Alice Cooper

Released: November 17, 1979

Songwriter: Dick Wagner Bernie Taupin Alice Cooper

Producer: David Foster

It's not like we did something wrong
We just burned down the church
While the choir within sang religious songs
And it's not like we thought we was right
We just played with the wheels of a passenger train
That cracked on the tracks one night

It's not like we ain't on the ball
We just talk to our shrinks
Huh they talk to their shrinks
No wonder we're up the wall
We're not stupid or dumb
We're the lunatic fringe who rusted the hinge
On Uncle Sam's daughters and sons

Good old boys and girls
Congregating waiting in another world
With roller coaster brains
Imagine playing with trains

Good old boys and girls
Congregating waiting in some other world
We're all crazy we're all crazy we're all crazy
Lizzy Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks

And don't think we're trying to be bad
All the innocent crime seemed alright at the time
Not necessarily mad not necessarily mad
We watch every day for the bus
And the driver would say
"That's where lunatics stay"
I wonder if he's talking about us

It's not like we're vicious or gone
We just dug up the graves where your relatives lay
In old forest lawn
And it's not like we don't know the score
We're the fragile elite they dragged off the street
I guess they just couldn't take us no more

Good old boys and girls
Congregating waiting in another world
With roller coaster brains
Imagine digging up graves

Good old boys and girls
Congregating waiting in some other world
We're all crazy we're all crazy we're all crazy we're all crazy
We're all crazy we're all crazy we're all crazy we're all crazy
We're all crazy

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

From the Inside

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From the Inside (1978)

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From the Inside