“Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” is a Jim Croce essential. He released the song on his third studio album “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” in 1972. The song showcases Jim Croce’s natural talent, as well as his effortless compatibility with his partner and guitarist Maury Meuhlenstein. In this article, we will dive into the meaning, story, and legacy behind Jim Croce’s “Operator”.
The Meaning of the Song
“Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” is a song about a man who tries to make a phone call to a lost love through a telephone operator. The lyrics express the man’s feelings of heartbreak and longing for an old love.
The inspiration behind the song arose during Croce’s service in the National Guard. There, he observed soldiers calling home to find out if the “Dear John Letter” (a breakup letter) they received was true.
In the song, the narrator asks an operator to connect him with an old lover who lives in L.A. and supposedly left him for his best ex-friend Ray. He desires to tell them that he’s doing fine and has overcome the pain the breakup caused. But the narrator admits to the operator he still struggles with what happened. He even tries to convince himself that the breakup never occurred, but his emotions insist otherwise.
While the operator listens to the story of the narrator, she passes on the phone number to him. However, the tears in the narrator’s eyes prevent him from being able to read the number. It happens every time he thinks about his former love.
At the end of the song, the narrator changes his mind and tells the operator to forget about connecting the call. Probably because he already found a listening ear in the operator. As a thank you, he tells her to keep the dime he inserted.
The Story Behind the Song
Jim Croce wrote “Operator” before achieving success as a musician. The song was written in early 1971, after Jim and Ingrid found out they were having a child. It led Croce to take music more seriously. In the same period, he wrote “Time in a Bottle” and “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim”. Croce sent a cassette tape with demo versions of the song to producer Tommy West and asked him if he could find other artists to record the song. But West advised Croce to record the songs himself.
Read more: The 10 Best Jim Croce Songs of All Time
Thanks to funding from the Dutch label Polygram, who were impressed with Croce’s demo tape, Jim Croce began recording You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. He was backed by guitarist and partner Maury Muehleisen, who plays exceptional lead guitar on “Operator”. After finishing the album, Croce signed a 3 album record deal with ABC Records (after reportedly being rejected by over 30 other record labels).
The Legacy of Operator
Jim Croce’s third studio album You Don’t Mess Around with Jim was released in April 1972. “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” was released as the album’s second single. It reached number 17 on the US charts and peaked at 11 on the Canadian charts.
Over the years, “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” became one of Jim Croce’s most celebrated songs, together with the likes of “Time in a Bottle” and “Bad. Bad Leroy Brown”. The switchboard operator Croce is talking to in the song no longer exists, but the occupation will forever be remembered through Croce’s classic.
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