In the photo on the front cover, the five Box Tops are sitting inside a train. In the photo on the back of the disc case, four of them stand and one sits on railroad tracks--a dangerous thing to do; good thing no trains were coming when the picture was taken! Thanks a bunch to Box Top John Evans for submitting lyrics to all 18 songs on this collection.
1. The Letter (1:52) - The group's first hit is one of three that I've heard on the radio. This moderately fast song features horns (commonly heard throughout this album) and, at the end, the sound effect of an airplane taking off. The narrator has just received a letter from his girlfriend, in which she says she can no longer live without him. So he desperately asks an airline clerk for a ticket to the city where the girl lives.
2. Neon Rainbow (3:01) - Contrary to what the liner notes say, lead singer Alex Chilton was NOT the only Box Top in the studio when this and all subsequent songs were recorded; thanks to Box Top Bill Cunningham for setting the record straight. This song has a moderate swing tempo. Instruments include a piano. The "rainbow" comes from neon signs that come on at night and make even the city's coldest nights seem warm. That's why the city's inhabitants stay inside during the day and come out only at night.
3. Happy Times (1:44) - This fast song features classical string instruments. The narrator, now sad and lonely, looks back on the times he and the girl used to have when they were together.
4. Cry Like A Baby (2:31) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, is the second of the three Box Tops songs I hear on the radio. I love the guitar licks in this song. Now that his girlfriend has left him, the narrator realizes that she is "not a toy or a puppet on a string." He regrets treating her like such and cries over the love he had taken for granted.
5. Fields Of Clover (2:50) - This moderate-tempoed song opens with a twangy organ note. Other instruments include a piano and a tambourine. The narrator's former girlfriend has managed to rise from poverty to riches. Despite her having left him, he's happy because she's happy with the new man she's found and the new life she's living.
6. Choo Choo Train (2:50) - The tempo is moderate. The narrator has bought a present for his brother and also wants to see his mother. But most of all, he wants to see his girlfriend, who awaits him at the train station in his hometown. So he begs the train engineer to go at full speed until he approaches the station. People even make "ch" sounds to depict the sound of the train chugging.
7. She Shot A Hole In My Soul (2:41) - The tempo is moderate and swing. The organ and the horns drown out Alex's voice most of the time, but I can tell that the girl "shot a hole in [the narrator's] soul" by dumping him. He must keep trying at something, perhaps finding a new love, before he goes insane.
8. People Gonna Talk (4:08) - Instruments in this fast song include an organ and a harmonica. The narrator tells his girlfriend not to cry. Their love will last, contrary to what other people say; he tells her to ignore the other people and let them go on talking.
9. I Met Her In Church (2:41) - This song, slightly slower than moderate, opens with an 8-second piano solo. Here sacred and secular elements are reconciled. One Sunday morning, the narrator met the girl who is now his girlfriend. To emphasize his joy over having met her, the backup singers sing "Hallelujah."
10. Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March (2:13) - This moderately slow march tune features a tambourine. The narrator tells a group of women with cream-white skin to march to men who are lonely and need their love. Or rather, that's how I initially understood it. I learned later that the "cream ladies" are prostitutes, and radio stations refused to play this song.
11. Together (3:21) - This slow song features an organ and cymbal drums. The narrator describes how he and his girlfriend walk hand-in-hand, how they will stay together forever.
12. I Must Be The Devil (3:34) - The tempo is slow and in 12/8 time. The piano rolls rapidly. The narrator is so depressed, as if everything he ever did was wrong, that he feels as though he were Satan.
13. Soul Deep (2:27) - The title song of this collection is my favorite Box Tops song; it's also the last of the three Box Tops songs I hear on the radio. The tempo is moderate. The narrator describes his love for his girlfriend as "a river running soul deep."
14. I Shall Be Released (2:47) - The tempo is slow. Instruments include a piano and a tambourine. The narrator sees "his life come shining from the west down to the east," but I don't understand what he will be released from.
15. (The) Happy Song (1:55) - The fast tempo is an apt match for the happy mood. Instruments include a harmonica. The narrator asks his friends to sing a song to make the most of the happy mood they're in.
16. Turn On A Dream (2:48) - This moderate-tempoed song features chimes and a piano. The narrator and his girlfriend are now so far away from each other that they can't get together often in waking life. So he encourages her to "turn on a dream" of them walking or doing whatever together; he'll do the same.
17. I See Only Sunshine (2:14) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. The drums and the volume in general are a little subdued. As the narrator speculates on what lies ahead for him and his girlfriend, he sees no rain or thunder--just sunshine.
18. You Keep Tightening Up On Me (2:51) - This song, somewhat faster than moderate, features an organ. The narrator's girlfriend has thus far treated him right. Yet somehow he anticipates that someday she'll start mistreating him. He has a feeling he ought to leave her, yet he stays because her grip on him is still getting gradually tighter.