CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - UP AROUND THE BEND

Released: April 1970

Charts: US: #4   UK: #3 

"Up Around the Bend" is a song composed and recorded shortly before the band's April 1970 European tour and featured on their “Cosmo's Factory” album. Released as a single, with "Run Through the Jungle" on the B-side, the double-sided single reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1970. It was also a significant hit in the UK, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. Elton John covered "Up Around the Bend" shortly after its release, and his version has appeared on several compilation albums.

"Up Around the Bend," written by John Fogerty, is an optimistic song hinting at hope for a better future, despite the challenges of the early '70s. Fogerty was inspired by a motorcycle ride through the California hills when creating it. Bassist Stu Cook described the track as the opposite of their darker song "Run Through the Jungle." When CCR toured the UK, they had to clarify to British audiences that the song's title didn't refer to going insane, as "around the bend" commonly means in British slang.

John Fogerty, over snarling electric guitars, delivers a message urging listeners to "leave the sinking ship behind" and "catch a ride to the end of the highway." While the song reached No. 4 on the Billboard pop chart, its meaning remains open to interpretation. Some speculate that Fogerty was encouraging people to reject the policies of President Nixon's administration, while others view it as simply a call for momentary escape and freedom on the open road. 

In 2016, Wrangler used it in a commercial for their jeans, despite John Fogerty's earlier objections to the company's use of "Fortunate Son" in 2000 without his permission. Fogerty, who doesn't control the rights to the songs he wrote for CCR, was unable to prevent their use in advertisements.