The Beasts of Bourbon's music has often been compared to that of a rougher Rolling Stones (whose 'Cocksucker Blues' they covered), The Gun Club (who they played with and who some Beasts filled in for) and The Birthday Party. In Germany, the band were described as 'Muddy Waters on crack'. Their music is a tough amalgam of country music, blues, rock and roll and punk parsed through the garage sound of The Stooges and the drunken mayhem of Australian pub rock. It often touches on themes of depravity, morbidity, despair, drug abuse and violence.
The group were initially thrown together by vocalist Tex Perkins to fulfill a booking his previous band, Tex Deadly and the Dum-Dums, could no longer make. The band began playing together in small venues in Sydney. The initial version of the group included Spencer P. Jones of The Johnnys, Boris Sudjovic and Kim Salmon of The Scientists and James Baker of The Hoodoo Gurus. Recruited in large part because they were often found in the Southern Cross, an inner-city Sydney bar, these members form what is considered by some to be the 'classic' line-up. This lineup was featured on the band's first album, The Axeman's Jazz, recorded in 1984 in a single afternoon for one hundred dollars by Tony Cohen. The album was an excursion into deranged Gothic country and western, with a strong sense of irony and irreverence toward country music's clichés. A cover of "Psycho" was a hit on alternative radio. Although the album became an underground success, the band continued, for the time being, to be just a side project for its members until 1988.
The Beasts of Bourbon grew from simply being a side project to become a true supergroup of the Australian pub rock scene. The original line-up fell apart in 1984 when the Scientists left Australia to tour overseas; fill-ins included Stu Spasm of Lubricated Goat and Brad Shepard of The Hoodoo Gurus. When both the Johnnys and the Scientists fell apart, however, the original line-up reunited in 1987, to record another album, Sour Mash in 1988. The swamp-rock of The Axeman's Jazz had given way to a fusion of blues-based pub rock and punk with great effect. Black Milk, recorded in 1990, expanded on this idea.
The band grew particularly confident and powerful while touring Europe on the back of Sour Mash and grew in popularity. In 1991, Baker and Sujdovic left to be replaced by Brian Hooper and Tony Pola - the bassist and drummer of Kim Salmon's new band, The Surrealists. This line-up (considered by other fans to be the 'classic' line-up) recorded the highly popular album The Low Road in 1991. The band disintegrated in Europe while touring to support the album.
A double album of live tracks and rarities, titled The Belly of the Beasts - Live '91 & '92 and shit we didn't put out the first time was released to mark the group's ten years together, and the group toured extensively in support of the album. Following the tour, it appeared as if the Beasts would announce their demise. Salmon left the group to concentrate on the Surrealists and Perkins' group The Cruel Sea was achieving huge success with their album The Honeymoon is Over.
In 1996, the group reformed with former Divinyl Charlie Owen on guitar and released Gone in 1997. The album received lukewarm reviews, but managed to produce a minor single in the form of Saturated. In 1997 the band went on hiatus.
In 2003, they reformed to record a live album, Low Life, released on Spooky Records. In 2006, they reformed to play in the Big Day Out Festival around Australia and New Zealand.
In late December 2006 it was announced that Albert Productions had signed an exclusive worldwide recording deal with the band and they are set to unleash their new album ‘Little Animals’ on April 21st 2007.
Tex Perkins said ” The Alberts label releases have been a huge influence on the Beasts of Bourbon, so to be signed to this legendary label is not only a great honour and the start of an exciting new chapter in the bands history, it feels like…..Destiny”
Recently the group played alongside other Autralian bands and artists at the [Rockin' for Rights] concert which protested the unfair Workchoices legislation of the Howard Government.
After a show in Berlin in April 2008, the group cancelled their remaining tour dates and ended the band. Rumours say that a heated drunken argument between Tex Perkins and Spencer P Jones forced Spencer to return to Australia immediately with no intention of continuing the Beasts project.
Hard for You
Beasts of Bourbon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And if my call gets throught to you I hope it finds you weeping and your all alone
I'm gonna ruin your whole life
I wanna hear you cry
I'm gonna make it
Hard for you
Drag you through the shit
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard for you
I've had a vision from above hate has come from love I hate you more than anything
But what I do is justified cause the way that you fucking lied revenge is not a sin
I'm gonna ruin your whole life
I wanna hear you cry
I'm gonna make it
Hard for you
Drag you through the shit
Gonna rub your nose in it
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard
You threw me out with nothing nothing but my pathetic need for you
Well I admit you hurt me but its nothing like the hurt I'm gonna put you through
I'm gonna ruin your whole life
I wanna hear you cry
I'm gonna make it
Hard for you
Drag you through the shit
Gonna rub your nose in it
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard for you
Hard
Hard
Hard (for you)
Hard
Hard
Hard (for you)
Hard (for you)
Hard
The lyrics to Beasts of Bourbon's song "Hard for You" depict someone seeking revenge on an ex-lover who has wronged them. The singer thinks about their ex and wants to make their life difficult by “rubbing their nose” in the shit, making them cry and dragging them through the mud. The opening lines suggest that the singer has been considering getting in touch with their ex but only to relish the thought of them being in a vulnerable and emotional state. The singer justifies their actions by claiming that their revenge is justified due to the hurt caused to them by their ex’s lies.
The chorus repeats the main theme, “Hard for You,” and reiterates the desire to make the ex-lover’s life miserable. The song's lyrics are aggressive and vengeful, showing the heartbreak and anger of being betrayed. The lyrics reveal the pain and heartbreak that comes with a devastating breakup, which can provoke feelings of anger, sadness, and retaliation.
Overall, “Hard for You” is a raw, emotional song that delivers an unapologetic message of revenge to someone who has caused immense pain. It depicts a person's desire to make their wrongdoer aware of the pain inflicted upon them.
Line by Line Meaning
I think about you sometimes and I go to call you up on the telephone
I occasionally think of you and pick up the phone to dial your number
And if my call gets throught to you I hope it finds you weeping and your all alone
If you answer my call, I wish to find you crying and without anyone to help or console you
I'm gonna ruin your whole life
I intend to destroy your life completely
I wanna hear you cry
I desire to listen to you crying
I'm gonna make it hard for you
I will create difficulties and challenges for you
Drag you through the shit
I will make you go through unpleasant or difficult situations
Gonna rub your nose in it
I'll make you face the consequences of your actions and feel the shame and regret associated with them
I've had a vision from above hate has come from love I hate you more than anything
I had an epiphany that my love has turned into intense hatred for you, more than anything else
But what I do is justified cause the way that you fucking lied revenge is not a sin
I see what I'm about to do as legitimate because you lied to me, and revenge for that is not a wrongdoing
You threw me out with nothing nothing but my pathetic need for you
You abandoned me with nothing except my despairing longing for you
Well I admit you hurt me but its nothing like the hurt I'm gonna put you through
I acknowledge that you caused me pain, but it can't compare to the one I'm about to inflict on you
Hard
I'm insistent on making things challenging for you
Hard
I'm resolute in making things difficult for you
Hard (for you)
I'm steadfast in making things challenging specifically for you
Hard
I'm unrelenting in creating obstacles for you
Hard
I'm going to be tough on you
Hard (for you)
I'll push you to your limits with the challenges I create
Hard (for you)
It will be challenging exclusively for you
Contributed by Isaiah W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
josh dance
This is just so Australian. It couldn't come from anywhere else. And the Beasts have such a distinctive sound. This is the very definition of pub rock. And what did happen to great Aussie bands? Where have they all disappeared to? All there is these days is overproduced pop schlock. Rock on BOB!!!!!!
Aslin Firmin
Have been to many beasts gigs, this song is always the highlight ! Sour mash is the greatest album of all time !
Scott Robertson
Brutal af!!! Love the Beasts
Jason Grandcourt
The live version on the "Belly of the Beast" takes it to another notch.
Mat Dub
Fucking oath it does. Belly of the beast captures the beasts at their very best.
Laetitaly bee
love it!
Dragan Nikolic
Can't believe this is 30 years old.
Gee Ratfish
He does a version with the butcher shop as well, fucking brilliance, the best beasts song ever
Mr_Gee
You wouldn't think that I bought the LP in 1988 ... I can't believe it. But it's still awesome ...
Ronald Yerna
The great stuff, from the garage periods in the 80' till 90' best past have bring.