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.
Merry-Go-Round
Cold Chisel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For a truck-stop honey with a dubious name
She held my heart like a blackjack dealer
And took my money when she left the game
She was overly fond of sophisticated messin' around
I've had a bellyful of livin' in the same old merry-go-round
Well I played in the summer and I froze in the winter
And I hankered for the high school beauty queen
And christened a boy when she was just nineteen
Crazy love, never gonna settle down
I've had a bellyful of lovin' on the same old merry-go-round
Like any man I've got to work for a living
Just to earn my soul for a weekend show
Saturday morning I'll be down by the river
Getting whipped at the Copmanhurst rodeo
When the weekend comes I'm gonna set fire to the town
I've had a bellyful of workin' on the same old merry-go-round
I'm looking out as the sun goes down
Drinking Bundeburg at the end of the day
I'm twentyfive, I'm half alive
The rest is only just a ticket away
Give me a ticket, take me to a city hotel
I've had a bellyful of livin' on the same old merry-go-round
The lyrics of Cold Chisel’s “Merry-Go-Round” tells the story of a man who has grown tired of living a monotonous life. He starts off by lamenting about a truck-stop girl who broke his heart and took his money. He describes her as a blackjack dealer who played around with his heart. He then moves on to talk about the summer he spent with the high school beauty queen who was already married to a rich timber-miller. Although he had a crazy love for her, he knew she’d never settle down with him. The singer then goes on to talk about his mundane job, his experience at the Copmanhurst rodeo where he gets whipped, and how he is tired of living the same old merry-go-round life.
As the song progresses, he seems to be expressing how he wants a change in his life. He talks about drinking Bundaberg at the end of the day and feeling half alive at the age of twenty-five. He yearns for a different kind of life, one that doesn't involve the same old merry-go-round. In the final lines of the song, he pleads for someone to give him a ticket and take him to a city hotel, indicating a desire to escape his current life.
Cold Chisel's "Merry-Go-Round" is a song that resonates with people who are feeling stuck in their mundane lives. It expresses the need for change and a desire to break free from one's current situation.
Line by Line Meaning
I cried my tears in a glass of tequila
I drowned my sorrows with tequila after a heartbreak
For a truck-stop honey with a dubious name
I fell in love with a questionable woman I met at a truck stop
She held my heart like a blackjack dealer
She had complete control over my heart like a blackjack dealer has over the cards
And took my money when she left the game
She took all my money when she ended the relationship
She was overly fond of sophisticated messin' around
She enjoyed pursuing complex and complicated relationships
I've had a bellyful of livin' in the same old merry-go-round
I'm tired of going through the same cycle in life
Well I played in the summer and I froze in the winter
I experienced the extremes of both heat and cold
And I hankered for the high school beauty queen
I longed for the popular and beautiful girl from high school
She was married to a rich young timber-miller
She married a wealthy man who worked in the lumber industry
And christened a boy when she was just nineteen
She gave birth to a son at the young age of nineteen
Crazy love, never gonna settle down
I have a wild and unstable love life and don't plan on settling down
I've had a bellyful of lovin' on the same old merry-go-round
I'm tired of going through the same cycle in my romantic life
Like any man I've got to work for a living
Like any other man, I have to work to earn a living
Just to earn my soul for a weekend show
I work hard all week just to have a good time on the weekends
Saturday morning I'll be down by the river
I plan on spending my Saturday morning by the river
Getting whipped at the Copmanhurst rodeo
I'll be getting beaten at the rodeo in Copmanhurst
When the weekend comes I'm gonna set fire to the town
I plan on having a wild and crazy weekend
I've had a bellyful of workin' on the same old merry-go-round
I'm tired of working the same job over and over again
I'm looking out as the sun goes down
I'm watching the sunset
Drinking Bundeburg at the end of the day
I'm having a drink to unwind at the end of the day
I'm twentyfive, I'm half alive
I'm 25 years old and feel like I'm only halfway through life
The rest is only just a ticket away
The remaining adventures in life are waiting for me to explore with just a ticket
Give me a ticket, take me to a city hotel
I want to travel to the city and stay in a hotel
I've had a bellyful of livin' on the same old merry-go-round
I'm tired of living my life in a repetitive cycle
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DONALD WALKER, DONALD HUGH WALKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind