After a nice long break (6-7 months), My Sunday Song is back!! No themes, no 10 song sets. Only songs I want to write about and for #421, we are going with a power ballad from 1991 by the band Tattoo Rodeo. The song is called “Been Your Fool” and is off their album ‘Rode Hard, Put Away Wet’. The album came out in 1991 and their timing could not have been worse. They get a song that starts to gain some traction and then Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” comes along and ruins everything for any band remotely connected to Hair Metal. But I still remember this one.
The song is credited to the whole band (as I don’t see anything in the liner notes that tells me otherwidse) and they are Dennis Churchill Dries on vocals & bass, Rick Chadock on guitar, Michael Lord on keyboards and Rich Wright on drums. The song is about a guy who thought he was finally over the breakup and had her out of his mind, but not so fast. He goes into a bar, hear’s a song on the jukebox and he can’t stop thinking about her now. He wants to get back with her, but it can’t be the same as he’s been her fool too many times. He fights and says if she reaches out her hand he won’t be her fool again…but we all know he would in a heartbeat. I love how the lyrics show how the power of music can bring back so many memories (good or bad).
The song is a power ballad, but this one is a swampy, bluesy bar song. With a slowed down tempo, a slide guitar and Dennis’ heartbroken vocals, you get dragged in to his misery. His vocals have a grit to them and when he hits those high notes, they are as smooth as silk. Such a great tone. The rhythm section keeps things moving, the drums are the pounding heart with every snare hit. We’ve been a fool to someone so this is all so relatable.
Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. I know by this time of the hair metal era, all the band’s had power ballads and they all started sounding the same, but for me this one stood out above the rest. Thanks for hanging around!
“Been Your Fool”
Have another drink, smoke another cigarette
`Cause I can’t find the answer yet
It’s been a long time since comin’
And it’s so hard, to keep from runnin’
It’s all right for you to reach out
But baby, baby, baby don’t you tear this heart out
I’ve been your fool for the last time
I swear to God there won’t be another next time
When you hold out your hand you just gotta understand
I’ve been your fool
Thought I’d had about enough
To get over you and me
Then the barkeep dropped a coin
On a heartbreak melody
Ooh it came back, it all came back
Like a slap right across my face
Lord I know I can’t let you go
But we can’t go back to that same damn place
It’s all right for you to reach out
But baby, baby, baby don’t you tear this heart out
I’ve been your fool for the last time
I swear to God there won’t be another next time… no,
no, no
When you hold out your hand you just gotta understand
I’ve been your fool
Girl I’ve been your fool, yes I have
It don’t have to be so hard
But it ain’t gonna come around easy, no not so easy
baby
If there has to be a heartbreak baby
It ain’t gonna be mine… no
The next time around baby, when you find yourself in
need
When you hold out your hand you just gotta understand
I’ve been your fool for the last time baby, for the
last time
I swear to God… Lord, I swear there won’t be another
next time
When you hold out your hand you just gotta understand
I’ve been your, been your fool for the last time
I swear to God there ain’t gonna be no next time woman
When you hold out your hand you just got to, got to
understand
