Chuck Prophet – Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins

Since I posted Chuck Prophet, I haven’t stopped listening. This song is probably one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard in a long time. All of his songs are so melodic. This one is like a sermon wrapped in a three-minute rock song. I’ve been waiting to post this since I posted my first song by him in August.

Bobby Fuller had a giant hit with I Fought the Law before dying under suspicious circumstances. Fuller was found dead in the front seat of his mother’s car shortly after I Fought The Law became a huge hit. His death was ruled a suicide, but there were signs of foul play.  The investigation was tainted, leaving the circumstances of his death a mystery, and rumors continue to this day.

Prophet uses Fuller as a symbol for anyone hurt by the music industry or just random bad luck. He made a mixture of homage and a warning. When he recorded this song, he wanted nothing too polished. He and co-producer Brad Jones focused on capturing energy instead of perfection.

Prophet said he wrote it in a stream-of-consciousness style, from his own frustration with the American culture eating its young. He kept coming back to the idea that stories like Fuller’s get swept under the rug. They have been filed away as a kind of trivia instead of a tragedy.

The song was the title track to his 2017 album. The album peaked at #24 on the US Top Alternative Album Sales Charts, #6 on the Heatseekers Album Charts, and #2 on the UK Americana Album Charts.

Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins

Cruising through El Paso, carrying a heavy load
Bobby Fuller died for your sins
And a cop shoots a kid on a hot summer morn
Bobby Fuller died for your sins

I could be anywhere when I hear that sound
Take me back, pretty baby
Oh your daddy, he’s so alone

I hear the record crackle, the needle skips and jumps
Bobby Fuller died for your sins
And I ain’t never seen a movie that moved me half as much
Bobby Fuller died for your sins

I could be anywhere when I hear that sound
Take me back, pretty baby
Oh your daddy, he’s so alone

Together we stand, divided we fall
Bobby Fuller died for your sins
And I wish my little sister she could be here now
Bobby Fuller died for your sins

They say that someone’s gonna have to pay the price of love
Bobby Fuller died for your sins
I don’t know why they gotta pay it or who they gotta pay it to, but
Bobby Fuller died for your sins

I could be anywhere when I hear that sound
Take me back, pretty baby
Oh your daddy, he’s so alone

Bobby Fuller died for your sins
Bobby Fuller died for your sins
Bobby Fuller died for your sins
Bobby Fuller died for your sins

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

22 thoughts on “Chuck Prophet – Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins”

  1. Pingback: Chuck Prophet – Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins – MobsterTiger

  2. “Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins” is an immediate winner! It also reminds me to go back and listen to more of Chuck Prophet’s music. I really like what I’ve heard thus far. And once again, there’s something in his vocals that remind me of Ray Davies. I could totally picture Prophet cover songs by the Kinks. He would sound spot on!

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  3. yep….that music industry. I thought with the explosion of the independent labels and all those going DIY in the 90s that the major’s stranglehold would losen, but not the case. I remember when I heard the Netwerk label insisted that their artists own their masters and their own publishing that was huge (Sarah McLauchlan benefits from that) but still so many artists sign away without the benefit of legal advise just to get that deal….

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  5. Ok, I realise that perhaps you and Christian might already be sick of my music connection thing I have with other music, but when I heard this – I yelped – this is Nick Cave’s ‘Good Good Day’ (2001). It is so uncanny that it hurts my mind to even think about it. Chords and chorus…..

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      2. That’s a relief. It’s ridiculous how similar it is and the crooning in Bob Fuller’s voice is so Nick. You could be mistaken if you didn’t know any better. Not to take anything away from ‘Bobby Fuller’ and some great guitar interludes. The chords are almost equal and the rhythm.

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  8. The more Chuck Prophet I hear, the more I want to hear. His voice has a resonant quality to it that draws the ear. His songs of substance get their message across. I like his Ford Econoline song. So… what are the theories on Bobby Fuller?

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    1. They range everywhere on him…I mean how do you call it a suicide when gasoline was forced down his throat….sorry but I don’t see him just drinking gasoline….with a rag stuffed down as well from what I read.
      Prophet is really good. This has a great message…no warning to the music industry.

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