I’ve been listening to arena rock in the last few days…in short doses it’s alright.
I saw this band in 1982 and they were loud. What I remember most is in the middle of this song..singer Dan McCafferty came out and played bagpipes. That was the first time I ever heard bagpipes live…and like the rest of the band…they were very loud. The studio version doesn’t have them in it but they did sound great live.
It was on the album Hair of the Dog and it peaked at #17 in the Billboard album charts in 1975.
This song is what I call an angry song. When I would cruise in my teens and I wanted to feel a rush of emotion…I would turn this song up and drive along. It has a fun guitar riff in this song…a variation of the Day Tripper riff. The chorus is hard to miss also.
From Songfacts
This song is about a charming and manipulative woman who can get guys to acquiesce to her every need. The singer is letting her know that she has met her match in him, and she won’t be able to push him around.
“Hair Of The Dog” does not appear in the lyrics. The logical title would be “Son Of A Bitch,” but it would be tough to get airplay with a song of that name. “Hair Of The Dog” comes from the phrase “Hair of the dog that bit you,” which some people consider a hangover cure, meaning that if you wake up in pain after drinking lots of beer the night before, a beer will help cure you.
In the US, this was used in a TV commercial for Dodge.
Girls Aloud sampled this on their UK hit “Sexy! No No No.”
Artist to cover this song include Guns N’ Roses, Warrant and The Michael Schenker Group.
A bagpipe version…around the time that I saw them.
Hair of the Dog
Heartbreaker, soul shaker
I’ve been told about you
Steamroller, midnight shoulder
What they been saying’ must be true
Red hot mama, down light charmer
Time’s come to pay your dues
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Talking jiving poison ivy
You ain’t gonna cling to me
Man taker bone faker
I ain’t so blind I can’t see
Red-hot mama, down light charmer
Time’s come to pay your dues
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Now you’re messin’ with a
(A son of a bitch) now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch
Discover more from PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The song I would have played as I came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the 9th inning to save the game..
That would be a great one! When I would get upset while younger this was my go to song. It would pump me up more.
For a long time while I knew the song I didn’t even know what the title was..
I heard it first on my brother in laws… 8-track…that along with the CLANK.
That is the only reason I knew the name.
Reminiscent of AC/DC….a little
a lot, I would say!
Yeah…there was a little chorus on the guitar though —extremely un-AC/DC like! And that piano….
This is rock and roll to me. Loud, proud and in your face. And Nazareth are from my hometown, so I have a soft spot for it
They were really good. One of the first bands I ever saw. It is in your face rock and roll.
I wouldn’t like to mess with them…
LOL….
Love this song. The next really angry song I remember is Alanis Morissette’s ‘You Oughta Know’.
When I was mad at some girl at the time…the song would comfort me! lol
Music is a wonderful place to go, to leave the world. I’ve done it many a time.
My brother played a lot of angry rock songs and this one was at the top. I was more mellow and liked Let the Sunshine from their album No Mean City. Some good memories.
They had a song in the 80s called Holiday…very good song…much more controlled than this one.
AC/DC is another band with loud angry songs.
I never heard Holiday. I will have to listen to it when I clock out from this job.
AC/DC was another of my brother’s favorite bands. I used to carpool to work with a friend in the early 80s and he would play Big Balls continuously until the rest of us were sick of it. My favorite AC/DC album is Back In Black.
Yea Back in Black is my favorite…
You might like Holiday… it’s more basic rock and roll with a pop feel in some.
I’d forgotten about “Holiday” but that was a good one.
Oh cool…you know it! MTV played it quite a bit in the day.
I didn’t know that was the song with this title. I can see where GnR would cover it. That screaming had to be hard on the throat. I remember a local screamer band we used to go see and was always surprised the singer didn’t go hoarse. The song is good for what it is. I like their song, “Love Hurts” more.
Yea I like that one. The worse thing about them was his mic was SO loud to begin with…and he would scream when he talked to the crowd…
they were really big in my area when I was growing up. Only “Love Hurts” made its way onto AM radio though.
We had a competitive bagpiper not far from us when I was a kid. He’d go out into the city park behind our house and practise. It was … memorable. Maybe you have to be Scottish to appreciate… my Mom was from Wales, but not close enough ,LOL
I’ve seen a marching band of some sort play them since then…it doesn’t look easy at all.
LOL
No, I imagine it’ s not easy. I do like ‘Copperhead Road ‘ with them though, but not a fan of the sound generally
I used to sing this song out loud until I got to the son of a you know what, then I would get real quite and whisper the b-word. 😂😂
LOL… it gets your blood going.
It really does. Lots of screaming. I wonder if the lead singer is still able to hit those notes? I also love their other song, “Love Hurts.”
Yes I like that song also. He does scream but I guess that his voice is just like that…like AC/DC’s singers