Strait Old Line

"Strait Old Line"
Single by Split Enz
from the album Conflicting Emotions
B-side	"Parasite"
Released	October 1983
Recorded	1983
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	4:03
Label	Mushroom Records
Songwriter(s)	Neil Finn
Split Enz singles chronology
"Next Exit" (1983) "Strait Old Line" (1983) "Message to My Girl" (1984)

"Strait Old Line" is a song by New Zealand group Split Enz, released in October 1983 as the lead single from their ninth studio album Conflicting Emotions.

Neil Finn described the song as, "about ambition, temptation, being distracted, following your nose and not letting anything get in your way".[1]

The jazz guitar solo halfway in the song is actually the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer preset: GUITAR 1.

In order to achieve the slow motion effect in the music video, the band members mimed with their instruments while the song was played back at double speed.[2]

Track listing

1. "Strait Old Line" - 4:03
2. "Parasite" - 3:37

Personnel

• Neil Finn - vocals, guitar, piano
• Tim Finn - vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards
• Noel Crombie - vocals, percussion, drums
• Nigel Griggs - vocals, bass
• Eddie Rayner - keyboards and machines

Charts

Chart (1983/84)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3]	42
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4]	15

References

1. Stuart Metchett (November 1983). "Allz Well that Enz Well". Countdown Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 3.
2. "Enzology Part 9 - Conflicting Emotions (1983-1984)". RNZ. 2005-02-26.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
4. "Split Enz – Strait Old Line". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 November 2020.