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)
Tag
Alice Cooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That he's the groom
And he's been waiting
To consummate all night
And you're the bride
You're locked tight
Inside the bathroom
And you're overcome with freight
Now here's the chiller
He's the killer
You've discovered
You're trapped, alone, you're scared
We cut to you, we move in close
You're catatonic
You get a close up there
And in this shot
Here's what we got
He breaks the door down
And tears your nightgown lace
You see a can, it's aerosol
You grab the hair spray
And light it in his face
There's a very hungry man in the cellar
Oh, waiting
Or is he in the attic closet
Waiting
Debbie? I like this game. Debbie?
Debbie? Debbie? Debbie?
He blindly grabs you
Tries to stab you
But you're quicker
You over act right here
You see a cat, a ball of yarn
A knitting needle
His vision's still not clear
He's stumbling 'round
Don't make a sound
And then he grabs you
"Hide and seek, my dear?"
He shifts his glance
You see your chance
You grab the needle and you
You plunge it in his ear
There's a very hungry man in the cellar
Oh, waiting
Or is he in the attic closet
Waiting
There's a very hungry man in the cellar
Oh, waiting
Or is he in the attic closet
Waiting
And just like the scene
In "Halloween"
You think it's all over
And you're gazing into space
But you got to make sure
You hear something, you start to turn
And you're standing there frozen
Staring him face to face
And he looks at you and says
"Tag, you're it, Sweetie
Bye, Debbie. Debbie, Debbie, Debbie.
Goodbye, Debbie..."
The lyrics of Alice Cooper's song "Tag" tell a story of a woman, who is trapped in a bathroom by a man, who ultimately turns out to be a killer. The woman is frightened and paralyzed with fear when the man breaks down the door and tears her nightgown lace. She sees a can of aerosol, grabs the hair spray, and uses it to light a fire in the man's face. As the man becomes more disoriented, the woman sees her chance and stabs the man with a knitting needle.
However, the song's story doesn't end there. As the woman is gazing into space and thinks it's all over, she hears something and turns around to see the man staring at her. He then says, "Tag, you're it, sweetie" before calling out to Debbie multiple times.
The lyrics of "Tag" are typical of Alice Cooper's musical style, which often features gruesome and horror-inspired themes. The song features heavy guitar riffs that create an atmosphere of tension and suspense, reflecting the story being told in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's assume
Let's pretend
That he's the groom
There's a man who is the groom in this scenario
And he's been waiting
He's been waiting for a specific event to happen
To consummate all night
To have sex all night long
And you're the bride
There's a woman who is the bride in this scenario
You're locked tight
You're locked securely
Inside the bathroom
You're in the bathroom
And you're overcome with freight
You're overwhelmed with fear
Now here's the chiller
Now here's the scary part
He's the killer
He's the person who is trying to kill someone
You've discovered
You've found out about something
You're trapped, alone, you're scared
You're stuck, by yourself, and you're afraid
We cut to you, we move in close
The camera focuses on you and moves closer
You're catatonic
You're in a state of shock
You get a close up there
The camera zooms in on your face
And in this shot
In this scene
Here's what we got
This is what's happening
He breaks the door down
He smashes through the door
And tears your nightgown lace
He rips your nightgown
You see a can, it's aerosol
You notice there's a can of aerosol nearby
You grab the hair spray
You take the hair spray
And light it in his face
And spray it in his face, potentially setting it on fire
There's a very hungry man in the cellar
There's a man in the cellar who is very hungry
Oh, waiting
He's waiting there for something to happen
Or is he in the attic closet
Or maybe he's in the closet in the attic
Waiting
Waiting for something to happen
Debbie? I like this game. Debbie?
The killer calls out to Debbie, potentially because he likes the game they're playing
Debbie? Debbie? Debbie?
The killer continues calling out Debbie's name
He blindly grabs you
He tries to grab you without looking
Tries to stab you
He attempts to stab you
But you're quicker
But you're faster
You over act right here
You're overreacting in this moment
You see a cat, a ball of yarn
You notice a cat and a ball of yarn nearby
A knitting needle
You see a knitting needle
His vision's still not clear
He's still having trouble seeing because of the hair spray
He's stumbling 'round
He's stumbling around
Don't make a sound
Be quiet
And then he grabs you
He grabs you
"Hide and seek, my dear?"
"Let's play hide and seek, my dear?"
He shifts his glance
He looks away
You see your chance
You see an opportunity
You grab the needle and you
You take the knitting needle and you
You plunge it in his ear
You put the needle into his ear, potentially killing him
And just like the scene
Similar to what happens in the movie
In "Halloween"
In the movie Halloween
You think it's all over
You believe everything is finished
And you're gazing into space
You're staring off into nothing
But you got to make sure
But you need to check
You hear something, you start to turn
You hear a noise and begin to turn around
And you're standing there frozen
You're standing there without moving
Staring him face to face
Looking at him directly
And he looks at you and says
And he stares you down and says
"Tag, you're it, Sweetie
"You're the next one to be chased, Sweetie
Bye, Debbie. Debbie, Debbie, Debbie.
"Goodbye, Debbie. Debbie, Debbie, Debbie.
Goodbye, Debbie..."
"Goodbye, Debbie..."
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: COOPER, ERIK, NITZINGER
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.