During the 70s, while still in his teens, Mitchell began playing with local bands in the city of Sarnia. After evolving through a few name changes with essentially the same band, Mitchell and a group titled "Zooom" headed off for Toronto, Ontario. The band eventually dissolved, with Mitchell travelling over to the Greek islands.
Upon his return to Canada, he formed the band Max Webster, which managed to finally break through commercially. Besides playing the group, Mitchell and wrote most of the band's songs with fellow Sarnia native and lyricist, Pye Dubois (Paul Woods). Max Webster toured extensively and built a string of hits. Mitchell's solo career began after his departure from Max Webster, with session work and a succession of solo albums.
In early 1985, the song "Go For Soda" from the Akimbo Alogo album became an international hit and perhaps remains his best known song outside of his native Canada.
In 2004, Mitchell entered the radio broadcasting industry, becoming afternoon drive time host on Toronto classic rock radio station Q107.
As of 2005, Mitchell, still does the afternoon drive time on Q107, and is working on a new double CD set for a Spring 2006 release.
In December of 2005, Mitchell had proposed to the Q107 listeners that they write a Christmas song together. The resulting song is entitled "A Christmas Smile". At the end of the song, Mitchell advises his fans not to drink and drive, but to "go for a soda" instead.
Bad Times
Kim Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lights are red and the money's blue
She lives down by the railroad avenue
And the same old dance steps to the same old song
Take a one way ride
It doesn't last too long
It's a lifetime sentence and no one ever gets free
Because she got the diamonds
Might as well laugh 'cause you can't dance
When you're on your knees
Begging for mercy
I can see you're havin' bad times
Oooo so bad
Nothing rhymes
I can see you're havin' bad times
Only one more line before it starts to unwind
I can see you're havin' bad times
So bad so bad so bad
Nothing rhymes
I can see you're havin' bad times
She's like a lying politician at election time
Front page headline and it's all bad news
A stiletto-heeled version of the walking blues
All fancy wrapping but nothing's inside
There's no bargain prices for a downhill ride
Sweet sweet poison dressed in ermine and lace
And the weatherman's calling for champagne and rain
Always center stage at the scene of the crime
A cruel joke dressed up just like a valentine
So you might as well laugh 'cause you can't dance
When you're on your knees
Begging for mercy
I can see you're havin' bad times
Oooo so bad
Nothing rhymes
I can see you're havin' bad times
She's no misdemeanor
She's a felony crime
I can see you're havin' bad times
Oooo so bad so bad
Nothing rhymes
I can see you're havin' bad times
One day in her hard books is like doing bad time
Funny how you always want it
Just one more time
When she wins
That's when you lose
On a good day you'll walk away
Still wearing your old shoes
I can see you're havin' bad times
Oh so bad
Nothing rhymes
I can see you're havin' bad times
She's all fancy wrapping but nothing's inside
I can see you're havin' bad times
There ain't no bargain prices for a downhill ride
I can see you're havin' bad times
Oooo so bad
I can see you're havin' bad times
She's all fancy wrapping but nothing's inside
I can see you're havin' bad times
Oooo so bad so bad
Nothing rhymes
I can see you're havin' bad times
The song "Bad Times" by Kim Mitchell is a cautionary tale about the dangers of getting involved with a seductive but ultimately destructive woman. The lyrics describe a woman who lives down by the railroad avenue and lures men in with her high-heeled blues and promise of diamonds. The singer knows that getting involved with her is a one way ride that doesn't last too long and feels like a lifetime sentence with no hope of escape. He compares her to a lying politician and a cruel joke dressed up like a valentine.
Despite the warnings, the singer seems to be unable to resist the woman's charms and is begging for mercy while on his knees. It's clear that he's having bad times, and nothing rhymes. The song emphasizes the idea that there are no bargain prices for a downhill ride and that even on a good day when you walk away, you're still wearing your old shoes. The overall message is that it's better to walk away from bad times even if it means you can't dance, then to get caught up in something you can't escape from.
Line by Line Meaning
A pair of high-heeled blues waiting just for me
A woman with a sad life is waiting for me, and she wears high heels like they are the blues.
The lights are red and the money's blue
The situation is bad because I'm broke and the traffic lights are red.
She lives down by the railroad avenue
The woman I'm talking about lives in a bad part of town by the railroad tracks.
And the same old dance steps to the same old song
I keep doing the same things with this woman, and we never change them.
Take a one way ride, It doesn't last too long
I'm stuck in a bad situation with this woman, and it won't last very long.
It's a lifetime sentence and no one ever gets free, Because she got the diamonds, And I got disease
Being with this woman feels like a life sentence, and I can't escape. She has money and I have problems.
Might as well laugh 'cause you can't dance, When you're on your knees, Begging for mercy
I'm in a bad situation, so I might as well laugh because there's nothing else to do; it's like begging for mercy when you're on your knees.
I can see you're havin' bad times, Oooo so bad, Nothing rhymes
I can tell that you're going through tough times that don't even have a silver lining; there's no way to make it sound good.
Only one more line before it starts to unwind
Things are about to get even worse, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
She's like a lying politician at election time
This woman is a deceitful person, just like a politician during an election campaign.
Front page headline and it's all bad news
The situation is so bad, even the headlines in the newspaper are negative.
A stiletto-heeled version of the walking blues
This woman is like a modern version of the sad song called the walking blues, and she wears stiletto heels.
All fancy wrapping but nothing's inside
This woman may look good on the outside, but she's empty on the inside.
There's no bargain prices for a downhill ride
This woman is not cheap, and being with her is like going downhill; it's not worth the money.
Sweet sweet poison dressed in ermine and lace, And the weatherman's calling for champagne and rain
This woman is like a beautiful but dangerous poison, and the weather is predicting a storm with champagne and rain.
Always center stage at the scene of the crime, A cruel joke dressed up just like a valentine
This woman is always in the middle of disastrous situations, and her seemingly sweet appearance is just a cruel joke.
She's no misdemeanor, She's a felony crime
Being with this woman is not a minor offense, it's a serious crime.
One day in her hard books is like doing bad time
Even being with this woman for just one day is like being in jail and doing bad time.
Funny how you always want it, Just one more time, When she wins, That's when you lose
It's ironic how I keep wanting to be with this woman, even though it always leads to my downfall.
On a good day you'll walk away, Still wearing your old shoes
If I'm lucky, I may be able to leave this woman without any major damage, but I'll still be left with the same old problems.
She's all fancy wrapping but nothing's inside
This woman might look good on the outside, but there's nothing of substance on the inside.
There ain't no bargain prices for a downhill ride
Being with this woman is not worth the cost, and it's like going downhill; it only gets worse.
Contributed by Hudson C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anders Karlsson
Vilken JÄVLA ROCKER Kim är!!!
Atomic Tim
Yeah! Kim kicks butt on this one!