Tempe, AZ-based singer/songwriter Brent Babb joined with drummer/bandleader… Read Full Bio ↴Tempe, AZ-based singer/songwriter Brent Babb joined with drummer/bandleader Curtis Grippe to form the guitar-driven rock band Dead Hot Workshop in the early '90s. More than a decade (and four albums) later, the group remained one of the hardest-hitting bands on the West Coast. According to Roger Clyne of Tempe.-based band the Peacemakers, "Music people in this city get as excited about what Brent Babb does as people did about what Dylan was doing in the '60s."

While their early sound centered on the two-guitar attack of Babb and Steve Larson and Babb's working-class-oriented lyrics, Dead Hot Workshop was forced to reorganize following the departure of Larson in June 1997. They recorded their second album, Karma Covered Apple, as a trio.

Dead Hot Workshop continued to shift personnel. When Brian Scott left in June 1998, he was replaced by ex-Dialectis bassist Steve Flores, and second guitarist Chris "Whitey" Whitehouse, formerly of the Satellites, was added.

Strangers
Dead Hot Workshop Lyrics

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Just to keep it straight
For my own device
A little chunk of change
It only goes to show
The stone was gonna roll
But only for a while
Just keep it rolling straight
Led by chins and smiles

Now there's some good advice

Gravity is gray waiting on me down
Since before I was a child
It was hard to complicate
But simple to devise
So familiar a surprise
You'll have to compensate
Some meaning of your own
For these dimestore lies
You'll get yours today
Tomorrow I'll get mine

And we'll step outside of ourselves like strangers
I'll see you see me see you
And the chances are we will still be strangers
Me and you and me and you
And I guess all my friends are strangers
In the end

Just to keep it straight
For my own device
A little chunk of change
It only goes to show
The stone is gonna roll
But it's only rolling down
You'll have to compensate
Some meaning of your own
For these dimestore lies
You'll get yours today
Tomorrow I'll get mine

And we'll step outside of ourselves like strangers
I'll see you see me see you
And the chances are we will still be strangers
Me and you and me and you
And I guess all my friends are strangers
In the end

Yeah, we'll step outside of ourselves like strangers
I'll see you see me see you
And the chances are we will still be strangers
Me and you and me and you

I guess all my friends are strangers
In the end

Overall Meaning

The song "Strangers" by Dead Hot Workshop is a contemplative song about friendship and the realization that even though we may think we know our friends well, there is always an element of mystery and distance between individuals. The song's lyrics express this theme through imagery of a rolling stone, gravity, and dimestore lies. The song's narrator is attempting to keep things straight and simple, but realizes that meaning is subjective and that everyone must compensate for their own interpretation of events.

The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "we'll step outside of ourselves like strangers" three times, emphasizing the idea that even with the closest friends, there is always a degree of unfamiliarity. The song's structure is fairly simple, with a repeating guitar riff and steady drumbeat supporting the vocals.

Overall, "Strangers" is a heartfelt and introspective song that touches on universal feelings of isolation and the desire to connect with others on a deeper level.

Line by Line Meaning

Just to keep it straight
To be clear and concise

For my own device
For my own benefit

A little chunk of change
Some money

It only goes to show
It proves a point

The stone was gonna roll
Things were going to happen either way

But only for a while
But not for long

Just keep it rolling straight
Keep going without deviation

Led by chins and smiles
Guided by sheer determination

Now there's some good advice
This is useful and valid suggestion

Gravity is gray waiting on me down
Life will inevitably come to an end

Since before I was a child
This has been true for a very long time