Alice in Chains - Rooster - [1993]

I didn't really know of Alice in Chains until their legendary Jar of Flies came out, but that quickly got me interested in the rest of their catalog. Rooster [video | lyrics] wasn't a huge hit when it came out, only peaking at #7 on US Mainstream Rock Tracks, but since then it has become a classic 90's tune.  Most know it, most love it, but considerably less know the story behind it.

I guess if you have seen the music video you have an idea, but I never saw it and probably wouldn't have grasped the meaning as I was 11.  It's a pretty graphic video and seems like an outtake from Platoon or Apocalypse Now. The father of guitarist/singer Jerry Cantrell was a member of the 101st Airborne Division deployed in Vietnam between 1965-70. Rooster is Jerry Jr.'s perception of what his Dad went though during that time.

Ain't found a way to kill me yet
Eyes burn with stinging sweat
Seems every path leads me to nowhere
Wife and kids household pet
Army green was no safe bet
The bullets scream to me from somewhere

...

                                             My buddy's breathing, his dying breath

Oh god please won't you help me make it through? 

The family had always called Jerry Cantrell Sr. "Rooster" due to the way his hair stood up mohawk -style when he was younger, and the nickname followed him into the war.

Here they come to snuff the rooster
Yeah here come the rooster, yeah

 You know he ain't gonna die
No, no, no, ya know he ain't gonna die

His father never spoke about the war to the rest of the family, so the writing of this song was an attempt by Jerry to reach out to his father. The interview that was used for scenes in the video, was the first time his father had ever spoken about the war and first time he heard it played in the studio he broke down crying.

Walking tall machine gun man
They spit on me in my homeland
Gloria sent me pictures of my boy
Got my pills 'gainst mosquito death

It's hard to describe this, but after hearing a soldier's sad thoughts of kids at home while experiencing the horrors of war, and then knowing he got spit on when he finally did get back, is overwhelming to me.  "Gloria sent me pictures of my boy," mentioned in the second verse is obviously Jerry's Mom, Gloria Jean Cantrell, who sent off pics of their son to Jerry Sr. while he was deployed.

The "pills" he mentions for "mosquito death" were anti-malarial pills all soldiers were ordered to take referred to as 'CP pills' (Chloroquine and Primaquine) though Dapsone was also used in other areas.

Fastball - The Way - [1997]

Yea I know, a lot of people think 'The Way' by Fastball [video | lyrics]is super cheesy, but its yet another catchy pop tune with a very cool chord progression that is quite fun to play.

But this upbeat, poppy and happy-sounding song about a couple that shrugs their kids and responsibilities to walk off in the sunset to live the rest of their lives together, in love was loosely-based on a odd true story. These lyrics pretty much sum up the song version of the story:

 
"Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold
Its always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll never get hungry, they'll never get old and grey
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They won't make it home, but they really don't care
They wanted the highway, they're happier there today
Their children woke up, and they couldn't find them
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and left it all behind 'em
But where were they going without ever knowing the way?"
 

Unfortunately, most of the facts that are changed are the happy parts. Though not all the exact facts are not known to this day, the true story that is known is much weirder than these lyrics imply. The real couple was Lela and Raymond Howard who drove from their home in Hot Springs, AK, a quick 15 mile trip to a fiddling festival.[1] They never arrived though, and were never seen alive again. The local cops and forest service coordinated to search a 1,000 mile radius of their home. 

The bodies of the couple, along with their crashed car, were eventually in the discovered in the middle of nowhere East of Buffalo Gap, TX, 350 miles from their Arkansas home (map). The question in the song "Where were they going without ever knowing the way?" is certainly interesting to think about. Also, it was later discovered that Raymond had been involved in a serious car accident which had left him with some slight mental issues which may have contributed to the incident.  

The song itself is not exceptional, the lyrics really aren't anything special, but the fact that this dude could take such a grim subject and view it in the best possible light is something we could all do a bit more of. 
So now that you know the story, go listen to the song again and feel cool.

[1] http://goo.gl/ynCbua

Willis Alan Ramsey - Northeast Texas Women - [1972]

'Northeast Texas Women' [video | lyrics] off the only album Willis ever graced us with, is a song about how perfect the women in Northeast Texas despite being overlooked by the Beach Boys. Willis' style is much cooler than theirs anyway and this song is an excellent, crazy, country (but the older, good kind of country) jam to end his now legendary 1972 LP. (Rhea, capo on 3 C-F-G-C, its fun as hell) 

 In addition to his trademark lyrical genius, this song features an array of cool instruments according to the back of the record.  No drums on this song, in their place we got: A Coke crate, a bottle, 'the south wall', Mike Sexton's knees, and Willis' dog Oblio playing 'carpets and hallways' as well as laying down some uncredited vocals at the end.

I've listened to it so many times now that I finally had to map out of the towns he mentions to get an idea of exactly where he was picking up chicks back in his day. "Old Cowtown" seems to be associated with Fort Worth from what I can tell, and it makes sense to me so I'm going with it...looks like he got around.  

"North of Amarillo, East of old Dime Box
You can find your Cinderella or a genuine Goldilocks ...

North of Waxahachie, East of Old Cowtown
Them Dallas women standin’ up beat the others lyin’ down
Well God bless The Trinity River and any man who is unaware
Of the Northeast Texas women and their cotton candy hair
 If your taste in women is strange, 
go on and spend your money 
my friend down in old La Grange"

  I'm generally not a fan of Texas, their politics, and apparent love of executions, but his description of the state makes it sound like a single man's dream. And that line! "Them Dallas women standing up beat the others lying down" What a huge compliment to the women of Dallas that Willis would rather just have a conversation with one of them, than sex with any other non-Dallas ladies.  I hope this song got him lucky a few times in NE Texas.

James Brown - King Heroin - [1972]

"King Heroin"  [video | lyrics] off his 1972 album There It Is, has got to be one of the least funky tunes he ever wrote, but damn is it powerful. He starts out describing a dream he had, though actually its a poem written by a friend, where he finds himself  in a bar where heroin itself has somehow managed to get up on stage and start talking about its history and power.

"I'm a world of power and all know it's true
Use me once and you'll know it too
I can make a mere schoolboy forget his books
I can make a world-famous beauty neglect her looks
I can make a good man forsake his wife,
Send a greedy man to prison for the rest of his life
I can make a man forsake his country and flag
Make a girl sell her body for a five-dollar bag
Some think my adventure's a joy and a thriller
But I'll put a gun in your hand and make you a killer"

Yea, its depressing shit no doubt, but it somehow made it to #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1972! Also, there is a positive element here that he quickly glazes over and really has nothing to do with the rest of the song:

"In cellophane bags I've found my way

To heads of state and children at play

I'm financed in China, ran in Japan

I'm respected in Turkey and I'm legal in Siam"

Not only are poppies "respected" in Turkey, the government actually subsidizes the farming operations, which have been prevalent throughout the countryside for centuries, but only somewhat recently condoned by the national government.  Despite the many efforts of Nixon and the US to intimidate Turkey into criminalizing poppy production throughout the 1970's, while the US was embroiled in the Watergate scandal ('74), a newly elected PM of Turkey took the opportunity to ignore the previous demands of the US and instead, teamed up with the UN to, "set up strict monitoring and diversion controls"* for rural poppy production to ensure the poppies grown in Turkey weren't diverted to the Black Market.

Within five years, the production was up and running and the UN had Turkey on the international list of "traditional producers" so other countries could legally buy their opium for use in medical products. By 1981, even the US was buying 80% of its medicinal opiates from Turkey, and still does, which is a pretty amazing turn around given our previous hard-line stance on the issue.

While inevitably, SOME opium makes it through to nefarious sources, the turn around from Turkey being the number one supplier of illegal opium, to one of the top 2 (next to India) suppliers of medical opium is incredible, and brings hope that similar systems could be setup in Afghanistan where they now face the same issue Turkey did in the 1970's. 

[*]Source

The Clash - (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais - [1977]

The Clash song '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais' [video | lyrics] off their eponymous first album is full of cool historical references. The title itself refers to a popular venue in London that was built as a ballroom, used as a tank factory during WWII and converted to a tram repair station/hockey rink until it started being used for musical acts in the 1960's. 

The beginning of the song is about a show Joe Strummer went to see there with a badass lineup:

   "Dillinger and Leroy Smart
Delroy Wilson, your cool operator"

...but he didn't really like it too much.  Apparently too showy and not gritty enough:

"But it was Four Tops all night 
with encores from stage right... 

Onstage they ain't got no roots rock rebel"

Then he goes on to rip on some of the new "punk" bands for being pussies:

"Punk rockers in the UK

They won't notice anyway

The new groups are not concerned

With what there is to be learned

They got Burton suits, ha you think it's funny

Turning rebellion into money" 

The Burton suits line refers to the Burton Clothing Company which has been an English staple for about 100 years. They even landed a government contract to supply every soldier returning from WWII with full three-piece suit with waistcoat, which became known as "The Full Monty".  

I love the image of these new "punks" wearing the clothing of not only one of the most historic symbols of the mainstream British culture, but more insultingly, the same stuff their parents most certainly wore.  This type of shit is unsettling to Joe and he makes sure to point out that while amusing, its really not "funny".  These "new groups" are going against everything punk music has come to stand for, while exploiting the sound and subject matter to be rich and famous.

Eminem - Guilty Conscience - [1999]

"The song 'Guilty Conscience' [video | lyrics] has gotten such rotten responses"* even Eminem knows this song is thought to be pretty fucked up from a content perspective, but it's actually pretty tame compared to this blatant reference to a pretty nasty event, even for an ex-NWA member, delivered via the biggest punch line in the song.  This exchange form the last verse covers it:

 [Eminem]

Okay, Thought about it, still wanna stab her?
Grab her by the throat, get your daughter and kidnap her?
That's what I did, be smart, don't be a retard
You gonna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes?

[Dr. Dre]
What'chu say? 

 [Eminem]
What's wrong? Didn't think I'd remember?

[Dr. Dre]

  I'ma kill you motherfucker!

[Eminem]
Uhhh-aahh! Temper, temper!

Apparently Dre didn't approve of how the group was portrayed in Barnes' interview with Ice Cube about why he left NWA in 1990. So when he ran into her at a party and had this to say about their encounter:
"People talk all this shit, but you know, somebody fuck with me, I'm gonna fuck with them. I just did it, you know. Ain't nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain't no big thing-- I just threw her through a door." 

Others say it was worse than just that and she eventually sued for an insane amount which was settled by Dre out of court.  Would have loved to have seen the look on Dre's face when Em came up with those lyrics.

[*]From"Whatever You Say I Am" on the Marshall Mathers LP

Sizzla - Babylon Cowboy - [1997]

Sizzla tends to be a polarizing figure in mainstream music circles and even amongst reggae fans.  He has been banned from performing in Europe a couple times due to his homophobic lyrics, yet is a local hero praised for his undeniable eloquence on other important social matters.  In the first verse of 'Babylon Cowboy' [video | lyrics*], he is essentially reminding kids what the ultimate price is for leading a life of guns and crime, and he's pretty damn convincing and pissed off while doing it.   I love his lyrics here and can go on forever about this song, but this is the cool history reference:

"For rights, not justice, you no bust it for none
Well since ya slaughter,  Selassie I come
Emperor sit down 'round de biggest machine gun
Mussolini test and get them skull turned down"

 Here Sizzla invokes a painful part of Ethiopian history and explains that the people doing the killing of local youths in Jamaica today, have just as little justification for their actions as Mussolini and the Italians did when they invaded Ethiopia in 1935. 

I love this image of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I behind "the biggest" machine gun, just mowing down the invading troops and according to Sizzla, the same figurative fate awaits those who "slaughter" innocent people.  

 But Ethiopia was just plain outgunned overall when Italy invaded in 1935, so I assume the just plain badass phrase "skull turned down" stating Selassie's army destroyed Mussolini's troops, Sizzla is referring to the one bright spot for Ethiopia in the war, The Christmas Offensive in which they were finally able to kick a little Italian ass (~3000 according to them). Despite Selassie's now famous pleas to the League of Nations to stop the fighting, they refused to help him and he was forced into exile in England.

 It wasn't until 1941 and World War II that European powers had a reason to want the Italians taken out of North Africa, and Selassie was ultimately able to return and rule very successfully for over 30 years.

* I recommend reading the lyrics if you bother listening to the song