Born in Valdosta, Georgia, Bill Hicks was the son of Jim and Mary (Reese) Hicks and had two older siblings: sister Lynn and brother Steve. The family lived in Florida, Alabama, and New Jersey, before settling in Houston, Texas when Hicks was seven. He was raised in the Southern Baptist faith, where he first began performing as a comedian for other children at Sunday School.
Hicks was 16 years old when he started performing stand-up comedy at the Comedy Workshop in Houston, Texas, in 1978. During the 1980s he toured the United States extensively and performed a number of high-profile television appearances. It was in the UK, however, where Hicks first amassed a significant fan base, packing large venues with his 1991 tour. Hicks died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved the significant admiration and acclaim of numerous comedians, writers, actors and musicians alike. In 2007 he was voted the 6th greatest stand-up comic on the UK's Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 4th greatest stand-up comic.
Hicks was associated with the Texas Outlaw Comics group developed at the Comedy Workshop in Houston in the 1980s. Once Hicks gained some underground success in night clubs and universities, he quit drinking. However, Hicks continued to smoke cigarettes. His nicotine addiction, love of smoking, and occasional attempts to quit became a recurring theme in his act throughout his later years.
In January 1986, Hicks found himself broke, having spent all his money on a variety of substances. His career soon received another upturn, though, as he appeared on Rodney Dangerfield's Young Comedians Special, in 1987. The same year, he moved to New York City, and, for the next 5 years, performed about 300 times a year. On the album Relentless, he jokes that he quit using drugs because "once you've been taken aboard a UFO, it's kind of hard to top that", although in his performances, he continued to extol the virtues of LSD, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms. He fell back to chain-smoking, a theme that would figure heavily in his performances from then on.
In 1988, Hicks signed on with his first professional business manager, Jack Mondrus.[citation needed] Throughout 1989, Mondrus worked to convince many clubs to book Hicks, promising that the wild drug- and alcohol-induced behavior was behind him. Among the club managers hiring the newly sober Hicks was Colleen McGarr, who would become his girlfriend and fiancée in later years.[citation needed]
Hicks quit drinking in 1988, as stated in his 1990 album Dangerous on the first track, entitled "Modern Bummer".
In 1989 he released his first video, Sane Man.
In 1990, Hicks released his first album, Dangerous, performed on the HBO special One Night Stand, and performed at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival. He was also part of a group of American stand-up comedians performing in London's West End in November. Hicks was a huge hit in the UK and Ireland and continued touring there throughout 1991. That year, he returned to Just for Laughs and filmed his second video, Relentless.
Hicks made a brief detour into musical recording with the Marble Head Johnson album in 1992. During the same year he toured the UK, where he recorded the Revelations video for Channel 4. He closed the show with his soon-to become-famous philosophy regarding life, "It's Just a Ride". Also in that tour he recorded the stand-up performance released in its entirety on a double CD titled Salvation. Hicks was voted "Hot Standup Comic" by Rolling Stone magazine in 1993. He moved to Los Angeles in 1992.
The progressive metal band Tool invited Hicks to open a number of concerts in its 1992 Lollapalooza appearances, where Hicks once asked the audience to look for a contact lens he had lost. Thousands of people complied. Members of Tool felt that they and Hicks "were resonating similar concepts".
Intending to raise awareness about Hicks's material and ideas, Tool dedicated their triple-platinum album Ænima (1996) to Hicks. Both the lenticular casing of the Ænima album packaging as well as the chorus of the title track "Ænema" make reference to a sketch from Hicks's Arizona Bay album, in which he contemplates the idea of Los Angeles falling into the Pacific Ocean. Ænima's final track, "Third Eye" contains samples from Hicks's Sane Man and Relentless albums. An alternate version of the Ænima artwork shows a painting of Bill Hicks, calling him "Another Dead Hero," and mentions of Hicks are found both in the liner notes and on the record.
In 1984, Hicks was invited to appear on Late Night with David Letterman for the first time. He had a joke that he used frequently in comedy clubs about how he caused a serious accident that left a classmate using a wheelchair. NBC had a policy that no handicapped jokes could be aired on the show, making his stand-up routine difficult to perform without mentioning words such as "wheelchair".
On October 1, 1993, Hicks was scheduled to appear on Late Show with David Letterman, his 12th appearance on a Letterman late-night show, but his entire performance was removed from the broadcast—then the only occasion where a comedian's entire routine was cut after taping.
Hicks's stand-up routine was removed from the show allegedly because Letterman and his producer were nervous about a religious joke ("If Jesus came back he might not want to see so many crosses"). Hicks said he believed it was due to a pro-life commercial aired during a commercial break. Both the show's producers and CBS denied responsibility. Hicks expressed his feelings of betrayal in a letter to John Lahr of The New Yorker. Although Letterman later expressed regret at the way Hicks had been handled, Hicks did not appear on the show again.
Hicks's mother, Mary, appeared on the January 30, 2009 episode of Late Show. Letterman played the routine in its entirety. Letterman took full responsibility for the original censorship and apologized to Mrs. Hicks. Letterman also declared he did not know what he was thinking when he pulled the routine from the original show in 1993, saying, "It says more about me as a guy than it says about Bill because there was absolutely nothing wrong with that."
For many years, Hicks was friends with fellow comedian Denis Leary. But in 1993 Hicks was angered by Leary's album No Cure for Cancer, which featured lines and subject matter similar to Hicks's routine. According to American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story by Cynthia True, upon hearing the album "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff, and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had practically taken line for line huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it."
The friendship ended abruptly as a result.
At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks's material as well as his persona and attitude. In an interview, when Hicks was asked why he had quit smoking, he answered, "I just wanted to see if Denis would, too."
In another interview, Hicks said, "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and, to really throw people off, I did it before he did." During a 2003 Comedy Central roast of Denis Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.
The controversy surrounding plagiarism is also mentioned in American Scream: Leary was in Montreal hosting the "Nasty Show" at Club Soda, and Colleen [McGarr?] was coordinating the talent so she stood backstage and overheard Leary doing material incredibly similar to old Hicks riffs, including his perennial Jim Fixx joke: "Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut. The plot thickens." When Leary came offstage, Colleen, more stunned than angry, said, "Hey, you know that's Bill Hicks's material! Do you know that's his material?" Leary stood there, stared at her without saying a word, and briskly left the dressing room.
No Music In My Soul
Bill Hicks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don’t seem like nothing’s gonna make it right
I want to thank you girl
For trying with all of your might
There’s just no music in my soul tonight
I know you’re tired baby of seeing me frown
I just pray you don’t give up on me too soon
You’re all I’ve got holding back this gloom
There’s just no music in my soul
There’s just no dancing in my feet today
I’m like a rock or steel or something that way
I want to thank you girl for trying to pray
There’s just no dancing in my feets today
I know you’re tired of seeing me frown
Well I got news for you baby I’m feeling kind of down
I just pray you don’t give up on me too soon
You’re all I’ve got holding back this gloom
There’s just no music in my soul
There’s just no music in my soul
There’s just no music in my soul tonight
Don’t seem like nothing’s gonna make it right
I want to thank you girl
For trying with all of your might
There’s just no music in my soul tonight
I know you’re tired baby of seeing me frown
Well I got news for you baby I’m feeling kind of down
I just pray you don’t give up on me too soon
You’re all I’ve got holding back this gloom
There’s just no music in my soul
There’s just no music in my soul
The lyrics of Bill Hicks's song "No Music In My Soul" convey a sense of emptiness and sadness that the singer is experiencing. The repeated line "There’s just no music in my soul tonight" serves as a metaphor for a lack of joy, passion, and inspiration in their life at the moment. It suggests that the singer is going through a difficult period where nothing seems to bring them happiness or fulfillment.
The lines "Don’t seem like nothing’s gonna make it right" and "I want to thank you girl for trying with all of your might" indicate that someone is attempting to help the singer, possibly a partner or a close friend. Despite their efforts, the singer feels that their attempts to alleviate the situation are unsuccessful. This could imply a sense of hopelessness or possibly a struggle with personal demons that are beyond anyone's control.
The second verse expands on the theme of emptiness and discontent. The lines "There’s just no dancing in my feet today" and "I’m like a rock or steel or something that way" suggest a sense of heaviness or immobility. The singer feels like they are unable to experience the joy and lightness associated with dancing. This could represent a lack of vitality or enthusiasm in their life overall.
The repeated mention of someone being tired of seeing the singer frown and the plea for them not to give up on the singer too soon suggests a deep longing for support and understanding. The person being addressed seems to be a beacon of hope, the only one capable of holding back the darkness or gloom that the singer is experiencing. The lines "You’re all I’ve got holding back this gloom" underscore the significance of this individual in the singer's life.
Overall, "No Music In My Soul" reflects a profound and melancholic state of being, where the absence of inspiration, joy, and a sense of purpose weighs heavily on the singer's soul. It speaks to the power of human connection and the hope that someone in their life can provide the strength and resilience needed to overcome this personal struggle. The lyrics convey a deep longing for relief from the emptiness and a heartfelt appreciation for the support received.
Line by Line Meaning
There’s just no music in my soul tonight
I am feeling empty and devoid of emotion, as if there is no music to bring joy or comfort to my soul.
Don’t seem like nothing’s gonna make it right
It feels like there is nothing that can fix my current state of sadness or dissatisfaction.
I want to thank you girl
For trying with all of your might
I am grateful to you, my partner, for putting in so much effort and trying your best to help me.
I know you’re tired baby of seeing me frown
I understand that you, my love, are weary of constantly witnessing my unhappy expressions.
Well I got news for you honey I’m feeling kind of down
I have some news to share with you, my dear, and it is that I am currently experiencing a deep sense of sadness.
I just pray you don’t give up on me too soon
I sincerely hope that you do not lose faith in me or abandon me prematurely.
You’re all I’ve got holding back this gloom
You are my only source of strength that prevents this darkness from overwhelming me completely.
There’s just no dancing in my feet today
I am devoid of any motivation or enthusiasm, as if my feet lack the ability to move in a joyful, rhythmic manner.
I’m like a rock or steel or something that way
I feel immovable and rigid, like an inanimate object such as a rock or steel.
I want to thank you girl for trying to pray
I express my gratitude to you, my beloved, for attempting to find solace through prayer on my behalf.
There’s just no dancing in my feets today
I am unable to find any joy or zest for life, as if there is no rhythm or dance in my feet.
There’s just no music in my soul
My inner being lacks the passion, inspiration, or emotional resonance associated with music.
There’s just no music in my soul
Once again, I want to emphasize that I am devoid of any meaningful connection to music within my soul.
There’s just no music in my soul tonight
Tonight specifically, there is a profound absence of music that can uplift or bring solace to my soul.
Don’t seem like nothing’s gonna make it right
It appears unlikely that anything will be able to rectify or improve my current emotional state.
I want to thank you girl
For trying with all of your might
Once again, I express my gratitude to you, my partner, for exerting great effort and strength in attempting to help me.
I know you’re tired baby of seeing me frown
I am aware that you, my dear, are exhausted from repeatedly observing my sad expression.
Well I got news for you baby I’m feeling kind of down
I have information to share with you, my love, and it is that I am currently experiencing a deep sense of sorrow.
I just pray you don’t give up on me too soon
I sincerely hope that you do not lose faith in me or abandon me prematurely.
You’re all I’ve got holding back this gloom
You are my sole source of strength that prevents this overwhelming gloom from consuming me entirely.
There’s just no music in my soul
Once again, I want to emphasize that my inner being lacks the passion, inspiration, or emotional resonance associated with music.
There’s just no music in my soul
I cannot stress enough that there is an inherent absence of music within my soul, devoid of any meaningful connection.
Lyrics © Word Collections Publishing
Written by: Bill Hicks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marcoose Buttshaer
This is the most beautiful song I have ever heard.
Glic Mathan
Incredible to hear such great music from one of my top two comedians. Great tune and guitar solos. Bill was a competent musician. Imagine what he might have been had music dominated over comedy?
Patrick Simpson
Such a timeless piece of art. ALL, of uncle Bill’s work. God damn I miss that man.
Radiance Within
What a legend
Luis Mariano Fallas
Long live Bill Hicks... this is great, thanks for sharing
Joe Saint James
Damn that's good, from the fucking heart Bill😁🤟🙌🙏❤
liquidcactus
Shit damn, didnt know goat boy bill could sing. RIP
2trkpony
Truther,comic,trouradur,,,all around good guy!
Alan Kinsella
Sweet