead. Delp repeats the phrase just before the song’s outro, with his final utterance being “Look ahead!,” which he emphasizes with one of his highest notes in the song, which he holds for six seconds (i.e. a long time!).
The Impact of “Peace of Mind”
As the third single from Boston, “Peace of Mind” squeaked into the Top 40, peaking at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. That ranking, though, does not likely reflect the impact the track had on rock radio formats, which was not measured on the Billboard charts until they started the Mainstream Rock chart in 1981. A more accurate sign of “Peace of Mind”’s impact is the staying power of Boston’s debut album on the Billboard 200. Reaching a peak position of No. 3, Boston spent 138 weeks on Billboard’s main album chart.
Fun fact: “Peace of Mind” was covered by the Christian metal band Stryper, and it was released as the lead single from their 2009 album, Murder by Pride. Scholz played guitar on the cover, and Stryper frontman Michael Sweet was a member of Boston from 2007 to 2011. Tracie Ferry, who performed on the cover as Stryper’s bassist, has been a member of Boston since 2012.
Scholz may not have wanted to climb the corporate ladder at Polaroid, but back when Boston and “Peace of Mind” were released, he and his band were riding high in the music world. They’ve done just fine in the digital age, too, with “Peace of Mind” being one of three Boston tracks to garner more than 100 million streams on Spotify as of this writing.
Photo by Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
