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Well it's been ten years, and a thousand tears
And look at the mess I'm in
A broken nose and a broken heart,
An empty bottle of gin
Well I sit and I pray
In my broken down Chevrolet
While I'm singin' to myself
There's got to be another way
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I've searched and I've searched
To find the perfect life-
A brand new car and a brand new suit
I even got me a little wife
But wherever I have gone
I was sure to find myself there
You can run all your life
But not go anywhere
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'll pass the bar on the way
To my dingy hotel room
I spent all my money
Been drinkin' since a half past noon
I'll wake there in the mornin'
Or maybe in the county jail
Times are hard getting harder
I'm born to lose and destined to fail
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
And look at the mess I'm in
A broken nose and a broken heart,
An empty bottle of gin
Well I sit and I pray
In my broken down Chevrolet
While I'm singin' to myself
There's got to be another way
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I've searched and I've searched
To find the perfect life-
A brand new car and a brand new suit
I even got me a little wife
But wherever I have gone
I was sure to find myself there
You can run all your life
But not go anywhere
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'll pass the bar on the way
To my dingy hotel room
I spent all my money
Been drinkin' since a half past noon
I'll wake there in the mornin'
Or maybe in the county jail
Times are hard getting harder
I'm born to lose and destined to fail
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Lyrics submitted by dragonflower44
Track duration: 05:43
"Ball and Chain" as written by Elton John, Gary Anthony Osborne
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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this was the first Social Distortion song I ever heard, I listened to it while hung over, depressed, tired, and in a saturday class on repeat for hours. From that moment on I was a fanatic for Social D. This song is so utterly human, it's about being at the end of your tolerance for the shit life sends your way and hoping for some kind of release, nothing in particular, just something to lessen the pain... for anything to take away this ball and chain. This song seems to be a mantra for a lot of poeple. I saw Social Distortion at Roseland this past october in NYC, and after "born to lose..." the music stopped and Mike pointed to the crowd and everyone sang back to him "...and destined to fail!"
It might seem pessimistic, but everyone has felt like that, and being in a crowd of a few thousand people who all know that exact feeling... it was fucking liberating. Beautiful moment.
Thanks Mike! And thanks to the rest of the guys.
One day i will be getting a Social D Tattoo to remember how important his music helped me...
Something to ponder is that I firmly believe God listens to prayers like this a whole lot more than He does to the vapid, empty prayers full of 'thous' and 'thines' of some fat pedophile Bishop in flowing robes.
Yes indeed, this is an extremely spiritual and insightful song.
he's clean. My dad's been sober
16 1/2 years. People don't realize
how dangerous alcohol really is
because it's "legal." It can become
an addiction as bad or worse than
illegal drug use. Alcohol abuse
KILLS. Anyways I agree w/ whoever
made the country music comment, lol!
I was sure to find myself there
You can run all your life
But not go anywhere
Those lines are utterly brilliant. You can try to escape your pain by traveling, finding new friends, taking drugs, etc. But you can't . Because you can't escape from yourself.