Badfinger has always been one of my favorite bands. They had a brilliant songwriter Pete Ham and a very good one Tommy Evans. No Matter What is considered one of the earliest power pop songs.
Badfinger is the band that got me into power pop. After reading about them my interest widened into Big Star and then the Raspberries. If any of you readers have a time machine I could use…take me back to January 19, 1973, at the Chicago Aragon Ballroom…where The Raspberries opened up for Badfinger. That would be a power pop dream.
This song was featured on their 1974 album Wish You Were Here. It was written by Pete Ham and he is the lead vocalist. Dennis is on many “Badfinger Best” lists…in some number 1 over Baby Blue, Day After Day, and No Matter What. The melody in this song is very good.
The album was released in late 1974 and was pulled in early 1975 before it had time to do anything because of litigation between Badfinger’s manager (Stan Polley) and the Warner Brothers. It was released and pulled in a matter of weeks. Warner Brothers saw the money was missing (Polley took it all out of trust) and yanked the album off of the shelves. It was rising in the charts when it was pulled. They recorded another album right after this called Head First but because of litigation, it wasn’t released until 2000.
The band was basically broke. With all of their self-written hits, they should have been set financially for years.
Pete Ham didn’t have the money to pay his mortgage and with a baby on the way drunk and depressed at the fatal age (for rock stars) of 27 Ham hanged himself at the age of 27 in his garage studio in 1975. In 1983 after scrambling for gigs, Tom Evans broke and was not able to get to any of the royalties due him from co-writing Without You with Pete…hanged himself also.
Dennis
Deeper waters flowedRecently it showedTryin’ to cover your headTryin’ to frighten youTryin’ to fight with youReally gettin’ you scaredBut don’t you worry, you love of minePretty soon it will all be fineAnd we’ll just go on
Higher hills to climbClimbin’ all the timeTryin’ to find a way throughFallin’ down again, on the ground againWonderin’ what you can doBut don’t you worry, you love of oursThey look like weeds, but they’re really flowersAnd they’ll soon be gone
You won’t stand up, you won’t sit downYour head’s a mile above the groundAnd though we tend to scold you nowI couldn’t start to tell you howWe couldn’t start to tell you howThere’s just no way to say how much we love you
You, little Dennis, youYou’re full of new surpriseLove youYou, little Dennis with the rascal in your eyesYou’re a prize
It could be bad, it could be worseYou’re taking out your mother’s purseAnd though you cried when you got toldThe money there was for the oldTo keep their dogs from getting coldThe only thing that can’t be sold is love
You, little Dennis, youYou’re full of new surpriseLove youYou, little Dennis with the rascal in your eyes
Will you pick up your toys?Will you be a good boy?Will you please, please?
There’s a wayThere’s a wayIf you’ll playIf you’ll stayThere’s a way throughThere’s a way toTake away blueTake away blue
There’s a wayThere’s a wayIf you’ll playIf you’ll stayThere’s a way throughThere’s a way toTake away blueTake away blue
There’s a wayThere’s a wayIf you’ll playIf you’ll stayThere’s a way throughThere’s a way to
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