The band formed in Adelaide in 1973 as a heavy metal band called Orange around keyboard player Don Walker and original bassist Les Kascmarek and while hard rock remained at the core of their sound Cold Chisel displayed a remarkable versatility. When Kascmarek left in 1975, Walker became the major creative force of the band. Built around Walker's superb songwriting, the group also featured the dazzling guitar and vocal talents of Ian Moss and the enormously powerful lead vocals of Scottish immigrant Jimmy Barnes.
While typically classified as a hard-driving rock and roll band, the Chisel repertoire included such Australian anthems as the landmark Vietnam War song "Khe Sanh", "Bow River", "Flame Trees" and "Saturday Night", but also included thoughtful ballads like "Choir Girl" (written about the subject of abortion), pop-flavoured love songs like "My Baby" and caustic political statements like "Star Hotel", an attack on the late-70s government of Malcolm Fraser and inspired by a riot at a Newcastle pub. The music was not political in context, however Walker's songs were observations of everyday life within the Australian society and culture. One song from this period, "Misfits", which featured on the b-side to "My Baby", was written in the same vein as Chuck Berry, and was about homeless kids in the suburbs surrounding Sydney.
Cold Chisel weren't just a band, they were a lifestyle for many of their followers, who were known as some of the roughest in the land. This gave Chisel their hard living approach to their music and made them a tough live band as well. More than 30 years after they originally played together, they attract generation after generation of new listeners. This is also evidence of Chisel's dominance of the pub rock era. They are the only Australian band to have sold more records after breakup than before and are among other bands that have become transgenerational. "Khe Sanh" consistently ranks highly in lists of Australia's most popular songs and their music remains a staple of rock station playlists. The Ian Moss song "Never Before" (from the East LP) was chosen by FM rock station 2JJJ (Triple Jay) as the first record played on-air when the station made its transition from AM to FM in 1980.
By 1983 the band had reached the zenith of their career in Australia and with overseas markets reluctant to accept them, Cold Chisel began to disintegrate. Their abortive US sojourn was commemorated in Barnes' excoriating rocker "You Got Nothing I Want" from the Circus Animals album, an emotional volume created from the frustration of the band’s experiences overseas.
Increasing internal tensions and the pressures of touring took their toll and Steve Prestwich -- who was often in conflict with Barnes -- left the band, to be replaced by veteran Australian drummer Ray Arnott (ex Spectrum). Shortly afterward, in 1984, Cold Chisel announced their split and a series of farewell concerts, for which Prestwich re-joined. That tour became a legend in itself and was not without incident when Barnes lost his voice before the Sydney shows, which then had to be rescheduled. The band's final performance was filmed for the documentary concert film The Last Stand, which remains to this day the best-selling concert film of any single Australian act.
In mid 2011 the group announced a series of upcoming concerts.
Hands Out of My Pocket
Cold Chisel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And she looks so alone
And she sacrifices her money
To a god she doesn't know
"Go repent" said the preacher
With his hands stuck in your pocket
Once you buy, you soon find out
There is no way to stop him
Yeah she wants the mami krishna
And she's in the bathroom locked
The ceremony was pretty long
But the honeymoon was short
And "Go repent" said the preacher
With his hands stuck in your pocket
When you find the Lord, you soon find out
There is no way
There is no way to stop him
Now the high priest could've seen
But she got too hot to handle
He made her mother settle out of court
And incensed lit the candle
"Don't lose faith" said the preacher
With his hands stuck in your pocket
When you find the Lord, you soon find out
There is no way to stop him
"Don't lose faith" said the preacher
With his hands back in your pocket
Keep your hands out of my pocket
The lyrics of Cold Chisel's song "Hands Out of My Pocket" describe a woman on a street corner who is giving her money to a god she doesn't know. The preacher comes along, telling her to repent while stealing money from her pocket. The song then takes a turn to describe the woman's experience with the Mami Krishna and a short honeymoon. The high priest took advantage of the woman, causing a settlement to be made out of court. The song ends with the preacher saying "don't lose faith" with his hands back in the singer's pocket, telling him to keep his hands out of his pocket.
The lyrics of this song are a commentary on the predatory nature of religious figures and institutions that take advantage of vulnerable people in society. The preacher represents an authority figure who knows how to manipulate people to increase his power over them. The song also suggests that religion can be used to trap people in cycles of poverty and exploitation.
Line by Line Meaning
She's standing on the corner
A woman is standing alone on the street
And she looks so alone
She appears to be in a state of loneliness
And she sacrifices her money
She spends her money excessively
To a god she doesn't know
She spends her money blindly without proper knowledge
"Go repent" said the preacher
The preacher advises to repent sins
With his hands stuck in your pocket
While he has his hands in your pocket
Once you buy, you soon find out
After making a purchase, you realize
There is no way
There is no method
There is no way to stop him
There is no way to prevent him from taking more money
Yeah she wants the mami krishna
She desires the Mami Krishna object
And she's in the bathroom locked
She is locked inside the bathroom
The ceremony was pretty long
The ceremony of Mami Krishna was quite extensive
But the honeymoon was short
The enjoyment phase was brief
"Go repent" said the preacher
The preacher again advises to repent sins
With his hands stuck in your pocket
With hands still in your pocket
When you find the Lord, you soon find out
Upon finding faith in God, you realize
There is no way to stop him
There is no way to prevent the preacher from taking more money
Now the high priest could've seen
The high priest should have noticed
But she got too hot to handle
The situation became challenging
He made her mother settle out of court
He convinced her mother to settle the matter out of court
And incensed lit the candle
And burnt the candle angrily
"Don't lose faith" said the preacher
The preacher discourages losing faith
With his hands stuck in your pocket
With his hands still in your pocket
When you find the Lord, you soon find out
Upon finding faith in God, you realize
There is no way to stop him
There is no way to prevent the preacher from taking more money
"Don't lose faith" said the preacher
The preacher once again discourages losing faith
With his hands back in your pocket
With his hands back into your pocket
Keep your hands out of my pocket
Do not reach into my pocket
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES DIXON BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@10shamus
Legends! Best band ever.
@80mphisntfastenuff
Awesome song on Teenage Love. Killing it👍
@80mphisntfastenuff
My lifetime band. Absolute legends.
@skinnyt1971
That's my Australia. Love it.
@CowHuggingVegan
My god where was this vid. hiding??!! This is from Teenage Love...an album of previosly unreleased Chisel tracks. Amazing to think there's video footage of the song!
@GregLongstaff
Shit hot! Chisel Forever!!
@keithnewman8280
deep cut - the real thing