Alice Cooper

Released: March 9, 1971

Songwriter: Dennis Dunaway

Producer: Bob Ezrin Jack Richardson

[Instrumental intro 0:00-2:01]

[Chorus]
Body
Body

[Verse 1]
Touched by the toil and plunged into his arm
Cursed thru the night through eyes of alarm
A melody black flowed out of my breath
Searching for death, but bodies need rest

[Chorus]
Body

[Verse 2]
Under the soil now waiting for worms
All that I feared is all that I've learned
All that I know is all that I think
Dead feelings are cool, down lower I sink

[Spoken bridge]
Bodies need rest
We all need our rest
Sleep an easy sleep
Rest, rest
Bodies need their rest
We all need our rest
Sleep an easy sleep
Rest, rest, rest, rest
But come back in the morning
Come back hard
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!

[Chorus]
Bodies

[Verse 3]
Clutching and biting my soul has caught on fire
My evil is now and I'm caught up in desire
Everything I'm living for is all that I am
Liking it and loving it that's all in the plan

[Instrumental break 7:32-8:42]

[Outro]
Black Juju

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

Love It to Death

From the album

Love It to Death (1971)

Alice Cooper popular songs

Black JuJuAlice Cooper

Alice Cooper

Love It to Death