Chrissie Hynde has weathered many storms. From the death of half of the original band to multiple lineup changes, The Pretenders lead singer/guitarist has consistently released good music. The band’s third album, Learning to Crawl, was their highest charting record in the U.S. Let’s look at the meaning behind the opening track, “Middle of the Road.”
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The middle of the road is trying to find me
I’m standing in the middle of life with my pants behind me
Well, I got a smile for everyone I meet
As long as you don’t try dragging my bay
Or dropping the bomb on my street
In 2014, Hynde told the Austin American-Statesman, “My personal discipline has been to try to stay in the middle, always, no matter what I’m doing. If I buy a jacket and it comes in three sizes, I want a medium. You have to learn how to temper yourself and hold back till you get to the end.”
Now come on, baby
Get in the road
Oh, come on now
In the middle of the road, yeah
The 1979 debut album by The Pretenders was a declaration. Coming from a post-punk England, it utilized different genres from Motown and power pop to reggae and punk. Guitarist James Honeyman-Scott brought inventive, jangly guitar parts to the band, perfectly contrasting Hynde’s in-your-face lyrics. Bassist Pete Farndon and Drummer Martin Chambers locked in to provide a solid foundation. With the success of songs like “Brass in Pocket” and “Stop Your Sobbing,” it seemed there was nowhere to go but up.
As success came to the band, Hynde was not prepared for it. Hearing her song everywhere she went and becoming instantly recognizable on the street was overwhelming. She read Tao Te Ching and agreed with its idea of being in “the middle.” She wanted her songs to be heard, but at what price?
[RELATED: Behind the Song: “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders]
The sophomore album was just as musically ambitious, although it failed to produce much success on the singles chart. The album sold well but didn’t match the numbers of the first album.
In the middle of the road, you see the darnedest things
Like fat guys driving ’round in jeeps through the city
Wearing big diamond rings and silk suits
Past corrugated tin shacks full up with kids
And man, I don’t mean a Hampstead nursery
But when you own a big chunk of the bloody Third World
The babies just come with the scenery
Bassist Farndon was kicked out of the band due to his continuing drug problem, and two days later, Honeyman-Scott died of heart failure due to cocaine intolerance. It was a rough time for the band. Hynde and Chambers regrouped and recorded with studio musicians. Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner and Big Country bassist Tony Butler contributed to “Back on the Chain Gang” and “My City Was Gone.” Hynde and Chambers then recruited bassist Malcolm Foster and guitarist Robbie McIntosh to complete the album Learning to Crawl.
Now come on, baby
Get in the road
Come on now
In the middle of the road, yeah
The song carries on The Pretenders’ tradition of brash, no-nonsense lyrics with tasty guitar parts and Motown-style backing vocals. MTV was giving the band a significant boost by showing multiple videos and even filming its April 8, 1984, performance at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, to showcase them on the network’s Saturday Night Concert.
The middle of the road is no private cul-de-sac
I can’t get from the cab to the curb
Without some little jerk on my back
Don’t harass me, can’t you tell
I’m going home, I’m tired as hell
I’m not the cat I used to be
I got a kid, I’m thirty-three, baby
[AS OF THIS WRITING: The Pretenders Are Touring Internationally! – Get Tix Right Here]
Hynde had recently given birth to a daughter, though she was 32, not 33, when she recorded the song.
Bassist Malcolm Foster shared his thoughts about joining the band with Charles Young in Musician magazine in 1984, “I’d read all those things about the wild lady of rock ’n’ roll. When I met her, she was already pregnant, and I think that changed her a lot. I don’t think there’s much of the old Chrissie Hynde, the terror, left.”
Hynde shared her thoughts about “Middle of the Road” in the same article, “Well, it’s very basic chords, isn’t it?” says Hynde. “It’s almost like a regular R&B song. It’s like taking a basic format, like the blues, and just giving it new lyrics. The Stones could never get me for plagiarism ’cause they’ve been the worst at that. But you know the song ‘Empty Heart’ that they used to do? Well, to me this song is the same meat, different gravy. Because I used to play that song with the band, and after we’d been doing ‘Middle of the Road’ for a while, I realized it was the same chords. So it’s a very standard format. And there’s not much of a melody to it. It does have a nifty guitar solo. It’s just me sort of trying to sing rock ‘n’ roll.”
Get in the road
Come on now
In the middle of the road, yeah
After Learning to Crawl, Hynde kicked Chambers out of the group and replaced him with Blair Cunningham of Haircut 100. Foster left shortly after to be replaced by T.M. Stevens. Johnny Marr of The Smiths replaced McIntosh. Chambers was reinstated as drummer in 1994 on the album Last of the Independents.
In 2005, The Pretenders were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Hynde addressed the evolving lineups: “I know that The Pretenders have looked like a tribute band for the last 20 years. And actually, they are a tribute band. And we’re paying tribute to James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, without whom we wouldn’t be here. And on the other hand, without us, they might have been here, but that’s the way it works in rock ‘n’ roll.”
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
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