‘Crazy on You’ is a song by American rock band Heart from their debut studio album, Dreamboat Annie (1975). It was released in March 1976 as the album's third single in Canada and the album's debut single in the United States. It reached the top 25 in Canada and the top 35 in the US. It found more success in the Netherlands and Belgium where it peaked at number 2 and 13, respectively, in early 1977 after its release as the second single from Dreamboat Annie in those countries. The track received heavy airplay on FM Album-Oriented Rock stations, which drove sales of the parent album. It is considered one of Heart's signature songs as it is one of the most played tracks on classic rock radio stations in the US.
Opening with an iconic acoustic guitar instrumental which is sometimes identified with Heart's acoustic piece ‘Silver Wheels’, ‘Crazy on You’ then turns into a fast-paced rock song that was the band's signature sound in their early years. ‘Crazy on You’ attracted attention both for the relatively unusual combination of an acoustic guitar paired with electric guitars and the fact that the acoustic guitarist was a woman – a rarity in rock music during that time. According to co-writer and guitarist Nancy Wilson, who discussed it on an episode of the radio program In the Studio with Redbeard that devoted an entire episode to the Dreamboat Annie album, the rapid acoustic rhythm part was inspired by The Moody Blues's 1970 song ‘Question’. The guitar riff was created by Roger Fisher during recording sessions.
The song's lyrics tell of a person's desire to forget all the problems of the world during one night of passion. During an interview on the television series Private Sessions in 2007, Ann Wilson revealed the song was written in response to the stress caused by the Vietnam War and social unrest in the United States in the early 1970’s. The song was written while the band members were living in a small A-frame cottage in Point Roberts, Washington, situated on the Canada–United States border.
Chicago-based radio station WLS-AM, a current hit radio station where the song received heavy airplay, ranked ‘Crazy on You’ as the 30th biggest song of 1976. It reached number three on the station's survey of August 7, 1976. After the success of ‘Crazy on You’, ‘Magic Man’ was released in the US and re-released in Canada, particularly in parts of Canada where it had not received much radio airplay before. The song was famously used in the soundtracks of the films Demolition and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Label – Mushroom
Songwriters – Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson
Producer – Mike Flicker
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro 00:00-00:58][Verse 1]
We may still have time, we might still get by
Every time I think about it, I wanna cry
With bombs and the Devil and the kids keep coming
No way to breathe easy, no time to be young
[Pre-Chorus]
But I tell myself that I'm doing all right
There's nothing left to do tonight
[Chorus]
But go crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy
Crazy on you, oh
[Verse 2]
My love is the evening breeze touching your skin
The gentle, sweet singing of leaves in the wind
The whisper that calls after you in the night
And kisses your ear in the early light
[Pre-Chorus]
And you don't need to wonder, you're doing fine
And my love, the pleasure's mine
[Chorus]
Let me go crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy
Crazy on you, oh
[Bridge]
Wild man's world is crying in pain
What you gonna do when everybody's insane?
So afraid of one who's so afraid of you
What you gonna do?
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ooh
[Chorus]
Crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy
Crazy on you
[Verse 3]
I was a willow last night in my dream
I bent down over a clear running stream
Sang you the song that I heard up above
And you kept me alive with your sweet flowing love
[Chorus]
Crazy, yeah
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy
Crazy on you, oh
Crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy
Crazy on you, yeah
[Instrumental Break 03:46-04:21]
[Guitar Solo]
[Outro]
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy
Crazy on you, oh