Alice Cooper

Released: March 27, 1970

Songwriter: Alice Cooper Dennis Dunaway Glen Buxton Michael Bruce Neal Smith

Producer: David Briggs

Beautiful flyaway
Somewhere like Holy Days
Wonder what brought me back to earth
Haven't I always been here
Let's have another nibble

Later I think I'll disappear into the bishop's hall
And take a look at what we offer
DDT poisoning me changing my relativity
What's it going to be?

Da da da da d-da
Later I think I'll disappear into another room
And take a look inside the till
Lovely days, human ways, journeys that take us to the end
Aah

Haven't we always been here
Sharing one love and one fear
Some day you'll know that life is really, really all about you
So come and look inside
You'll be surprised to find

Later I think I'll disappear into another womb
And take a look inside the mens' room
Haven't I given you everything that I could give
Where do you live
Aah

You are the only censor
If you don't like what I say, you have a
Choice. You can turn me off

If you don't like what I say, you have a choice
You can turn me off

Well I've written home to mother
The ink ran from my tear
I said, "Momma, momma please
Tell me why you bore me"

Alice Cooper is the stage name and ‘fun villain’ character of Vincent Furnier. Cooper became the target of parents and ministers for his dark lyrics and gory theatrical performances that earned him the title Godfather of Shock Rock. Despite once claiming the name was conjured from a ouija board that told him he’s the reincarnation of a 17th century witch, Cooper laughs the topic off with flippant answers like “It was either a Scrabble board or a bowl of alphabet soup” and “I didn’t want a name like Iron Butterfly or Black Sabbath. I wanted it to be something your aunt might be called.”

The band Alice Cooper was originally signed by Frank Zappa to his own record label. Their first notoriety came when Cooper tossed a wayward chicken (possibly arranged by long-time manager Shep Gordon) into the crowd, who then tore it apart at the 1969 Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival Festival. Newspapers claimed he’d bit the bird’s head off and drank its blood. Zappa advised them to not deny the story and Cooper used it as inspiration to make his character darker.

The band’s teaming with producer Bob Ezrin for their third album Love It To Death led to their US breakthrough with a top 30 hit “I’m Eighteen” in early 1971. By then, the band was already infamous for their stage show, which had escalated into simulated torture and executions. That same year, Killer was released with its two singles “Under My Wheels” and “Be My Lover” finding moderate US success, and both albums being certified gold the following year.

more tracks from the album

Easy Action

From the album

Easy Action (1970)

Alice Cooper popular songs

Beautiful FlyawayAlice Cooper

Alice Cooper

Easy Action