The Wild Reed: Remembering Tina Turner

I was saddened to hear this past Wednesday of the passing of the great Tina Turner.

Dubbed the “Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll” and ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as among the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time,” Turner died at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, aged 83, after years of health issues that included high blood pressure, kidney failure, a debilitating stroke, and intestinal cancer. Her husband Erwin Bach was at her side.

Although I can’t say I was a dedicated follower of Tina Turner’s career, I did see her in concert at the now non-existent Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1985. She was in Australia as part of her Private Dancer Tour. Her 1984 album Private Dancer, considered her big “comeback” album, was a favorite of mine in the mid-1980s.

Subsequent recordings by Turner, though commercially successful, just didn’t appeal to me as much as Private Dancer, though “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” the theme song she sang for the 1985 film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, in which she also starred as Aunty Entity, was and remains a definite favorite.

Above: A screencap from the music video for “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” featuring clips from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. To view this video, click here.

Above: Christmas Day 1985. I’m 20-years-old, sitting with my brother Tim and our next-door-neighbor and friend Jillian, and wearing the t-shirt I no doubt purchased at Tina’s concert earlier that year.

In remembering Tina Turner this evening for “music night” at The Wild Reed I share below the audio of “Steel Claw,” one of my favorite tracks from Private Dancer. (To view a live performance of the song click here.)

I love the pairing of Tina’s raspy vocals and knowing delivery with “Steel Claw”’s pointed social and political critique (though I don’t share the song’s overall cynicism with regards to trying to disrupt the status quo and thus transform society). I wish she had recorded more tracks featuring this fiery combination. We sure could have used as much of this type of critique as possible (sans the neoliberal-induced cynicism) in the hyper-consumerist and status-obsessed ’80s!

SongTell.com says more about the meaning of the song.

“Steel Claw” [written by Paul Brady and performed] by Tina Turner is a commentary on the corrupt and unfair nature of society, particularly with regards to power structures.

The song describes a world where those in power (“some rich bitch lying by the swimming pool”) make their own rules and benefit from the system at the expense of those on the fringes of society (“so many people hanging on the edge”). The “steel claw” in the song represents the cold and impersonal arm of the law that maintains this unfair status quo, making it difficult or impossible for ordinary people to break free from the system. The chorus warns against trying to fight against this system, as the “lock is on the door” and there will be “hell to pay.”

The song suggests that the odds are always against those who would challenge the system, as the wheels of power are heavily stacked in favour of the ruling class. This creates a sense of desperation and hopelessness for those living under the steel claw’s grip. The bridge suggests escapism and the temptation to ignore the problems of society through drug use and other distractions. However, this ultimately leads to a sense of despair and even suicidal thoughts.

Overall, “Steel Claw” provides a bleak and cynical view of society, highlighting the difficulties faced by those without power and the near-impossibility of challenging the established order.

It’s just a television wonderland
Just one more fairytale about a rich bitch
Lying by the swimming pool
Life is so cool
Easy living when you make the rules

Last Friday was the first time
It only took about a half-a-minute
On the stairway
It was child’s play
The odds come out even
When you give up believing in a

Cold law, steel claw
Try to get on board but the lock is on the door
Well, I say no way, no way
Don't try to get out or there’ll be hell to pay
I don’t know who’s right, who’s wrong
It really doesn’t matter when you’re lying in the gutter
It’s a see-saw
A long hot battle with the cold law
Is what you get for messing with the steel claw

The politicians have forgotten this place
Except for a flying visit in a black Mercedes
On election time
They cross the line
And everybody runs to catch the pantomime

If they could see what’s going on around here
So many people hanging on the edge
Crying out for revolution
Retribution
The odds come out even
When you give up believing in a

Cold law, steel claw
Try to get on board but the lock is on the door
Well, I say no way, no way
Don’t try to get out or there’ll be hell to pay
I don’t know who’s right, who’s wrong
It doesn’t really matter when you’re lying in the gutter
It’s a see-saw
A long hot battle with the cold law
Is what you get for messing with the steel claw

Sometimes I think I’m going crazy
Sometimes I do a line, make me laugh
Make me want to take a joyride
On the high tide
Sometimes I’m contemplating suicide

Meanwhile Eddy is on the west coast
I know he’s making out with some sweet senorita
Up in Frisco
You and I know
The odds come out even
When you give up believing in a

Cold law, steel claw
Try to get on board but you find the lock is on the door
Well, I say no way, no way
Don’t try to get out or there’ll be hell to pay
I don't know who’s right, who’s wrong
It doesn’t really matter when you’re lying in the gutter
It’s a see-saw
A long hot battle with the cold law
Is what you get for messing with the steel claw

I close this post with the following Sunday Morning profile that originally aired in October 2018. In it, Tina Turner talks with CBS News’ Gayle King about her life of adversity and triumph, and her memoir, My Love Story.

NEXT: What Life Taught Tina Turner

The Wild Reed

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Remembering Tina Turner

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