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BALL AND CHAIN

The Sicilian Storyteller

Jim at Song Lyric Sunday has asked us to share our thoughts
about musicians who are members of legendary “27 Club”.
My contribution today is the one and only Janis Joplin.

Janis Joplin, one of the most successful and widely-known female rock stars of her era, was born on January 19, 1943. On the evening of Sunday, October 4, 1970 Janis was found dead on the floor at the Landmark Motor Hotel by her road manager. The cause of death was a heroin overdose; she was only 27 years old. Janis was cremated and her ashes were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean. Hard to believe in two days we will observe the 52nd anniversary of her death. 

The passing of Janis Joplin stunned her fans and shocked the music world, especially when coupled with the death just 16 days earlier of another rock icon, Jimi Hendrix, also at the age of 27. Music historian Tom Moon wrote that “Joplin had a devastatingly original voice” and music columnist Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that Janis as an artist was “overpowering and deeply vulnerable”.

I think you will all agree that is true as we listen to one of her most famous songs – Ball and Chain.

Lyrics

Sittin’ down by my window
Honey, lookin’ out at the rain
Lord, Lord, Lord, sittin’ down by my window
Baby, lookin’ out at the rain
Somethin’ came along, grabbed a hold of me
And it felt just like a ball and chain
Honey, that’s exactly what it felt like
Honey, just dragging me down

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon’, tell me why
Why does every single little tiny thing I hold on goes wrong?
Yeah it all goes wrong, yeah
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why
Why does everything, everything
Hey, here you gone today, I wanted to love you
Honey, I just wanted to hold you, I said, for so long
Yeah! Alright! Hey!

Love’s got a hold on me, baby
Feels just like a ball and chain
Now, love’s just draggin’ me down, baby, yeah
Feels like a ball and chain
I hope there’s someone out there who could tell me
Why the man I love wanna leave me in so much pain
Yeah, maybe, maybe you could help me, come on, help me!

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon’, tell me why
Now tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me why, yeah
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, when I ask you
When I need to know why, c’mon tell me why, hey hey hey
Here you’ve gone today
I wanted to love you and hold you
Till the day I die
I said whoa, whoa, whoa!

And I say oh, whoa, whoa, no honey
It ain’t fair, daddy it ain’t fair what you do
I see what you’re doin’ to me and you know it ain’t fair
And I say oh, whoa whoa now baby
It ain’t fair, now, now, now, what you do
I said hon’ it ain’t fair what, hon’ it ain’t fair what you do
Oh, here you gone today and all I ever wanted to do
Was to love you
Honey an’ I think there can be nothing wrong with that
Only it ain’t wrong, no, no, no, no, no

Sittin’ down by my window
Lookin’ at the rain
Lord, Lord, Lord, sittin’ down by my window
Lookin’ at the rain, see the rain
Somethin’ came along, grabbed a hold of me
And it felt like a ball and chain
Oh this can’t be in vain
And I’m gonna tell you one just more time, yeah, yeah!

And I say oh, whoa whoa, now baby
This can’t be, no this can’t be in vain
And I say no no no no no no no no, whoa!
And I say whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Now now now now now now now now now no no not in vain
Hey, hope there is someone that could tell me
Hon’, tell me why
Hon’, tell me why love is like
Just like a ball
Just like a ball
Baaaaaaalllll
Oh daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy
And a chain
Yeah!

Songwriters: Willie Mae Thornton

Ball and Chain lyrics © Kenwon Music, Cristeval Music

Song Lyric Sunday: Ball and Chain – The Elephants Trunk

20 thoughts on “BALL AND CHAIN”

  3. Did you see, at the end of this, after you could just about hear her tear her soul in half singing that song, how pretty she smiled and practically skipped off the stage? I had the jones on her back when I was 12 or 13, and now I remember why. Great pick!

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  5. I was c 16-17 when I saw the movie. Janet’s performance knocked me out of my chair. For some reason, the way she stomped her right leg on the floor stuck in my mind. It was only through the internet that I had the opportunity to see her performance again and it felt like the first time. How brilliant! What a skill! (By the way, the lady you often see gaping in amazement is Mama Cass Elliot – but maybe everyone knows that anyway).

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  6. Someone mentioned this “27” thing to me and I was sufficiently curious to look it up. In terms of the general population is is nonsense. In fact, you were more likely to die aged 26 or 28 than you were to die at 27. That’s using data from the UK.

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  7. It is not a common occurrence to be able to experience the agony of the fire within consuming oneself; certainly not one I would wish upon anyone.
    But ,if by chance, you get a glimpse of that…imagine that feeling tenfold and you’ve got a sensation of the burning sun inside humans like Janis.

    Now, listen again at the lyrics…not as a cover song…but as her own words, words infused with all her being…

    Thank you Nancy, for lighting the candle for her.

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