The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band that formed in Cleveland, Ohi… Read Full Bio ↴The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band that formed in Cleveland, Ohio around 1975. They evolved out of the band Rocket From The Tombs (whose remaining members eventually became the avant-garde band Pere Ubu).

Moving to New York City in 1976, they quickly gained notoriety for their outrageous live performances – lewd gestures and profanity was the norm, and on more than one occasion, lead singer Stiv Bators slashed his stomach with his mic stand. They frequently played at the legendary rock club CBGBs and in 1977 they released their debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty, produced by Genya Ravan. Their song "Sonic Reducer" is often regarded as one of the classics of the punk genre, with the All Music Guide calling it "one of punk's great anthems."

Sire Records pressured the group to change their look and sound to appeal more to the US mainstream (which had yet to embrace punk on the level seen in the UK) and this contributed to Dead Boys breaking up in 1979. A few months after the breakup the band had to reunite to record a live album and thus fulfill their contractual obligations. To exact revenge on the label, Bators purposely sang off mic and the resulting recording was unusable. When the material eventually surfaced on Bomp! Records, Bators had re-recorded the vocals in a studio.

Bators later formed Lords of the New Church with Brian James from The Damned and Dave Tregunna from Sham 69.

The band reformed for several gigs in the 1980's. They released Younger, Louder and Snottier in 1989, which included demos and rough mixes of their debut album.

In 1990, Bators died in France due to injuries sustained in a car accident.

In September of 2004, the band, sans Bators, re-formed for a one-off gig in Cleveland.

In 2005, they played a benefit show for the legendary rock club CBGBs. This same year, they also played a reunion show on Halloween.

Dead and Alive
Dead Boys Lyrics

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Caretakers of the streets
Virgins with tainted saviours
Hippies hustling chump change
Don't know the days from the night

Dead and alive ain't breathing I'm
Dead and alive feeling so damn
Dead and alive

Being a servant by day
Smiling and stroking my way
I get my lovin' outta magazines
But keep your hands offa me

Dead and alive ain't breathing I'm
Dead and alive feeling so damn
Dead and alive

Murder takes a city's night
Feeding it's wanton flame
Come excite the streets with me
But don'tcha ask my name

Dead and alive ain't breathing I'm

Dead and alive feeling so damn
Dead and alive

Overall Meaning

The Dead Boys' song "Dead and Alive" is a gritty look at the darker side of city life. The lyrics paint a picture of a world inhabited by caretakers of the streets, virgins with tainted saviours and hippies hustling chump change. It's a world where day and night blend together and the line between life and death is blurred.

The singer of the song is someone who appears to be leading a double life. During the day, he's a servant, smiling and stroking his way through life. But at night, he feeds the city's wanton flame by participating in murder and other illicit activities. The only way he can find pleasure is through magazines, and he warns others to keep their hands off of him.

The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "dead and alive ain't breathing", emphasizing the duality and confusion of the singer's existence. He feels caught between two worlds and unable to escape his circumstances.

Overall, "Dead and Alive" is a dark and introspective look at the seedy underbelly of city life. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a world where life and death, pleasure and pain, and day and night are all interconnected.

Line by Line Meaning

Caretakers of the streets
People who look after the streets

Virgins with tainted saviours
Inexperienced individuals seeking help from unreliable sources

Hippies hustling chump change
Bohemian people trying to make a small amount of money

Don't know the days from the night
Their disorientation renders them unable to tell the difference between day and night

Dead and alive ain't breathing I'm
The singer feels both dead and alive, but he isn't breathing

Dead and alive feeling so damn
The singer feels both dead and alive, and it's an intense experience

Being a servant by day
Having a job as a subordinate during the day

Smiling and stroking my way
Acting friendly and pleasing people

I get my lovin' outta magazines
The singer gets his sexual satisfaction from magazines

But keep your hands offa me
The singer doesn't want anyone to touch him

Murder takes a city's night
Violence dominates the night in the city