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| "Sweet Emotion" is the debut single of Toys in the Attic |
The volatile relationship of Perry and Tyler eventually took its toll in the late 1970s. But prior to that, even in the mid 1970s when Toys in the Attic was released, they were on thin ice. They never really talked to each other in person; when they did, it was screaming at each others' ears on stage. There was also a lot of tension between the ladies of the bandmates. Nevertheless one thing that brought Joe Perry and Steven Tyler together was their use of drugs. In the media they were known as "Toxic Twins," and the nickname stuck because it was so true of their lifestyle.
"Sweet Emotion" was based on much of the ugly differences between Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, but the song was beautiful. It was Aerosmith's first top 40 single on Billboard Hot 100, and arguably the one that put the band on mainstream rock radio.
Analysis of lyrics:
Steven Tyler wrote the lyrics pertaining to Joe Perry's wife, Elyssa
Talk about things and nobody cares - Steven is saying to Elyssa not to waste his and bandmates' time with
nonsense
Wearing other things that nobody wears - Steven is trying to set her as an outcast
Ya callin' my name, but I gotta make it clear - Steven is tell Elyssa to stop call him with offensive names
Can't say where I'm gonna be in a year - this is more of a filler line, but my take on this is Elyssa probably wanted to know where the band would be traveling so she could make arrangements to travel with Joe Perry.
Some sweat hog mama with a face like a gent - this is saying Elyssa's face resembles that of a pig.
Said my get up and go musta got up & went - filler line.
You got good news but you're a real good liar/ Cause backstage lover set your pants on fire - this means Elyssa' lies are confirmed by Joe Perry. "Backstage lover" refers to Perry, and "pants on fire" means exposing one's lies. So when you're listening to this line, you should be thinking of Joe saying to Steven something like, "don't worry about what she said, it was not true."
Pulled into town in a police car/ Your daddy said I took you just a little too far - apparent Steven took Joe's wife 'too far' ( open for your own interpretation ), so Joe sent police looking for Elyssa.
Tellin' other things, but your girlfriend lied / Can't catch me cause the rabbit done died - when questioned by the police Elyssa lied, so can't put much blame on Steven because there's nothing to prove his guilt. "rabbit" means evidence.
Standin' in front just shakin' your ass - Elyssa used to be pretty close to Joe when the band performs live on stage, that is, she would stand on the edge of the live set backstage.
Take you back stage you can drink from my glass - Steven is accusing Elyssa of drinking his BEvERageS.
Talk about something you can sure understand - this means Elyssa trash-talks too much.
Cause a month on the road and I'll be eatin' from your hand - this is typical sarcasm and egocentrism of Steven Tyler. He doesn't like being second to anybody, definitely not to the wife of the person he's trying to top every step of the way.
Sweet Emotion
Sweet Emotion
Talk about things and nobody cares
Wearing other things that nobody wears
Ya callin' my name, but I gotta make it clear
Can't say where I'm gonna be in a year.
Some sweat hog mama with a face like a gent
Said my get up and go musta got up & went.
You got good news but you're a real good liar
Cause backstage lover set your pants on fire.
Sweet Emotion
Sweet Emotion
Pulled into town in a police car
Your daddy said I took you just a little too far.
Tellin' other things, but your girlfriend lied
Can't catch me cause the rabbit done died.
Standin' in front just shakin' your ass.
Take you back stage you can drink from my glass.
Talk about something you can sure understand
Cause a month on the road and I'll be eatin' from your hand.
Lyrics from: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/aerosmith/sweetemotion.html
Steven Tyler in another post on the web says that "Can't say where I'm going to be in a year," was a sarcastic comment on the fact that within a year he had planned on being at least 1000 miles away from Joe Perry and his wife Elyssa.
ReplyDelete"The rabbit dying" is also an old way of testing for the pregnancy hormone. Doctors would inject the urine of the possible pregnant woman into a female rabbit, and a few days check the rabbits ovaries for the hormone levels. Some said "the rabbit died" if it was positive.
ReplyDeleteFYI- I am NOT a fan of any type of animal testing, or animal cruelty.
This is a clever analysis, but much of it is wrong. As the last commenter pointed out, "the rabbit done died" means the pregnancy test was positive, so "you can't catch me" means he's skipping town rather than support the kid.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you misquoted a line. The two lines are:
"... [she] said my get up and go must've got up and went.
Well I got good news, she's a real good liar,
'cause the backstage boogie sets your pants on fire."
In other words, this woman said that he "couldn't get it up" (i.e., that he was impotent). But he has good news: she was lying, as he has just proved with some girl backstage.
self gratification like a teenager
ReplyDelete