Originating in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1964, "Alice Cooper" was originally a band with roots extending back to a band called the Earwigs, consisting of Furnier on lead vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, and Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar and backing vocals. By 1966, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar joined the three and Neal Smith was added on drums in 1967. The five named the band "Alice Cooper", and Furnier eventually adopted it as his stage pseudonym. They released their 1969 debut studio album with limited chart success. Breaking out with the 1970 single "I'm Eighteen" and the third studio album Love It to Death, the band reached their commercial peak in 1973 with their sixth studio album, Billion Dollar Babies. After the band broke up, Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and began a solo career in 1975 with the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare. Over his career, Cooper has sold well over 50 million records.
Cooper has experimented with a number of musical styles, mainly hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, and glam metal, but also new wave (1980–1983), art rock on DaDa (1983), and industrial rock on Brutal Planet (2000) and Dragontown (2001). He helped to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and has been described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock 'n' roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre". He is also known for his wit offstage, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide calling him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". Away from music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and, since 2004, a radio disc jockey (DJ) with his classic rock show Nights with Alice Cooper.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cooper
Band studio albums
Pretties for You (1969)
Easy Action (1970)
Love It to Death (1971)
Killer (1971)
School's Out (1972)
Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
Muscle of Love (1973)
Solo studio albums
Welcome to My Nightmare (1975)
Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976)
Lace and Whiskey (1977)
From the Inside (1978)
Flush the Fashion (1980)
Special Forces (1981)
Zipper Catches Skin (1982)
DaDa (1983)
Constrictor (1986)
Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987)
Trash (1989)
Hey Stoopid (1991)
The Last Temptation (1994)
Brutal Planet (2000)
Dragontown (2001)
The Eyes of Alice Cooper (2003)
Dirty Diamonds (2005)
Along Came a Spider (2008)
Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011)
Paranormal (2017)
Detroit Stories (2021)
Road (2023)
Serious
Alice Cooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I played, and I played, and I played, and I was
Shooting the craps at the back of Fat Jack´s
Come on, fade me, Jake
I'm a Las Vegas dreamer they took to the cleaners
A bath, what a bath, what a bath I'd take
A fish on a hook, I was rattled and shook, 'cause I lost my stake
I took that serious
All of my life was a laugh and a joke
And a drink and a smoke
And then I passed out on the floor
Again and again, and again, and again, and again
I'm a gambling fool with a roll and cue
Want to play? Want to play? Want to play with me?
Put my ass on the line, rubbed my nose in the grime
And they picked me clean
The chance and the game drove Old Silkly insane
What a pain, what a strain on my brain it was
A fish on a hook, I was rattled and shook, 'cause I lost my stake
I took that serious
All of my life was a laugh and a joke
And a drink and a smoke
And then I passed out on the floor
Again and again, and again, and again, and again
Serious, it was serious, oh-so serious
Serious, it was serious, oh-so serious
All of my life was a laugh and a joke
And a drink and a smoke
And then I passed out on the floor
Or a friend
Again and again, and again, and again, and again
All of my life was a laugh and a joke
And a drink and a smoke
And then I passed out on the floor
Or a friend
Again and again, and again, and again, and again, and again
And again, and again, and again, and again, and again
And again, and again
The song "Serious" by Alice Cooper is about a gambler's downward spiral, where he loses all his money and is left penniless. He is addicted to gambling and even though he knows he will lose, he keeps playing. The use of language such as "shoot the craps" and "roll and cue" highlights the culture of the underground gambling world. He loses constantly, and as a result, he becomes a fish on a hook, "rattled and shook" because he lost his stake. This repeated experience, coupled with the burden of the resulting debt, makes him seriously question his life choices.
The lyrics also suggest that the gambler's life had always been a "laugh and a joke, and a drink and a smoke." It was all fun and games until he began to lose, which was followed by constant passing out on the floor. Eventually, his addiction leads to him losing everything he had, including his dignity. The song is a poignant reminder of how gambling can wreck a person's life, leaving them destitute.
Line by Line Meaning
When I look back at my time at the track
Reflecting on my past mistakes and losses in gambling
And I played, and I played, and I played, and I was
I kept losing and playing again, and again
Shooting the craps at the back of Fat Jack´s
Playing dice game at a shady place
Come on, fade me, Jake
Asking a fellow gambler to bet money against me
I'm a Las Vegas dreamer they took to the cleaners
I was a naive and hopeful gambler taken advantage by the professionals
A bath, what a bath, what a bath I'd take
My heavy losses in gambling lead me to despair and unhappiness
A fish on a hook, I was rattled and shook, 'cause I lost my stake
I was vulnerable and upset due to my continuous losses
I took that serious
My gambling problem became a serious issue
All of my life was a laugh and a joke
I've always lived my life carelessly and without caution
And a drink and a smoke
I turned to alcohol and cigarettes to forget my gambling losses
And then I passed out on the floor
I completely lost sense of self after getting too drunk
I'm a gambling fool with a roll and cue
I was reckless and foolish while gambling
Want to play? Want to play? Want to play with me?
I continued to keep playing and losing despite my loss of money and dignity
Put my ass on the line, rubbed my nose in the grime
I was determined to gamble and risk everything
And they picked me clean
The professional gamblers played me and exploited my weakness
The chance and the game drove Old Silkly insane
The randomness of gambling made me go insane
What a pain, what a strain on my brain it was
Losing and gambling had a severe negative impact on my mental health
Serious, it was serious, oh-so serious
My gambling problem became serious and consequential
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: COOPER, FOSTER, LUKATHER, TAUPIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Phil
on Former Lee Warmer
Interesting. I like it! I am surprised someone covered that lesser known song of Cooper’s. I will have to check out more of Valery’s work.