The Logical Song#Scooter version

"The Logical Song" was written primarily by Roger Hodgson, the lyrics based on his experience of being sent away to boarding school for ten years.{{cite web|title=The Eye of the Acoustic Storm: Supertramp/Roger Hodgson|url=http://www.acousticstorm.com/artists/view/99|access-date=21 July 2015}} It was a very personal song for Hodgson; he had worked on the song during soundchecks, and completed the lyrics and arrangement six months before proposing it to the band for the album.{{cite web|title=The Logical Song |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1951|access-date=21 November 2017}} In 1980, Hodgson was honoured with the Ivor Novello Award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters for "The Logical Song" being named the best song both musically and lyrically.

Hodgson has said of the song's meaning: "'The Logical Song' was born from my questions about what really matters in life. Throughout childhood we are taught all these ways to be and yet we are rarely told anything about our true self. We are taught how to function outwardly, but not guided to who we are inwardly. We go from the innocence and wonder of childhood to the confusion of adolescence that often ends in the cynicism and disillusionment of adulthood. In 'The Logical Song', the burning question that came down to its rawest place was 'please tell me who I am', and that's basically what the song is about. I think this eternal question continues to hit such a deep chord in people around the world and why it stays so meaningful."{{cite web|title=Supertramp Founder Roger Hodgson|url=http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/supertramp_founder_roger_hodgson|access-date=16 November 2017}}{{cite web|title=Breakfast in Detroit: Tales from a Dreamer!|url=http://www.annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=1275|access-date=16 November 2017}}{{Cite book|editor-last=Lee|editor-first=Newton |title=Google It: Total Information Awareness|place=New York, New York|publisher=Springer|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4939-6415-4}}{{rp|3}}

The lyrics have been said to be a condemnation of an education system focused on categorical jargon as opposed to knowledge and sensitivity.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/supertramp/albums/album/230648/review/6067854/breakfast_in_america |title=Supertramp: Breakfast in America|last=Holden|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Holden|date=14 June 1979|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York|access-date=26 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622160247/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/supertramp/albums/album/230648/review/6067854/breakfast_in_america|archive-date=22 June 2008 |url-status=dead}} Billboard writer David Farrell described the song's theme as a "man lost in the world."{{cite news|title=Closeup|newspaper=Billboard Magazine|access-date=8 July 2020|date=31 March 1979|page=166|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31.pdf}} Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso described the theme as "the loss of childhood idealism."{{cite web|title=Top 10 Supertramp Songs|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|accessdate=8 June 2022|author=DeRiso, Nick|date=22 July 2013 |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/supertramp-songs/}}

According to the 1979 album notes, Supertramp co-founder Rick Davies wrote the vocal harmony on the second chorus, though Hodgson alone is credited with songwriting.

{{Listen

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The song is written in the key of C minor and is set in the time signature of common time (although the verses follow a 10-beat pattern of {{music|time|4|4}} – {{music|time|2|4}} – {{music|time|4|4}}) with a tempo of 120 beats per minute.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0036169|title=Supertramp 'The Logical Song' Digital Sheet Music|website=Musicnotes.com|year=1979|access-date=22 June 2020}} Roger Hodgson's vocal range spans two octaves, from G₃ to E{{music|flat}}₅. The song makes use of keyboards, castanets, and an instrumental section.{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t458990|pure_url=yes}} |title=Logical Song Review |website=Allmusic |access-date=26 April 2009 }} Among the contemporary sound effects in this song are a sound from Mattel Electronics' Football handheld game, popular at the time this song was released.{{cite news|first=Tim|last=Morse|title=Classic Tracks: Supertramp's 'The Logical Song'|url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-tracks/classic-tracks-supertramp-logical-song-372042|work=Mix|date=13 September 2024|orig-date=June 2000|access-date=10 March 2025|quote=The band also had some fun with the end section of the song, piling on overdubs of wah-wah Clavinet, timbales, cowbell and a Mattel digital football game sound....}} The song's main instrument is a Wurlitzer electric piano fed through a Boss CE-1 chorus pedal. The chorus features an Elka Rhapsody 610 string synthesiser, also fed through the CE-1, and an Oberheim Four Voice synthesiser.Buskin, Richard (July 2005). [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul05/articles/classictracks.htm#3 CLASSIC TRACKS: Supertramp's 'Logical Song'], Sound on Sound.

Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone called the song a "small masterpiece", praising the "hot sax" and Hodgson's "wry humor". The magazine also made comparisons between Hodgson and Ray Davies from the Kinks. Paul McCartney named "The Logical Song" as his favourite song of the year.{{Cite web |last = Elliott | first = Paul | title = The Story Behind the Song: The Logical Song by Supertramp | work = TeamRock |publisher=Future Publishing | date = 31 December 2015 | url = http://teamrock.com/feature/2015-12-31/the-story-behind-the-song-the-logical-song-by-supertramp | access-date = 19 November 2017 }} Billboard considered it to be possibly Supertramp's best song to date with "solid and incisive lyrics" and a catchy hook.{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard Magazine|title=Top Single Picks|access-date=8 July 2020|date=17 March 1979|page=103|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-17.pdf}} Cash Box said that "a skillful and probing lyric and a raucous sax line are joined by a familiar circling guitar lick and excellent singing" and also praised the "emphatic" beat.{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=24 March 1979|page=18|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=1 January 2022|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-03-24.pdf}} Record World said that it "should hit the AORs first with Top 40 likely to follow."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=17 March 1979|accessdate=12 February 2023|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-03-17.pdf}}

The song was a hit on its original release, reaching No. 7 in the United Kingdom[https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20020630/7501/ Singles Chart] Official Charts. Retrieved 1 April 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.everyhit.com/searchsec.php |title=UK Chart History |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012195559/http://www.everyhit.com/searchsec.php |archive-date=12 October 2008}} and No. 6 in the United States.[https://www.billboard.com/artist/supertramp/chart-history/hsi/ Supertramp Chart History] Billboard. Retrieved 1 April 2020. The song achieved the most success in Canada where it spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart,{{cite journal|title=Top Singles – Volume 31, No. 14, June 30, 1979|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4502a&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5|publisher=Library and Archives Canada|journal=RPM|date=30 June 1979|access-date=5 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124141934/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4502a&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5|archive-date=24 January 2016}} was the top song of the year, and was certified Platinum in Canada.{{cite web|url=https://musiccanada.com/gold-platinum/?_gp_search=%22logical%20song%22|title=Gold Platinum Database: Supertramp – The Logical Song|date=September 1979 |publisher=Music Canada|access-date=1 April 2020}} It stayed for three months on the Billboard Hot 100 in the middle of 1979.

Hodgson rated it as one of the top 10 songs he ever wrote.{{cite web|title=Supertramp's Roger Hodgson: the 10 best songs I've written|author=Hodgson, Roger|publisher=Louder Sound|work=Prog|accessdate=23 March 2023|date=20 March 2023|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/supertramps-roger-hodgson-the-10-best-songs-ive-written-composed-and-sung}}

Personnel are sourced from Sound on Sound.

• Roger Hodgson – lead and backing vocals, Wurlitzer electronic piano, electric and 12-string acoustic guitars
• Rick Davies – Elka Rhapsody 610 and Oberheim Four Voice synthesisers, acoustic piano, Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet with wah-wah, backing vocal
• John Helliwell – alto saxophone, siren whistle, backing vocal, intro breathing
• Bob Siebenberg – drums, castanets, timbales, cowbell, woodblocks
• Dougie Thomson – bass guitar

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{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Supertramp|title=Logical Song|award=Platinum|relyear=1979|certyear=1979|access-date=31 May 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|type=single|artist=Supertramp|title=The Logical Song|award=Gold|source=infodisc|certyear=1979}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Supertramp|title=The Logical Song|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=2021|id=8478|note=sales since 2009|access-date=31 May 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Supertramp|title=The Logical Song|award=Platinum|relyear=1979|certyear=2024|id=supertramp-the-logical-song|access-date=8 March 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Supertramp|title=The Logical Song|award=Gold|relyear=2014|certyear=2023|id=7093-13-1|access-date=13 June 2023}}

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{{Infobox song

| name = The Logical Song

| cover = The Logical Song.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Scooter

| album = Push the Beat for This Jam (The Second Chapter)

| B-side = Siberia

| released = {{start date|2001|12|10|df=y}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre =

| length = 3:57

| label = Sheffield Tunes

| writer = Roger Hodgson

| producer = Scooter

| prev_title = Aiii Shot the DJ

| prev_year = 2001

| next_title = Nessaja

| next_year = 2002

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|4YxTa1AUqps|"The Logical Song"}}}}

}}

German techno band Scooter covered "The Logical Song" and released it as a single in 2001 under the title "Ramp! (The Logical Song)"; for later releases, including those in the UK and Australia, the song retained its original title. Scooter's cover is included on their second singles compilation album, Push the Beat for This Jam (The Singles 98–02). This version heavily samples Supertramp's recording, and makes lyrical references to British stadium house band the KLF.

The single reached No. 1 in Norway and Ireland, as well as in Australia in October 2002. It reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom, becoming Scooter's highest-charting single there; it has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), selling over 400,000 copies, and was the UK's 15th-best-selling single of 2002.

The Scooter version was an anthem in Glasgow's rave culture throughout the 2000s.{{cite book|last=MacFarlane|first=Colin|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/137222174|title=The Real Gorbals Story: True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest Streets|date=2007|page=224|publisher=Mainstream Publishing|isbn=978-1-84596-207-4|location=Edinburgh|oclc=137222174}}{{cite news|url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/15329977.scooter-we-didnt-realise-how-big-the-logical-song-had-become-in-scotland-after-celtic-signing-scott-sinclair/|title=Scooter: We didn't realise how big The Logical Song had become in Scotland after Celtic signing Scott Sinclair|last=Mullen|first=Stacey|date=6 June 2017|website=Glasgow Times|access-date=11 April 2020}}

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German maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ramp! (The Logical Song)|others=Scooter|year=2001|type=German maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0135305 STU}}

1. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" – 3:53
2. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (extended version) – 6:07
3. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (club mix) – 7:23
4. "Siberia" – 2:53

German limited-edition maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ramp! (The Logical Song)|others=Scooter|year=2001|type=German limited maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0123315 STU}}

1. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" – 3:53
2. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (extended version) – 6:07
3. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (club mix) – 7:00
4. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (Starsplash mix) – 7:17
5. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (Jay Frog mix) – 6:24

German 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ramp! (The Logical Song)|others=Scooter|year=2001|type=German 12-inch single sleeve|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0135300 STU}}

:A1. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (club mix) – 7:00

:A2. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (extended version) – 6:07

:B1. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (Starsplash mix) – 7:17

:B2. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (Jay Frog mix) – 6:24

European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ramp! (The Logical Song)|others=Scooter|year=2001|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0135306 STU}}

1. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" – 3:53
2. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" (club mix) – 7:23

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UK CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Logical Song|others=Scooter|year=2002|type=UK CD single liner notes|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0139295STU}}

1. "The Logical Song" (radio edit) – 3:53
2. "The Logical Song" (Clubstar remix) – 7:41
3. "The Logical Song" (D-Bop UK mix) – 7:36

UK 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Logical Song|others=Scooter|year=2002|type=UK 12-inch single sleeve|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0139290STU}}

:A. "The Logical Song" (club mix) – 7:00

:B. "The Logical Song" (Clubstar remix) – 7:41

UK cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Logical Song|others=Scooter|year=2002|type=UK cassette single sleeve|publisher=Sheffield Tunes|id=0139299STU}}

1. "The Logical Song" (radio edit) – 3:53
2. "The Logical Song" (Clubstar remix) – 7:41

Australian CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Logical Song|others=Scooter|year=2002|type=Australian CD single liner notes|publisher=Sheffield Tunes, Addiction Records, Shock Records|id=ADICT129CD}}

1. "The Logical Song" (radio edit)
2. "The Logical Song" (Clubstar remix)
3. "The Logical Song" (D-Bop UK mix)
4. "The Logical Song" (extended version)
5. "The Logical Song" (club mix)
6. "The Logical Song" (Starsplash mix)

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{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2002|certyear=2002|access-date=14 October 2018}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|artist=Scooter|title=Ramp! (The Logical Song)|award=Gold|relyear=2001|certyear=2023|access-date=7 April 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2001|certyear=2003|nosales=true|access-date=14 October 2018}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Scooter|title=The Logical Song|award=Platinum|relyear=2002|certyear=2018|id=7093-2072-1|access-date=12 July 2020}}

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{{Reflist}}

{{Supertramp}}

{{Scooter}}

{{Ivor Novello Best Song}}

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Category:1978 songs

Category:1979 singles

Category:2001 singles

Category:2002 singles

Category:Supertramp songs

Category:Scooter (band) songs

Category:Songs written by Roger Hodgson

Category:Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers

Category:Number-one singles in Australia

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:A&M Records singles

Category:Sheffield Tunes singles

Category:Rock ballads

Category:Songs about school

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