Operator – Jim Croce

G Bm C G
Ope rator, well could you help me place this call
Am D Em D
See the number on the matchbook is old an fade d
G Bm
She's living in L. A
  C G
With my best old ex friend Ray
Am D7 Em D C Bm D
Guy she said she knew well and sometimes hate d  
  G C G
But isn't that the way they say it goes
  C D
But let's for get all that
  G Am
And give me the number if you can find it
C D Em D Em C
So I can call just to tell them I'm fine and to show
  D C
I've over come the blow
  Em G
I've learned to take it well
  Am C G
I only wish my words could just con vince myself
  C D
That it just wasn't real
  C G
But that's not the way it feels
G Bm C G
Ope rator, well could you help me place this call
Am D Em D
Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me  
G Bm
There's something in my eyes
  C G
You know it happens every time
  Am D7 Em D C Bm D
I think about the love that I thought would save me  
  G C G
But isn't that the way they say it goes
  C D
But let's fo rget all that
  G Am
And give me the number if you can find it
C D Em D Em C
So I can call just to tell them I'm fine and to show
  D C
I've over come the blow
  Em G
I've learned to take it well
  Am C G
I only wish my words could just con vince myself
  C D
That it just wasn't real
  C G
But that's not the way it feels
  C G
No, no, no, no, that's not the way it feels
G Bm C G
Ope rator, let's for get about this call
Am D Em D
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to  
G Bm
Thank you for your time
  C G
Oh you've been so much more than kind
Am D7 Em D C Bm D
You can keep the dime  
  G C G
But isn't that the way they say it goes
  C D
But let's for get all t hat
  G Am
And give me the number if you can find it
C D Em D Em C
So I can call just to tell them I'm fine and to show
  D C
I've ove rcome the blow
  Em G
I've learned to take it well
  Am C G
I only wish my words could just con vince myself
  C D
That it just wasn't real
  C G
But that's not the way it feels

 

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"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"
Single by Jim Croce
from the album You Don't Mess Around with Jim
B-side"Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)"
ReleasedAugust 23, 1972[1]
Recorded1972
GenreFolk-pop[2]
Length3:50
LabelABC (USA)
Vertigo (UK, Mexico)
Songwriter(s)Jim Croce
Producer(s)Terry Cashman, Tommy West
Jim Croce singles chronology
"You Don't Mess Around with Jim"
(1972) 		"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"
(1972) 		"One Less Set of Footsteps"
(1973)

"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" is a 1972 song written by Jim Croce. Croce's record was released on August 23, 1972. It was the second single released from Croce's album You Don't Mess Around with Jim. It reached a peak of number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1972, spending twelve weeks on the chart.

Content

Cash Box described the lyrics saying that "in James Taylor fashion, Jim Croce tries to track down his long lost lover with the help of the operator."[3]

The song relates one side of a conversation with a telephone operator. The speaker is trying to find the phone number of his former lover, who has moved to Los Angeles with his former best friend. He wants to demonstrate to both of them that he is well and over their betrayal, but admits to the operator that he is not. After the operator has given him the number, he is unable to read it, apparently due to the tears in his eyes. He then changes his mind and tells the operator not to place the call, appreciatively adding "you can keep the dime" (the then-standard toll he had deposited in a payphone).

The story was inspired during Croce's military service, during which time he saw lines of soldiers waiting to use the outdoor phone on base, many of them calling their wives or girlfriends to see if their Dear John letter was true.[4]

Record World called the song a "strong story-telling tune in the Chuck Berry 'Memphis' vein" and said that "the single is a near-perfect matching of this singer to the song."[5]

Live performances

In 1973, Croce performed "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" on the series The Midnight Special. Live versions of the song have also been released on the albums Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour and Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live.

Track listing

7" Single (ABC-11335)[6]

  1. "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)" - 3:45
  2. "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) " - 2:40

Chart performance

Chart (1972-73) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Top Singles[7] 11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] 17
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[9] 14
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[8] 11

References

  1. ^ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock 'n Roll: Gold Rush : a Singles Un-cyclopedia. Maxwell Hunter Publishing. p. 235.
  2. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Earth Shoes: Folk Pop". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 78. ISBN 031214704X.
  3. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 7, 1972. p. 21. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  4. ^ "Jim Croce". Redroaddesign.com. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 7, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  6. ^ "Jim Croce - Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) / Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 1972. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  8. ^ a b "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) (song by Jim Croce) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 1972-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  9. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles - Week ending DECEMBER 9, 1972". Archived from the original on 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operator_(That%27s_Not_the_Way_It_Feels)

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