Song Meaning: Back in the Saddle Again by Aerosmith

ARTIST: Aerosmith | ALBUM: Rocks | RELEASED: 1977

"Back in the Saddle Again" is highpoint of Rocks

Along with "Walk This Way" and "Dream On," this is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs. In fact, this is a must-have-listened-to type of a song  for rock n' roll fans. "Back in the Saddle" is the first track of the bands fourth album, Rocks, which showcases some of Aerosmith's best hard rock music. 

"Back in the Saddle" is the result of a perfect combination of blues, rock n' roll, and hard rock genres. Lead guitarist, Joe Perry, plays a six string bass instead of his usual Les Paul in coming up with a deep riff that's consists of some rough backbeat. Steve Tyler's vocals range from high-pitched distorted soprano to the base range, that nicely coincide with Perry's base. In short, this is PERFECT rock n' roll song.

As for the meaning of the lyrics, I believe it's about a cowboy getting back to his old ways of going about doing things. So 'back in the saddle' has to be interpreted both literally and figuratively. There are some obvious clues and references in the lyrics that suggest that this too is a typical rock n' roll song that deals with themes like sex, drugs and rock n' roll itself.

Back in the saddle:
doing something you stopped doing for a period of time -  Friedman's career seemed to be finished a month ago, but he's back in the saddle and playing for Houston.
-From TheFreeDictionary

Analysis of lyrics:

Ridin' into town alone / By the light of the moon^6,7 - this is a cowboy way of saying going out for clubbing tonight :-)

I'm looking for ole' Sukie Jones⁸ - "Sukie Jones", according to http://www.rockthisway.de/cool_info.htm, is "a groupie that followed Aerosmith along with other bands in the 1970's." So the cowboy is coming to town at night in search of some fun with old Sukie.

She crazy horse saloon⁹ - Crazy horse saloon is generally a nightclub, but some may vary from others. For instance, Wikipedia article on this says its a place known for nude female dancers. On the other hand, CrazyHorseSaloon.net is a Country Western bar where lives bands perform. But, since this is an Aerosmith song, former is more suitable.

Barkeep gimme a drink¹⁰ - "Barkeep" means a person who owns or operates a bar, but in this case, he owns the crazy horse saloon.

Alright 'til the rising sun²¹ - the cowboy's spending the whole night at the crazy horse saloon. 

I'm calling all the shots tonight²² - does this mean the cowboy is also the sheriff of the town? Or, the sheriff is gone and so he's free to do whatever he wants.

Peelin' off my boots and chaps²⁴ - literal meaning is he's taking is  boots and chaps off, but figuratively, this means he's pulling his pants down - or thinking of doing it.

Four bits gets you time in the racks / I scream for more^26,27 - "bits" can be interpreted as a form of money, so you could think this as four dollars. So this line means you can hookup with ladies at crazy horse saloon for four dollars for limited time ( hour, perhaps ). But cowboy "screams" that an hour isn't enough.

Fools' gold out of their mines²⁹ - this is a nice line. What this line means is that everybody at the bar is reaching for their pockets for find some "fools' gold," meaning they are essentially trying to buy the groupies for free. Keep in mind that the song is taking place in the Wild West, so there were other means of doing business transactions, for instance with the exchange of gold, besides the use of money that we know today

The girls are soaking wet³⁰ - the groupies are horney

No tongue's drier than mine³¹ - everybody's getting horney. Wet tongue could also mean getting drunk, but that's not what this line is saying.

To sum up the story in the song, in short, a cowboy ( Steven Tyler, perhaps ) goes to a bar at night in Wild West.^6,7 He's looking for a familiar groupie⁸ and finds her¹¹ dancing/stripping on the dance floor with many others just like her. He gets really drunk,¹⁰ and gets horney.³¹ He wants to 'buy' the groupie that he's familiar with for the whole night,^26,27 but others are competing with him to do the same.²⁹

"Back in the Saddle" has influenced many hard rock and heavy metal musicians like Axl Rose, Slash, and James Hetfield. In fact, in my opinion, this is one of Aerosmith's most underrated songs - it deserves way more praise than what it's given by rock n' roll critics.

That's my analysis of the lyrics. Let me know if you find this interesting in comments section below.

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1. I'm back
2. I'm back in the saddle again
3. I'm back
4. I'm back in the saddle again
5. 
   
6. Ridin' into town alone
7. By the light of the moon
8. I'm looking for ole' Sukie Jones
9. She crazy horse saloon
10. Barkeep gimme a drink
11. That's when she caught my eye
12. She turned to give me a wink
13. That'd make a grown man cry
14. 
    
15. I'm back in the saddle again
16. I'm back
17. I'm back in the saddle again
18. I'm back
19. 
    
20. Umm...come easy, go easy
21. Alright 'til the rising sun
22. I'm calling all the shots tonight
23. I'm like a loaded gun
24. Peelin' off my boots and chaps
25. I'm saddle sore
26. Four bits gets you time in the racks
27. I scream for more
28. 
    
29. Fools' gold out of their mines
30. The girls are soaking wet
31. No tongue's drier than mine
32. I'll come when I get back
33. 
    
34. I'm back in the saddle again
35. I'm back
36. I'm back in the saddle again
37. I'm riding, I'm loading up my pistol
38. I'm riding, I really got a fistful
39. I'm riding, I'm shining up my saddle
40. I'm riding, this snake is gonna rattle
41. 
    
42. I'm back in the saddle again
43. I'm back
44. I'm back in the saddle again
45. I'm back
46. 
    
47. Ridin' high
48. Ridin' high
49. Ridin' high already

Lyrics from: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/aerosmith/backinthesaddle.html