"Operator" is a 1972 single written and recorded by Jim Croce

Jim Croce

James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...

. It was released August 23 1972 and was the second single released from his album You Don't Mess Around with Jim. It reached a peak of 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1972 after spending twelve weeks on the chart.

Content

The song is about the narrator's conversation with a telephone operator and trying to find the telephone number of his former lover who has moved to Los Angeles with his former best friend. The narrator wants to confront his former lover by telling her he is over her leaving him. At one point during the call, the operator gives the speaker his ex-lover's phone number, but he is so overcome with emotion that he cannot read the number the operator just gave him (presumably due to the tears in his eyes). As the song continues, the narrator realizes he is not over her and decides not to call her.

Live performances

In 1973 Croce performed "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" on the series The Midnight Special

The Midnight Special (TV series)

The Midnight Special is an American musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981...

. Live versions of the song have also been released on the albums Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour

Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour

Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, originally released in 1980, roughly seven years after his untimely death at age 30 in a plane crash on September 20, 1973...

, and "Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live

Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live

Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in 2006, over thirty years after his death. The album is a companion to a DVD released previously in 2003 of Jim Croce's performances. The recordings were taken from different television programs that...

".

Covers

• The song "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" was covered by Toby Lightman
  Toby Lightman
  Toby Lightman is an American singer-songwriter. Her first album, Little Things, was released in 2004 on Lava/Atlantic. Her second album, Bird on a Wire was released in 2006. During her career, she has toured and performed with bands such as OAR, Rob Thomas, Jewel, Gavin DeGraw, Train, Prince, and...
  
   on the Everwood soundtrack.
• It was also covered on the compilation album Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute
  Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute
  Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute is a tribute album released by River North Records in 1997. The album consisted of contemporary country artists performing cover versions of songs by Jim Croce.-Track listing:...
  
   by Rodney Crowell
  Rodney Crowell
  Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
  
  .
• Additionally, Jesse Malin
  Jesse Malin
  Jesse Malin is a rock musician. He has played with Heart Attack and D Generation. He is currently a solo recording artist.-Biography:...
  
   covered the track on his 2008 covers album On Your Sleeve
  On Your Sleeve
  On Your Sleeve is Jesse Malin's fourth studio album. It consists entirely of covers of other artists' songs. The album was first released in the UK on April 7, 2008...
  
  .
• Tori Amos
  Tori Amos
  Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
  
   also covered the song in concert, which was recorded & released on one of the albums in her The Original Bootlegs
  The Original Bootlegs
  The Original Bootlegs is a series of six Tori Amos live albums, recorded during the Original Sinsuality and Summer of Sin tours, both of which were in support of her 2005 album, The Beekeeper. Double-disc sets were released for each complete show, which were initially released in pairs and sold...
  
  package.

In popular culture

In 2010 the song inspired a short 8 minute video entitled Not the Way it Feels.

Track listing

7" Single (ABC-11335)

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

Chart performance

Chart (1972)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	17
Canadian RPM Top Singles	11
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	14
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	11