Before Queen, Taylor founded Smile with Brian May. Smile released one album in Japan which is now available throughout the world as Ghost of a Smile. Smile wrote a few of the songs which would later appear on Queen's self-titled debut album, and one - Doin' Alright was featured on the Smile album.
Taylor also fronted another band, The Cross from 1987 to 1991. The first album, Shove it (1988) was a solo album by Taylor in all but name - he wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments himself. This was an experiment that didn't really work for Taylor and in the other two albums by The Cross he allowed the other members of the band to contribute more, resulting in more traditionally styled rock albums.
Out of the four original members of Queen Taylor and guitarist Brian May continued to play as Queen + Paul Rodgers between 2004 and 2008. Of the other original members singer Freddie Mercury tragically died in 1991 and bassist John Deacon retired from music business in the mid-1990's.
In 2009, after the partnership between him, Brian and Paul ended, Roger worked on some new solo material from which his single The Unblinking Eye (Everything is Broken) was digitally released at 23th November at Queenonline.com. At the moment it is unclear how the future of Queen will look like, though Roger has announced that he will do a short tour in the spring of 2010.
Bad Attitude
Roger Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Broadsword calling Danny boy
You know what I feel
They say I gotta
They say I gotta - a bad attitude
You wanna buy a picture of your sister in her birthday suit
No gratitude
Street tough talkin' but you always get screwed
Only way to stay cool gotta break some rules
Systems made for fools
No aptitude
You get real slow and you slide into decrepitude
It's all platitudes
This one way street always ends in penal servitude
Get out there (get out there)
Get on the street go on and break some rules
You know what I feel
You know what I feel
Rip it up - I gotta bad attitude
Tear it down - I gotta bad attitude
A bad attitude
You can't think straight when you're raised on junk food
No solitude
Somebody help me gotta getta grip on my latitude
You're just a destitute
Your folks don't like it when they see you starrin' on the news
You know what I feel
You know what I feel
Rip it up - I gotta bad attitude
Tear it down - I gotta bad attitude
You're just a destitute
Some kinda prostitute
Sometimes I just wanna sit back and relax and get me some pulchritude (ha ha)
Lets get stewed
Get crude
A bad attitude
Rip it up - I gotta bad attitude
Tear it down - I gotta bad attitude
Rip it up - I gotta bad attitude
Tear it down - I gotta bad attitude
So don't tell me what I gotta do
I'm sick of wise guys feeding me all these verisimilitudes
I ain't a fool
You'd better watch out honey - I'm one pissed off dude
I gotta bad attitude
The song "Bad Attitude" by Roger Taylor is an upbeat rock song with rebellious lyrics that seem to protest against society's expectations and norms. The opening lines of "Broadsword calling Danny boy" are a reference to the final scene of the movie "Where Eagles Dare," where the character Major John Smith played by Richard Burton is trying to get the attention of Danny, who is played by Clint Eastwood. The lyrics "You wanna buy a picture of your sister in her birthday suit, No gratitude," could be interpreted as a criticism of society's obsession with sex and objectifying women. The line "Street tough talkin' but you always get screwed" highlights the hypocrisy of trying to appear tough but ultimately failing to succeed in life.
The song seems to preach breaking rules, as it is the only way to stay cool and stand out in a world made for fools. The lyrics suggest that the system is useless and made to bring people down. The use of the term "penal servitude" highlights the idea that society is like a prison, and it's impossible to escape. The song seems to be encouraging individuals to take back their freedom and not let society dictate their lives.
Overall, "Bad Attitude" is a song that calls for rebellion against the expectations and norms of society. It encourages listeners to take control of their lives and find a way to break free from the system.
Line by Line Meaning
Broadsword calling Danny boy
I'm ready to fight and I'm calling out for a battle with someone named Danny boy
You know what I feel
You already know that I have an intense emotion about this
They say I gotta
People around me are saying that I posses
They say I gotta - a bad attitude
They're telling me that I have a negative attitude
You wanna buy a picture of your sister in her birthday suit
You're interested in something lewd and inappropriate, like buying a naked picture of your sister
No gratitude
You're not grateful for anything
Street tough talkin' but you always get screwed
You like to act like a tough guy, but you always end up on the losing side
Hey your face don't fit burn down the school
You don't fit in here, so just burn everything down
Only way to stay cool gotta break some rules
The only way to stay relevant and cool is to break the rules
Systems made for fools
The system is created to make fools of us all
No aptitude
You lack the skill/talent to do something
You get real slow and you slide into decrepitude
You're getting slow and old, and you're gradually sliding into decay
It's all platitudes
Everything is just empty statements and meaningless cliches
This one way street always ends in penal servitude
Following this one path only leads to imprisonment or punishment
Get out there (get out there)
Go out to the world and live!
Get on the street go on and break some rules
Go out to the streets and defy the conventional rules
You know what I feel
You already know that I have an intense emotion about this
Rip it up - I gotta bad attitude
I'm going to completely demolish whatever it is, while having a bad attitude
Tear it down - I gotta bad attitude
I'm going to take it down, while not having a good attitude
You can't think straight when you're raised on junk food
Your judgment is clouded when you grew up only eating junk food
No solitude
You can't find peace and quiet in this craziness
Somebody help me gotta getta grip on my latitude
I'm struggling to maintain control over myself and my actions
You're just a destitute
You're just someone without any considerable money or possessions
Your folks don't like it when they see you starrin' on the news
Your parents aren't proud to see you become famous for a bad reason mentioned on news
You're just a destitute
You're just someone without any considerable money or possessions
Some kinda prostitute
You're someone who is willing to do anything for money
Sometimes I just wanna sit back and relax and get me some pulchritude (ha ha)
Sometimes I just want to sit and admire the beauty of the world
Lets get stewed
Let's drink some alcohol and get drunk
Get crude
Let's be vulgar and inappropriate
So don't tell me what I gotta do
I'm dismissing whatever you're telling me to do
I'm sick of wise guys feeding me all these verisimilitudes
I'm fed up with people giving me false and pretended motives
I ain't a fool
I'm not an idiot
You'd better watch out honey - I'm one pissed off dude
You better be careful with me, because I'm really angry
I gotta bad attitude
I possess a negative and rebellious attitude
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CLAYTON MOSS, JOSHUA MACRAE, PETER NOONE, PHILIP EDNEY, ROGER TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind