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Rating: Mike Ness's creation emerged onto the American punk scene in the early '80s as one of the most promising bands around. The Californians' journey was abruptly halted in 1985 due to serious drug problems that led Ness himself to hospitalization and a long rehabilitation.
With the premise that Social Distortion have consistently produced great music over nearly thirty years of career, I'd say that among all their albums, "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" from 1992 is the most famous, the one that best represents them, and simply the one I love the most. After an excellent debut, "Mommy's Little Monster," which laid the foundations for that carefree and melodic Californian punk that would become particularly popular in the 1990s, the band charted their course in a much more personal way. Their artistic offering can't simply be placed under the wing of punk but is clearly influenced by typically American folk country and rock'n roll sounds, with the rockabilly attitude being predominant in their image, attitude, and lyrics.
"Somewhere" particularly accentuates this stylistic direction, and songs like "Born to Lose" and "Bad Luck" let us imagine the four Californians dealing with Harleys, Jack Daniels, and gambling. Musically speaking, it is pure punk'n roll with strong southern tints, and it's easy to imagine that Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Cash are two huge points of reference for them. One of the things I've always admired about Social Distortion is certainly how they've remained unchanged despite the shifting trends within rock itself and how they've stayed true to the image they've crafted in such a long and not always fortunate career.
Among the best moments of the album, besides the already mentioned "Born to Lose" and "Bad Luck," "Making Believe," the rocky "Bye Bye Baby," and "Sometimes I Do" with its catchy refrain deserve to be mentioned. Even though American punk once again tops the charts with Green Day, Offspring, NOFX, and Rancid, Social Distortion abstain from this hotbed without diluting their sound, which, although quite catchy, manages to remain more mature and personal than their playful and more commercial peers.
Unfortunately, severe drug problems continued to be an obstacle in the following years, and the sudden death of the historic guitarist Dennis Danell once again interrupted the band's journey. This resulted in great inconsistency in their future production (only two albums for the entire '90s), and we had to wait nearly ten years to see them return to the scene. A mature, thoughtful punk, less frivolous than many others, more solid thanks to Mike's suffering vocal tone, which makes it much more interesting and enjoyable to listen to.
A band to rediscover and love.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Cold Feelings (03:31)
Unvited feelings they come
with out warning and stay too long
i don't wanna feel, and if run
they'll be twice as strong
i wait for a warning,
i'm waiting for some kinda sign
i try to seperate my body from my mind
chorus:
cold feelings in the night
you know this feeling just ain't right
and though i try i just can't hide
cold feelings in the night
i watch the second hand as it slowly
goes strolling by. i don't want to feel
when a loved ones time's come to die
i wait for a warning, i'm waiting for
some kinda sign
i try and seperate, try to seperate
my body from my mind
yeah i got faith but sometimes
fear it just weighs too much
i don't wanna feel, cold winds blowin'
through me w/ an icy touch
i wait for a warning, i'm waiting
for some kinda sign.
i try to seperate my body from my mind
02 Bad Luck (04:26)
Some people like to gamble
But you, you always lose
Some people like to rock n' roll
You're always singin' the blues
You got a nasty dispostition
No one really knows the reason why
You got a bad, bad reputation
Gonna hang down your head and cry
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
Thirteen's my lucky number
To you it means stay inside
Black cat done crossed my path
No reason to run and hide
You're looking through a cracked mirror
No one really knows the reason why
Your enemies are getting nearer
Gonna hang down your head and cry
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
Some people go to church on Sunday
Others, they pray at home
You tell them that there ain't no God
That they're better off standing alone
You're always scratchin' at the eight ball
No one really knows the reason why
You get to the top and then you fall
Gonna hang your head down and cry
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
04 Born to Lose (04:09)
I was brought in this world
1962 didn't have much choice
you see but by the time i was eight
i could tell i was too late
i was already barking up the wrong tree
when i was in school
you thought i was a fool
in trouble, breaking all the rules
i was absent from class
my daddy spanked my bare ass
but i sure tried hard to be cool
chorus:
born to lose, was what they said,
you know i was better off dead
born to lose your just bad news
you dont get no second chance
it was a hot summer night
in mid july a hangover and
a black eye. your mama said
i was a loser, a dead end cruiser
and deep inside i knew that
she was right
Repeat chorus
i tried to get myself a job
because thats the way things are
wanna have a nice things and go far
well im' sorry honey
i ain't got much money
but i can sure play this here old guitar
as the years went on
i made a few mistakes
it was troublebound for this
young man
the police knockin' at my door
" well he don't live he no more,
and he's playin' in a rock n' roll band"
Repeat chorus
05 Bye Bye Baby (03:06)
I believed I was wrong but baby
Now I know, you and your evil
Ways gotta go. Take the key and
Break away these chains of love,
And I'll thank the good Lord
Above.
The radio's playin' a sad song...
"Bye Bye Baby."
Well, maybe the others will
Believe your lies, you can tell
Those schoolboys your alibis.
And baby I'll catch you later on
Down the line, cuz maybe I got
Better things on my mind.
The band's playin' a sad song...
"Bye bye baby."
06 When She Begins (05:04)
I was feelin' kinda beat, I decided
To hit the streets. I was lookin'
For a place for this heart of
Mine. Well I said to myself, oh
God this must be hell
I think I was slowly losin' my mind
chorus:
Well round and round she goes
Where she'll stop nobody knows.
Y'know that woman put a spell
On me, but if you start me, start
Me, start me you can't stop me,
Stop me, stop me. When she begins
To rock, honey, I begin to roll
I was hangin' by the phone, tired
Of sleepin' alone
Baby tell me where did I go wrong? When
Minutes seem like hours and
Days seem like weeks, how could
A year last so fucking long?
chorus:
Well round and round she goes
Where she'll stop nobody knows.
Y'know that woman put a spell
On me, but if you start me, start
Me, start me you can't stop me,
Stop me, stop me. When she begins
To rock, honey, I begin to roll
I was hangin' with a couple
Of chicks, man I was just looking
For a place for this raggedy ol'
Heart of mine.
chorus:
Well round and round she goes
Where she'll stop nobody knows.
Y'know that woman put a spell
On me, but if you start me, start
Me, start me you can't stop me,
Stop me, stop me. When she begins
To rock, honey, I begin to roll.
08 King of Fools (02:50)
I was born, a king of fools.
Most people think im just a playboy breaking rules.
but they dont know when it comes around
That's why i call myself the King Of Fools.
I was born to never care.
but now im all alone that i can't share
Im searching babe for a love that would never be true
That's why i call myself the King Of Fools.
kings of fools x2
I was born without one good thought.
Just to live fast, lie, and break hearts.
I have broken many hearts, and i 've broke many rules
That's why i call myself the King Of Fools.
King Of Fools
King Of Fools
When it comes around,your love, I always lose.
I was born a King Of Fools.
and any other game i'd never lose.
but when it comes around, your love, that's when i realize
I was born the King Of Fools
King Of Fools
King Of Fools
when it comes around, your love, i always lose
King Of Fools
King Of Fools
at any other game i'd lose.
King Of Fools
King Of Fools
when it comes around, your love, i always lose
09 Sometimes I Do (04:01)
Sometimes i like you
and sometimes i don't
i feel like i'm gonna
then i won't
sometimes i wanna live
to see a hundred
other times i wanna
lay down and die
sometimes i'm weak
and sometimes i'm strong
you know i loved you
all along
sometimes i'm rich
and sometimes i'm poor
nothing really matters
when you dead on the floor
sometimes i'm hot
and sometimes i'm cold
sometimes i feel like i'm getting old
sometimes i'm fast and
sometimes i'm slow
other times i don't even wanna go
sometimes i laugh and
sometimes i cry
other times i sit ans wonder why
sometimes i'm up and
sometimes i'm down
other times i wanna blow this town
11 Ghost Town Blues (04:38)
Ever since my baby left me you
Know this ghost town ain't no
Fun no more she stole my heart
Away from me and then she
Dropped it on the floor my
Outside's tough, hellbent
Leather overcoat of what was
Once a man but inside's a little
Broken hearted boy whose
Feelings he cannot stand.
chorus:
I've got these ghost town blues
With nothing left to lose
The noose swings high up on the
Gallows in the wind
I've got these ghost town blues
I feel like an undertaker dressed
In black but no one left for dead
She left me in a heartbeat
And now there's no one left to
Sleep in my bed where laughs and
Cries and memories were once
Now lie and tumbleweeds and dust
And an empty graveyard
Feeling that began once just as a
Childhood lust
chorus:
I've got these ghost town blues
With nothing left to lose
The noose swings high up on the
Gallows in the wind
I've got these ghost town blues
My pontiac spit back feelings of
Contempt out the exhaust
A hundred miles an hour down a
Highway. Well I'm beat up and I'm
Lost she's gone and I know it,
Like an outlaw she ran for the
Hills and I'll start a brand new
Life with a new girl and these
Same old ghost town thrills.
chorus:
I've got these ghost town blues
With nothing left to lose
The noose swings high up on the
Gallows in the wind
I've got these ghost town blues.
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