Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 194… Read Full Bio ↴Heart Stomping Rock & Roll
Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and died October 4, 1970. In between she led a triumphant and tumultuous life blessed by an innate talent to convey powerful emotion through heart-stomping rock-and-roll singing. Born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, a small Southern petroleum industry town, she gravitated to artistic interests cultivated by parents Seth and Dorothy Joplin.
Janis broke with local social traditions during the tense days of racial integration, standing up for the rights of African Americans whose segregated status in her hometown seared her youthful ideals. Along with fellow band beatnik-reading high school students, she pursued the non-traditional via arts and literature, especially music. They gravitated to folk and jazz with Janis especially taken with the blues. Discovering an inborn talent to belt the blues, Janis began copying the styles of Bessie Smith, Odetta and Leadbelly. She played the coffee houses and hootenannies of the day in the small towns of Texas. She later ventured to the beatnik haunts of Venice, North Beach and the Village in New York, eventually landing in Austin, Texas as a student at the University of Texas. Jumping into the on-the-edge lifestyle cultivated by the beats, Janis thrilled at her creativity, but almost lost herself in experiments with drugs and alcohol, especially speed.
Returning home for a year to question her life direction, she excelled at college but was never content. Music still called her to her in spite of its dangerous association with drugs. "The two aren't wedded," her friends counseled. When old Austin friend, Chet Helms, then in San Francisco, called to offer her a singing audition with an up-and-coming local group, Janis was tempted. She found a vital San Francisco community, turned upside down by the flower children of 1966, and was offered the singing position in a relatively obscure group called "Big Brother and the Holding Company."
Ball And Chain
Janis Joplin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honey, looking out at the rain
Sitting down by my window, looking out at the rain
All around that I felt it
All I can see was the rain
Something grabbed a hold of me
Feel to me, oh, like a ball and chain
Hey, you know what I mean that's exactly what it felt likeBut that's way too heavy for you, you can't hold them all
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, oh, that cannot be
Just because I got oh, your love, please
Why does every
Oh, this can't be just because I got to need you, daddy
Please don't you knock it down now, please
Here you've gone today
What I wanted to love you and I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die
Yes, I did, yes, I did, yeah, hey, hey, alright
Say, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey
This can't be anything I've ever wanted from your daddy tell me now
Oh, tell me, baby
Oh, say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey
This can't be, no, no, no, no, no
Yeah, yeah
I hope there's someone out there who could tell me
Tell me why just because I got to want your love
Honey, just because I got to need, need, need, need your love
I said I understand
Honey, what I'm wanna trying to say hi
Trying, try, try, try, try, try, try
Honey, everybody in the world, also same, baby
When everybody in the world what needs, seem lonely
What I wanted work for your love, daddyWhat I wanted trust your love, daddy
I din't understand how come you're gone
I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man
And the other half of the world is still crying too, man
I can't get it together
I mean if you go to ? Oneday, man
I mean, so baby, you want ? Three and sixty five days, right
You ain't gonna within sixty five days, you gonna for one day, man
I tell you, that one day, man, better be your life, man
Because you know, you can stay oh man, you can cry about the other three and sixty four, man I said whoa, whoa, whoa
But you gonna lose that one day, man
That's all you got, you got to call it love, man
That's what it is, man
If you got today, you don't worry about tomorrow, man
Because you don't need it
Because the matter of the fact, as we discovered tat's rain, tomorrow never happens, man
It's all the same fucking day, man
So you gotta when you want to hold someone
You gotta hold them like it's the last minutes of your life
You gotta hold, hold, hold and I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why
Hold, baby, 'cause some come on your shoulder, baby
It's gonna feel too heavy, it's gonna weigh on you why does every thing, every thing
It's gonna feel just like a ball
Oh, daddy and a chain
In Janis Joplin's song "Ball and Chain," she is sitting by her window and reflecting on her feelings of being weighed down and trapped in a relationship. She uses the metaphor of a ball and chain to describe the suffocating feeling she experiences when she thinks about her love for someone else. Joplin's soulful, powerful voice conveys the pain and anguish of feeling trapped, but also the yearning for love and connection.
As the song progresses, Joplin pleads with her lover not to let her down and implores him to give her a chance to try to understand and work for his love. The ending of the song takes an introspective turn as Joplin reflects on the fleeting nature of life and love, telling the listener that they must cherish and hold onto every moment with loved ones because tomorrow is never guaranteed.
Line by Line Meaning
S-sitting down by my window, Oh, looking at the rain.
I am sitting by the window, watching the rain pour down.
S-sitting down by my window now now, All around I felt it, All I could see was the rain.
I am still sitting and now I realize that the rain has not stopped and it is surrounding me.
Something grabbed a hold of me, honey, Felt to me honey like, lord, a ball and chain.
I felt like something grabbed me and now it feels like I am carrying a heavy burden that I cannot get rid of.
Yeah! hey! you know what I mean, But it's way too heavy for you, You can't hold it tomorrow.
I know you understand, but you cannot handle this weight tomorrow.
Say, whoa, whoa, honey, it can't be Just because I got to want your love Please please please please, whoa please, please.
Please do not leave me just because I want your love.
Whoa, honey it can't be Just because I got to need you daddy. Please don't you let me down, no, please, lord!
Please do not disappoint me just because I need you.
Here you gone today, but I wanted to love you, I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die, Till the day, till the day, Yeah! hey! hey! all right!
I loved you and wanted to hold you forever, even though you are gone now.
Say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be Not anything I ever wanted from you daddy Tell me now, now, now, now, oh, tell me now, yeah.
Please tell me why this is happening, as it is not what I wanted from you.
I say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be No, no, no, no, no, no, no yeah yeah, hey! And I want someone that could tell me, tell me why Just because I got to want your love Honey, just because I got to need, need, need your love
I still cannot believe you left me and need someone to explain why. Just because I wanted and needed your love does not justify this heartbreak.
I said I don't understand, honey, but I wanna chance to try Try, try, try, try try try try Honey when everybody in the world wants the same damn thing When everybody in the world will need the same lonely thing When I wanna work for your love, daddy. When I wanna try for your love, daddy.
I may not understand why you left, but I am willing to try and work for your love.
I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the World is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still Crying too, man, I can't get it together. I If you got a cat for one day, man I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a Cat for 365 days, right you aint got him for 365 days, you got him for one Day, man. well I tell you that one da N, better be your life, man. because, you know, you can say, oh man, you Can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, And that's all you've got. you gotta call that, man. That's what it is, man. if you got it today you don't want it Tomorrow, man, cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we Discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, m Ts all the same fucking day, man.
I do not understand why so much of the world is crying when you left me. If you have something for only one day, that one day should be your entire life. You should not wait until tomorrow for it because tomorrow never comes, and it is all the same day.
So you gotta, when you wanna hold a sigh, You gotta hold him like it's the last minute in your life, baby. You gotta hold, whoa, whoa, hold him 'Cause someday some weights gonna come on your shoulders, babe, It's gonna feel too heavy, it's gonna weigh on you, It's gonna feel just like a ball, ball, ball, oh daddy, And a chain.
When you hold onto something or someone, you should hold it like it is the last minute of your life. Because someday the weight of the responsibility may become too heavy, and it will feel like a ball and chain dragging you down.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Willie Mae Thornton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AngiereeRN
Cass Elliot’s reaction was the icing on the cake. Love how happy Janis looked. She knew she killed it. What a loss that those women aren’t still with us 😔
@frankcorrenti5941
The lesson we carried was God gave us what they had.
@lukehauser1182
Love that Cass could appreciate Janis so much!
@joshgoolman3606
Would be my reaction if I saw this live as well!
@Beatles0223
I ❤️ Cass's butterfly pinkie ring!
@greggmatson2249
Also notice that Blind Owl Wilson was sitting behind Mama Cass.
@cliometrician
I'm 73 years old and I am still addicted to her music. Yes, I'm opinionated, I still think the late 1960s and early 70s was the greatest time for music...and I got to live it.
@hectorgonzalez9170
When modern music was being invented.
It was the best of times.
@RabbitFighters
This wasn’t even her song. She just screeched on it and didn’t give credit to the actual performer. Die in you glory of lies
@MikhnevichNatalya
👍👍👍👍❤