Motörhead released 23 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio, they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades and, particularly, the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith cemented Motörhead's reputation as a top-tier rock band. The band are ranked number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. As of 2016, they have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.
Most often classified as heavy metal, Motörhead has been credited with being part of and influencing numerous musical scenes, thrash metal and speed metal especially. Lemmy, however, always insisted that they were a rock and roll band. He said that they had more in common with punk bands, but with their own unique sound, Motörhead is embraced in both punk and metal scenes. Their lyrics typically covered such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse and, most famously, gambling, the latter theme being the focus of their hit song "Ace of Spades".
Lemmy died on 28 December 2015 from cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. The day after his death, drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Phil Campbell both confirmed that Motörhead had disbanded. By 2018, all three members of Motörhead's best-known line-up (Lemmy, Taylor and Clarke) had died.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motörhead
Discography
Motörhead (1977)
Overkill (1979)
Bomber (1979)
On Parole (1979)
Ace of Spades (1980)
Iron Fist (1982)
Another Perfect Day (1983)
Orgasmatron (1986)
Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
1916 (1991)
March ör Die (1992)
Bastards (1993)
Sacrifice (1995)
Overnight Sensation (1996)
Snake Bite Love (1998)
We Are Motörhead (2000)
Hammered (2002)
Inferno (2004)
Kiss of Death (2006)
Motörizer (2008)
The Wörld Is Yours (2010)
Aftershock (2013)
Bad Magic (2015)
One Short Life
Motörhead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About the live we lead
Told me it was too easy
To live a life of greed
She said you be a good man
And I'll be proud of you
'Cos you can't do no better
If that's all you learn to do
All we got is one short life
Far as we can find
And if you don't know how to live
The world will be unkind
No, no curse upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy
And think that I'm the same
No, I won't be blamed
I live without dishonor
I won't have to die ashamed
Old lady told me plenty
Told me what to do
How to act in society
How to make it through
She said always mind your manners
And don't you talk no trash
And if you hear somebody dissing you
Go over and kick his ass
One thing is for certain
By all we know and love
If you compromise your integrity
You should drown in your own blood
No, no curse upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy
And think that I'm the same
No, I won't be blamed
You live without dishonor
You don't have to die ashamed
So even though I'm old and weird
I remember what she said
I always knew that she was right
So I kept it in my head
I never tried to hurt the world
I never was drove by greed
Believe I mostly did my best
What more do you want from me?
All there is is one short life
Far as we can find
And if you don't know how to live
You're gonna lose your mind
No no dirt upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy
And think I share the blame
No, I'm not the same
As I live and die, I'm certain I
Refuse to die ashamed
The lyrics to Motörhead's song One Short Life are about the importance of living a meaningful life and leaving behind a positive legacy. The song reflects on the advice given by the singer's mother and an old lady who offered guidance on how to lead a good life. The singer reflects on these pieces of advice and recognizes the importance of living a life without greed, dishonor, or compromise.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of making the most of our one short life. The world can be unkind if we don't know how to live. The singer is determined to live a life without dishonor and not to die ashamed. The song acknowledges that living a meaningful life is not easy, but it's essential to try and live up to the high standards set by the singer's mother and the old lady.
The song suggests that it's necessary to find a balance between standing up for oneself and minding one's manners. The singer recognizes that there are bad guys in the world but chooses not to be like them. Instead, the singer decides to live without dishonor and not to be ashamed of how they lived their life. The song's message is hopeful, and it encourages listeners to make the most out of their limited time on earth and to strive for a life without regret.
Line by Line Meaning
My mama told me lots of things
The singer's mother taught him many valuable life lessons
About the live we lead
This refers to the way we live our lives
Told me it was too easy
His mother warned him that it was too easy to choose a life of greed
To live a life of greed
To choose a life of selfishness and materialism
She said you be a good man
His mother advised him to be a good person
And I'll be proud of you
She promised to be proud of him if he did so
'Cos you can't do no better
His mother believed that being a good person was the best he could do
If that's all you learn to do
If being a good person is all that he learns
All we got is one short life
Life is short and we should make the most of it
Far as we can find
As far as we know
And if you don't know how to live
If you don't know how to live your life
The world will be unkind
The world will not treat you kindly
No, no curse upon my name
The singer is not ashamed of his actions
No way I look at a bad guy
He doesn't see himself as a bad person
And think that I'm the same
He doesn't identify with bad people
No, I won't be blamed
He won't take the blame for other people's actions
I live without dishonor
He lives with integrity
I won't have to die ashamed
He won't feel ashamed when he dies
Old lady told me plenty
The singer learned a lot from the older generations
Told me what to do
They gave him advice on how to live his life
How to act in society
They taught him how to behave in society
How to make it through
They taught him how to overcome obstacles
She said always mind your manners
He was taught to be polite and respectful
And don't you talk no trash
He was instructed not to speak ill of others
And if you hear somebody dissing you
If he hears someone badmouthing him
Go over and kick his ass
He should stand up for himself and fight back
One thing is for certain
One thing is clear
By all we know and love
From all that we know and cherish
If you compromise your integrity
If you sacrifice your honesty and principles
You should drown in your own blood
You should face the consequences of your actions
So even though I'm old and weird
Despite being old and unconventional
I remember what she said
He still remembers the valuable lessons he was taught
I always knew that she was right
He always believed that his mother was right
So I kept it in my head
He kept her advice in mind
I never tried to hurt the world
He never intended to harm others
I never was drove by greed
He was never motivated by greed
Believe I mostly did my best
He believes that he did his best in life
What more do you want from me?
What else could he have done?
And if you don't know how to live
If you don't know how to live your life
You're gonna lose your mind
You'll go crazy
No no dirt upon my name
He doesn't have a bad reputation
No way I look at a bad guy
He doesn't see himself as a bad person
And think I share the blame
He doesn't believe he is responsible for other people's actions
No, I'm not the same
He's not like bad people
As I live and die, I'm certain I
He's sure that throughout his life and death
Refuse to die ashamed
He won't be ashamed when he dies
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ian Kilmister, Philip Campbell, Micael Delaoglou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The Dane
LYRICS:
My mama told me lots of things about the life we lead
Told me it was too easy to live a life of greed
She said you be a good man, and I'll be proud of you
'Cos you can't do no better, if that's all you learn to do
All we got is one short life
Far as we can find
And if you don't know how to live
The world will be unkind
No, no curse upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy, and think that I'm the same
No, I won't be blamed
I live without dishonour, I won't have to die ashamed
Old lady told me plenty, told me what to do
How to act in society, how to make it through
She said always mind your manners, and don't you talk no trash
And if you hear somebody dissing you, go over and kick his ass
One thing is for certain
By all we know and love
If you compromise your integrity
You should drown in your own blood
No, no curse upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy, and think that I'm the same
No, I won't be blamed
You live without dishonour, you don't have to die ashamed
So even though I'm old and weird, I remember what she said
I always knew that she was right, so I kept it in my head
I never tried to hurt the world, I never was drove by greed
Believe I mostly did my best, what more do you want from me?
All there is, is one short life
Far as we can find
And if you don't know how to live
You're gonna lose your mind
No, no dirt upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy, and think I share the blame
No, I'm not the same
As I live and die, I swear that I, refuse to die ashamed
The Dane
LYRICS:
My mama told me lots of things about the life we lead
Told me it was too easy to live a life of greed
She said you be a good man, and I'll be proud of you
'Cos you can't do no better, if that's all you learn to do
All we got is one short life
Far as we can find
And if you don't know how to live
The world will be unkind
No, no curse upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy, and think that I'm the same
No, I won't be blamed
I live without dishonour, I won't have to die ashamed
Old lady told me plenty, told me what to do
How to act in society, how to make it through
She said always mind your manners, and don't you talk no trash
And if you hear somebody dissing you, go over and kick his ass
One thing is for certain
By all we know and love
If you compromise your integrity
You should drown in your own blood
No, no curse upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy, and think that I'm the same
No, I won't be blamed
You live without dishonour, you don't have to die ashamed
So even though I'm old and weird, I remember what she said
I always knew that she was right, so I kept it in my head
I never tried to hurt the world, I never was drove by greed
Believe I mostly did my best, what more do you want from me?
All there is, is one short life
Far as we can find
And if you don't know how to live
You're gonna lose your mind
No, no dirt upon my name
No way I look at a bad guy, and think I share the blame
No, I'm not the same
As I live and die, I swear that I, refuse to die ashamed
metaljohn209
I was lucky I got to see them one time \m/.Rock on Lemmy R.I.P.
Planet Nate Gaming
same here dude....I've seen both Motorhead and Black Sabbath in this one short life
Gio Gionist
Ride down the highway with lem! Another lyrical masterpiece.
Motorizer
"And if you hear somebody dissin' you, go over and kick his ass." 🤘❤️
necrohell count
R.I.P. Lemmy Kilmister the god of rock n roll
Moisés Braga Ribeiro
He'll never be forgotten.
Happy New Year 7 a.L. (after Lemmy) for you all.
gruaim
No curse upon my name!
RaySquirrel
R.I.P. Lemmy
Dim Nobody
+Anthony Reynoso (KiNG-BEAR) "There's not heaven in the sky" LEMMY - God was never on your side