Alice Cooper

Released: November 27, 1971

Songwriter: Alice Cooper Michael Bruce Bob Ezrin

Producer: Bob Ezrin

[Verse 1]
Yeah, you seem so civilized
Your mama's tryin' to run your life
Your daddy's tryin' to pick your wife
Oh no

[Verse 2]
Yeah, you run around with all that hair
They just don't like those rags you wear
You say, "I'm gonna pack up my stuff
I'm gonna run away"

[Chorus]
And then you say
"You drive me nervous, nervous"
And then I said
"You drive me nervous, nervous, nervous, oh"
Nervous, nervous, nervous, nervous, whoa-oh-oh
Aw!

[Verse 3]
You're out of state, you're thrown in jail
You ain't got the bread to pay the bail
Your mom and papa come up and said
"Honey, where did we fail?"

[Chorus]
And then you scream
"You drive me nervous, nervous"
And then I scream
"You drive me nervous, nervous, nervous, oh"
Nervous, nervous, nervous, nervous, whoa-oh-oh

[Outro]
You drive me ne-ne-ne-nervous
Ne-ne-ne-nervous
You drive me nervous
Whoa!

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.

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Killer (1971)

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