This was a song about what happens when a band in an area “makes it.” In 1988, the Boston band Extreme were signed to a major record deal. They were one of the best bands on the scene. And…as a result, a bunch of good bands, suddenly changed their style to mimic what Extreme did, in hopes that they too would be signed. It’s not a unique thing. It’s been happening since day one. The Beatles had a thousand copycat bands. And today, you can’t turn the radio on, without some band trying to sound like Nickelback, or whatever flavor of the month band is currently getting huge airplay. So…we wrote a song about it. The first lyrics; “Ten years gone, it’s the same old song & dance.”\u00a0 obviously referencing Zeppelin & Aerosmith. The only clue we gave to the fact that we were clowning our peers was the line “and everyone around you, starts to sound extremely alike.” At that point, our guitarist Barry, would rip a lick from Extreme’s “Decadence Dance.”<\/p>\n
The number of bands that came up to us to tell us how much they liked the song was considerable. Never once did they realize that we might’ve been clowning them. We had a good time.<\/p>\n
Ten years gone, it’s the same old song & dance<\/em> I’ve seen this kind of thing<\/em> Song for a buck<\/em> Night after night, and stage after stage<\/em> I’ve seen this kind of thing<\/em> Song for a buck<\/em> Oh, get off my tail!<\/em><\/p>\n (Solo)<\/em><\/p>\n I’ve seen this kind of thing<\/em> Song for a buck<\/em> Tails? You’re ridin’ the tails<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\n What the hell went wrong? You’ve given it every chance<\/em>
\n You’re out on the road but…you’re not doin’ your own thing<\/em>
\n You’ve got a long way to go…Just a puppet…on a string<\/em><\/p>\n
\n Seen it all before<\/em>
\n You grab the golden ring<\/em>
\n With one foot in the door<\/em><\/p>\n
\n You know your style’s for sale<\/em>
\n Don’t give it up<\/em>
\n Just stop ridin’ the tails<\/em><\/p>\n
\n It’s always the same fight, with your inner feelings of rage<\/em>
\n You think that you’ve done it all…but something’s still not right<\/em>
\n And everyone around you…starts to sound extremely alike<\/em><\/p>\n
\n Seen it all before<\/em>
\n You grab the golden ring<\/em>
\n With one foot in the door<\/em><\/p>\n
\n You know your style’s for sale<\/em>
\n Don’t give it up<\/em>
\n Just stop ridin’ the tails<\/em>
\n Had some bad luck<\/em>
\n Starting to feel like you failed<\/em>
\n Don’t give it up<\/em>
\n Just stop ridin’ the tails<\/em><\/p>\n
\n Seen it all before<\/em>
\n Yeah, you grab the golden ring<\/em>
\n You’re knockin’ on that door<\/em><\/p>\n
\n You know your style’s for sale<\/em>
\n Don’t give it up<\/em>
\n Just stop ridin’ the tails<\/em>
\n Had some bad luck<\/em>
\n Starting to feel like you failed<\/em>
\n Don’t give it up<\/em>
\n Just stop ridin’ the tails<\/em><\/p>\n