# The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys ?! WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049 "2002-06-14T15:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/1 "2002-06-14T15:14:19Z")
That’s a song by Traffic. Can anyone explain exactly WHAT the Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys is? ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/2 "2002-06-14T15:46:32Z")
According to [this site](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/3225/Rock/Traffic/Low_Spark_Of_High-Heeled_Boys.txt), also a good source of the lyrics in question, Jim Capaldi has said… > [@](#): > > Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about > Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. > Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book [the line] ‘The Low > Spark of High Heeled Boys.’ For me, it summed him up. He had this > tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his > leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to > sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. […] > The ‘Low Spark’, for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, > standing on a street corner. The low rider. The ‘Low Spark’ meaning > that strong undercurrent at the street level. (The Pollard in the reference is actor Michael J. Pollard. They were in Morocco trying to make a movie that never actually got made.) I always thought of it as a free-association sort of flow, and relaxed and enjoyed it as such. Though I have to admit, the lyrics > [@](#): > > If I gave you everything that I owned > And asked for nothing in return > Would you do the same for me as I would for you are seriously haunting. Great song. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/3 "2002-06-14T21:24:54Z")
A very good friend of mine, who is something of a genius type flower child but without good hygiene, is convinced that if someone can actually find a coherent meaning in the lines, “But this morning you read that the man was shot dead by a gun that didn’t make any noise But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest 'twas the low spark of high heeled boys.” that person will have attained true and lasting enlightenment. No, he hasn’t figured it out yet either. ---
**Author:** ![Geoduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@Geoduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geoduck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/4 "2002-06-14T23:46:13Z")
I’d had that album in varous media for almost 30 years and it still sounds great, especially the referenced song. I have aways interpreted the “low spark” to be about creativity and the marshalling of the creative process. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/5 "2002-06-15T01:07:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FallenAngel \* > \*\*A very good friend of mine, who is something of a genius type flower child but without good hygiene, is convinced that if someone can actually find a coherent meaning in the lines, > > “But this morning you read > that the man was shot dead > by a gun that didn’t make any noise > But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest > 'twas the low spark of high heeled boys.” > > that person will have attained true and lasting enlightenment. > > \*\* Maybe he just got run over by Traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/6 "2002-06-15T01:14:51Z")
I’ve always interpreted “low spark” as a current occurring south of the border - that is, in one’s general crotchal area. “low spark” = sexual magnetism. As far as the “gun that didn’t make any noise”, well, I refer you again to the contents of your y-fronts. Of course, I have no idea what the whole passage means. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/7 "2002-06-15T10:50:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FallenAngel \* > \*\*A very good friend of mine, who is something of a genius type flower child but without good hygiene, is convinced that if someone can actually find a coherent meaning in the lines, > > “But this morning you read > that the man was shot dead > by a gun that didn’t make any noise > But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest > 'twas the low spark of high heeled boys.” > > that person will have attained true and lasting enlightenment. > > No, he hasn’t figured it out yet either. \*\* Makes sense to me…_shrug_ [Kung Fu voice] Now, Grasshopper, when you can snatch the thread from my computer, you too will achieve perfect mastery as only a perfect master can… [/Kung Fu voice] ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/8 "2002-06-15T16:56:26Z")
Why does it have to mean _anything_? There no law requiring lyrics to have a meaning. Some are deliberatly written to be evocative, not literal. It’s amazing how many people can’t seem to understand this. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/9 "2002-06-16T21:29:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Why does it have to mean anything? There no law requiring lyrics to have a meaning. True enough - just reflect for a minute on the disjointed couplets Hendrix scattered through a lot of his tunes. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/10 "2002-06-16T22:14:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Why does it have to mean anything? There no law requiring lyrics to have a meaning. Some are deliberatly written to be evocative, not literal. > > It’s amazing how many people can’t seem to understand this. So? Just because the artist didn’t have an intended meaning doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to be gained by discussing what meaning (if any) we, as an audience, find for ourselves. Besides, how else can we discuss music we like, especially in an entirely visual medium? Endless lists of “Music I like” and “Music I think sucks” are tedious and usually lack any real discussion of the material. Focusing on trying to divine some meaning from the lyrics at least gives the discussion a shape and focus, even if the conclusions are immaterial. As to my take on the meaning, I’m with **Purd Wurfect** on the sexual reading. “High-heeled boys” sounds like transexuals or transvestites, and it sounds like the sex was ultimatly fatal for the protagonist. I smell an AIDS metaphor here. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/11 "2002-06-16T22:40:37Z")
Well, the song was written well before anyone had heard of AIDS, but a lot of us big-hair Rock’n’Rollers were wearing platform shoes at the time. FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/12 "2002-06-17T04:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*Why does it have to mean _anything_? There no law requiring lyrics to have a meaning. Some are deliberatly written to be evocative, not literal. > > It’s amazing how many people can’t seem to understand this. \*\* What’s your point? I don’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/13 "2002-06-17T04:22:13Z")
Given the quotation from Jim Capaldi about how “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” meant to him cool dudes who were living the street life, I take the other lyrics “But this morning you read that the man was shot dead by a gun that didn’t make any noise But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest 'twas the low spark of high heeled boys.” to mean that although one of these dudes was shot to death, the underlying cause was living that kind of life on the edge. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/14 "2002-06-17T04:35:19Z")
Doesn’t really even have to mean a gun - just general live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse would fit. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/15 "2002-06-17T15:44:07Z")
\*Originally posted by MrVisible \* Though I have to admit, the lyrics > [@](#): > > \*\* > If I gave you everything that I owned > And asked for nothing in return > Would you do the same for me as I would for you\*\* are seriously haunting. Great song. Personally, the haunting part for me is what follows: > [@](#): > > \*\* > Or take me for a ride > And strip me of everything > Including My Pride > The Spirit is Something > That No One Destroys\*\* ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/16 "2002-06-17T15:56:58Z")
I third the theory put forth by **Purd Werfect** –I always thought it had to do with sexuality/transvestitism, as well. And the whole image fit well when sung in Steve Winwood’s high-and-delicate-yet-masculine voice. I mean, think about, say, Springsteen singing that song. Doesn’t work, does it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/17 "2002-06-17T18:40:16Z")
I always took the song as a youth-rebel-counter-culture vs The Establishment kind of a song. For example, the “…man was shot dead…” verse I saw as metaphor that the cruel, uncaring powers-that-be wouldn’t ever be toppled by violence or force, but by peace 'n love 'n understanding, a gun without noise. It is the same thing with the “If I gave you everything that I owned…” verse. I saw it as a challenge to government and the powers that, if we the people would make such a sacrifice, would the government trust the people, or just take them for a ride. That’s my take on the song 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michele_in_SoCal)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/18 "2002-06-18T03:37:12Z")
Funny, I never cared what the lyrics to this song meant, and I’ve been singing it for nearly 30 years! In fact, it wouldn’t matter to me if it was sung in a language unknown to me - I’d love it anyway! It’s the music, the tune, the tone, the rhythm that hooked me. It is one of my all-time favorite songs. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/19 "2002-06-18T06:17:49Z")
No, I never got the trannie thing out of this tune. Not that y’all are wrong. Or right. I think **Michele in SoCal** is on to a lot of its appeal - it’s the music, man! To (glibly) paraphrase Frank Zappa, it’s not what was written into it, but more so what you get out of it. Nevertheless, as major theme, I think the rebellion/live fast is what drives it. Androgony was big back then, and this tune never hooked up with that. ---
**Author:** ![adeeperreality](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecccb3/32.png) [@adeeperreality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adeeperreality)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049/20 "2016-01-17T08:21:34Z")
Wow I wasn’t even around then and I guarantee you I got the real meaning of the song. Low spark… high heeled boys… 60’s and 70’s long haired hippy rock stars wore high heels and when you spark a joint at a concert or anywhere for that matter do you not hold it low? Like when he speaks of a star shooting up from the ground at a concert when the guitars are playing and your head is spinning? And the rest is yes him letting that music loving artist in him put the business man in him or working for him to death because he didn’t sell out and compromise to corporate pressure and greed. Here endith your lesson in music meaning recognition 101:) a deeper reality~ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-low-spark-of-high-heeled-boys-wtf/114049.md?page=2)