Tag: You Get What You Deserve

This song was on Radio City, their second album. Some say it is a response to the Chris Bell song off the first album called My Life Is Right…or a message to his girlfriend Diane that he was leaving her at the time. The chorus is perfect to me by the way he sings it.

Big Star was formed out of a shared love for British Invasion bands like The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Byrds. Alex Chilton had already been successful as the teenage lead singer of the Box Tops, while Chris Bell had been active in local Memphis bands. They wanted to become the next Lennon-McCartney and for this fan…they were in song quality. The Ballad of El Goodo and Thirteen were as about as top shelf as you can get.

After the failure of their first album, singer/songwriter guitar player Chris Bell quit Big Star. Alex Chilton didn’t know if Big Star was going to make another album. He continued making demos because he could always do a solo album. The two other members, drummer Jody Stephens and bass player Andy Hummel weren’t sure either what was going to happen. They had talked about ending the band.

Their record company Ardent was under the Stax umbrella. They sent out invitations to all of the major rock journalists of the day in 1973. They invited them to Memphis to see Ardent’s roster of bands but most of all Big Star. The rock writers loved Big Star. Many legendary writers were there including Lester Bangs. The critics loved them but when your records don’t get to the record store because of distribution and promotional problems…nothing is going to happen. September Gurls should have got a nationwide audience.

You Get What You Deserve

Try to understand what I’m going through
Don’t blame me for what folks will do
For some of us it’s not a good time
But you’ve gotta to get used to it
And you’d better resign yourself

You get what you deserve
You ought to find out what it’s worth
And you’ve gotta have a lot of nerve

You just do what pleases you
Go on and sigh out every move
You’re gonna get a place in the scene
All God’s orphans get face in the dream

You get what you deserve
You ought to find out what it’s worth
And you’ve gotta have a lot of nerve

Too bad
Such a drag
So much pain
Down the drain
A lot of us ain’t got many friends

Try to understand what I’m going through
Don’t blame me for what folks will do
For some of us it’s not a good time
But you’ve gotta to get used to it
And you’d better resign yourself

You get what you deserve
You ought to find out what it’s worth
And you’ve gotta have a lot of nerve
You get what you deserve