Scared Straigh… Read Full Bio ↴Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 as Scared Straight.
Scared Straight was a punk band from Simi Valley, California. The band was formed in 1983 by a group of friends and was originally called S.O.F. Original members were Scott Radinsky, Mike Thompson, Gary Gallanes and Dennis Jagard, who started the band to enter a "Battle of the Bands" competition at a local skate rink. After going through several members and name changes, they began playing with some "Nardcore" bands from nearby Oxnard, California, which helped them gain recognition. All of the Scared Straight records were released by Mystic Records.
In the early 1990s they changed their name to Ten Foot Pole. One of the reasons for the name change was to move away from the "straight-edge" reputation that followed the band with a name like Scared Straight. In the beginning, Ten Foot Pole had a reputation of being a more aggressive, hardcore punk band that likes to party and have fun. The band released two albums under their new name with the old lineup: Swill and Rev. After the release of Rev and a split EP with Sweden's Satanic Surfers, Radinsky was forced to leave the band due to his professional baseball commitments and Ten Foot Pole's desire to be a full-time touring band. From then on Dennis Jagard took over lead vocals for the band.
The next albums, Unleashed and Insider, developed a new fan base but lost some old time fans who preferred Scott's voice. This included decision makers at Epitaph Records, and the next album, Bad Mother Trucker, was released on Victory Records, followed by Subliminable Messages on Go-Kart Records. The band toured Europe to promote the album, along with Phinius Gage. Various musicians joined and left along the way as the band toured heavily in the US and Canada. Various members included Glen "Vegas" Murray Eric Cody, Kris Kwiatkowski, John Chapman, Dan Kelly, Chris Dalley, Keith Divel, Chris Del Rio, and Mike Levy who is a teacher in California, along with Kevin Ruggeri, who is an English teacher for Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. Lead singer Dennis is a sound engineer, who has mixed for artists including Prince, Beck, AFI and Jimmy Eat World.
On 4 April 2009, the band ended a three-year hiatus with a show at the Riorock festival in Belgium, followed by some shows in California in late 2011 and a short tour in Australia in November 2012.
They were also featured 2000 in the Punk Goes Metal compilations performing a cover of "Love Song" by Tesla.
Black and Blue
Ten Foot Pole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trapped inside
Your private hell a slave to need
I don't know
What it's like
To be most likely to succeed
Only your boyfriend uses you said, black resin
Your skin started looking yellow,
Eyes deep hollow circles
No need to lie to me ....I was just a friend
Still you wouldn't admit it ....till the night I
Found you
Black & Blue up your whole arm
Blood and tears both stain the marble floor
Nothing but a shadow where my friend once stood
God it must feel good
For you to throw your life away
You were evicted I too you in... to nurse you back to life
Repaid by a night in a jail cell, for your stash in my car
Otside the bank I knew
You wouldn't pay me back
Gave you one last present
Then I sent you packing
Black & Blue up your whole arm
Blood and tears both stain the marble floor
Nothing but a shadow where my friend once stood
God it must feel good
For you to throw your life away
Two whole years
Not one word
I wonder where you are right now
Are you incarcerated doing time?
Are you popping uppers in a mental ward?
Are you dragging a red shopping cart down Sunset Boulevard
Puffing a smoke found at the bus stop?
Are you strapped down at a hospital while doctors check your bile
Waiting for a heart, liver or kidney?
Are you passed out in a park bathroom head bleeding on the floor?
Are you over it?
The song "Black and Blue" by Ten Foot Pole seems to be about a friend of the singer who is addicted to drugs or some other type of substance abuse. The friend is described as being trapped inside their own private hell, a slave to their need. The singer does not know what it's like to be the "most likely to succeed" like their friend supposedly was. The song suggests that the friend is only used by her boyfriend, who supplies her with drugs. Her skin is described as yellow, her eyes have deep hollow circles, and her hands are black resin. However, the singer still seeks to help her friend by taking her in when she was evicted and trying to nurse her back to health. The friend repays the kindness by getting the singer arrested for the drugs found in the car. The song ends with the singer wondering where their friend is now and if they are still struggling with addiction.
The lyrics of the song paint a vivid picture of how addiction can take a toll on a person's life. The description of yellow skin and deep, hollow circles around the eyes suggest that the singer's friend is malnourished and suffering from the effects of drug abuse. The black and blue marks on her whole arm are a result of injecting drugs, while the blood and tears on the marble floor suggest a violent struggle.
The song also touches on the theme of unwavering friendship in difficult times, despite the circumstances. The singer takes their friend in despite their addiction and tries to help them, even though they do not fully understand what they are going through. Yet, the friend still betrays the singer's trust by getting them arrested for drugs.
Overall, "Black and Blue" is a powerful song about the devastating impacts of addiction, the importance of true friendship, and the difficulty of helping someone who is struggling with addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
You're so cold
You have a distant and unfeeling demeanor
Trapped inside
Your private struggles and pain are keeping you emotionally trapped
Your private hell a slave to need
You are stuck in a cycle of addiction and it's controlling your life
I don't know
I can't fully understand or relate to what you're going through
What it's like
The experience of being highly accomplished and successful
To be most likely to succeed
The expectation or assumption that you will achieve great things
Only your boyfriend uses you said, black resin
You mentioned that you only use black resin with your boyfriend
On your hands
You have black resin on your skin from using it
Your skin started looking yellow,
Your addiction is having physical effects on your body
Eyes deep hollow circles
You have dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep or poor health
No need to lie to me ....I was just a friend
You don't have to hide anything from me, I was just trying to be there for you as a friend
Still you wouldn't admit it ....till the night I Found you
You didn't want to be honest about your addiction until I discovered you in a vulnerable state
Black & Blue up your whole arm
The visible bruising on your arm is a result of using drugs
Blood and tears both stain the marble floor
You've gone through a lot of pain and suffering in your life, and now it's manifested physically
Nothing but a shadow where my friend once stood
Your addiction has changed you so much that you're not the same person I used to know
God it must feel good
You might feel some temporary relief from the drugs, but it's ultimately destroying you
For you to throw your life away
Your addiction is causing you to make terrible choices that are negatively impacting your life
You were evicted I too you in... to nurse you back to life
You were in a tough spot and I offered to help by providing a place to live and taking care of you
Repaid by a night in a jail cell, for your stash in my car
You betrayed my trust by bringing illegal substances into my car, leading to my arrest
Otside the bank I knew
I had a feeling that you wouldn't be able to pay me back
You wouldn't pay me back
You failed to live up to your end of the deal and reimburse me for the money I lent you
Gave you one last present
I gave you one more opportunity to turn your life around and make better choices
Then I sent you packing
Once it became clear that you weren't going to change your ways, I had to let you go
Two whole years
It's been a significant amount of time since we last spoke
Not one word
We haven't had any communication during that time
I wonder where you are right now
I'm curious and concerned about your current situation and well-being
Are you incarcerated doing time?
You may have been arrested and serving a prison sentence
Are you popping uppers in a mental ward?
You might be in a mental institution and taking prescription drugs for your condition
Are you dragging a red shopping cart down Sunset Boulevard
You could be homeless and living on the streets
Puffing a smoke found at the bus stop?
You may be smoking cigarettes you found or purchased from a public place
Are you strapped down at a hospital while doctors check your bile
You could be in a medical facility being monitored and treated for liver-related complications
Waiting for a heart, liver or kidney?
You may be in need of an organ transplant due to the negative effects of your addiction on your body
Are you passed out in a park bathroom head bleeding on the floor?
You could be in a dangerous and risky situation due to your addiction, potentially leading to injury or death
Are you over it?
Have you moved past your addiction and are you in a better place now?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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Jonáš Vohrna
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