- Games People Play (song)
Infobox Single
Name = Games People Play
Cover size =
Caption =
Artist =Joe South
Album = Introspect
A-side =
B-side =
Released = 1968
Format =
Recorded =
Genre = Rock, Pop
Length =
Label =
Writer = Joe South
Producer =
Certification =
Last single =
This single =
Next single =
Misc ="Games People Play" is a song written, composed and performed by singer/song-writer
Joe South . In 1968, the song was released on South's debut album "Introspect". It was also featured as the title of his second album, "Games People Play" in 1969, and reached #12 in theUS . It won theGrammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970. The song has been covered byPetula Clark ,Waylon Jennings ,Jerry Lee Lewis , Tesla,King Curtis andDuane Allman ,The Georgia Satellites ,Big Tom and The Mainliners ,Dolly Parton ,Bill Haley and His Comets ,The Tremeloes ,Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon ,Ike and Tina Turner ,Dreadzone ,Hank Williams Jr. , YOYO,Inner Circle as well as others. It was also mentioned in theBrian Wilson song "Games Two Can Play " from his unreleased album "Adult Child ".Notably, in
Singapore circa 1969, an instrumental version showed-up on a single byThe White Crane Orchestra . The reggae bandInner Circle also released a cover version which was quite popular in Europe for a while in the mid-90s. In 2006, it was covered byJools Holland on his album "Moving Out to the Country " with guest vocalistMarc Almond . The Scottish singer,Dick Gaughan , covered it on his album "A Different Kind of Love Song".The lyrics and title are thought to be a direct reference to Dr. Eric Berne's masterpiece on transactional analysis of the same name. The book which was released in 1964, deals with the "games" human beings play in interacting with one another
'Games People Play' is a protest song. The
lyrics protest against various forms of hate, inhumanity and intolerance--both interpersonal and social.The song closely resembles an older song, the traditional
Cajun "'Tit Galop Pour Mamou ", which was played by theBalfa Brothers among others, and is on the Balfas' "Play Traditional Cajun Music ". After South's hit got around,Nathan Abshire (accordionist with the Balfas and others), recorded a version in French, with singing byDon Guillory , on his album "A Cajun Legend ". A new Cajun version, introduced by a partial recounting of the genealogy of the versions, is at [http://npmusic.org/artists.html] under the heading "Robert Jardell".External links
* [http://npmusic.org/artists.html New Cajun Version/Genealogy of Versions]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.