Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 as Scared Straight.

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.

Late At Night
Ten Foot Pole Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I walked in on you
I couldn't believe my eyes
I forgot to knock and I apologize but I can't forget what I saw
I always wondered if you had a darker side you wear a smile but your eyes
are red like you just cried
Now will you explain?
By day you wear your happy face,
everybody thinks you're perfect,

They don't know much about your pain,
Late at night no one can see,
You cut yourself to get back at me,
Late at night I try to understand,
your friends all call you first when every little thing goes wrong,
They know that they can count on you,
But you don't call on them when you need a little help,
You work it out alone,
By day you wear your happy face,
everybody thinks you're perfect,
They don't know much about your pain,
Late at night no one can see,
You cut yourself to get back at me,
Late at night I try to understand,
While I'm wishing on the stars,
you're collecting little scars,
Late at night what did I do wrong that you deserve to bleed?
Tell me just what should I do?
'cause now I know your secret
I won't tell your friends at work
I won't tell your favorite niece
I won't tell your mom and dad
I won't tell anyone why you wear sweaters when it's hot

How will you explain the scars to your kids?
Will you lie to each new person in your life?

Overall Meaning

The song "Late At Night" by Ten Foot Pole is a powerful and emotional track that touches on themes of pain, betrayal, and the struggle to keep up appearances. The song opens with the singer describing how they walked in on someone they trusted, possibly a partner or close friend, and saw something that they couldn't forget. The singer is shocked to discover that the person they thought they knew had a darker side, and they are now struggling to come to terms with what they saw.

Throughout the song, the singer tries to understand why this person they care about is hurting themselves. They describe how this person wears a happy face by day and appears perfect to everyone around them, but late at night they cut themselves to get back at the singer. The singer is left feeling helpless and confused, wondering what they did wrong to deserve this kind of retribution.

The song ends on a somber note, with the singer questioning how this person will explain their scars to their kids and whether they will lie to each new person that comes into their life. The final lines are a powerful reminder that emotional pain can be just as real and damaging as physical pain.

Overall, the song is a poignant reminder that we can never truly know what someone else is going through and that sometimes the people we think we know the best can surprise us in unexpected ways.

Line by Line Meaning

I walked in on you
I accidentally saw something I shouldn't have seen

I couldn't believe my eyes
I was shocked by what I saw

I forgot to knock and I apologize but I can't forget what I saw
I'm sorry for not being polite, but what I saw is etched in my mind

I always wondered if you had a darker side you wear a smile but your eyes are red like you just cried
I always suspected that you might have hidden issues because of your fake smile and red eyes

Now will you explain?
Can you clarify what's going on?

By day you wear your happy face, everybody thinks you're perfect, They don't know much about your pain, Late at night no one can see, You cut yourself to get back at me, Late at night I try to understand,
During the day, you pretend to be happy, but people don't know the depth of your suffering. Late at night, you hurt yourself to cope with your feelings towards me, and I'm trying to comprehend why

your friends all call you first when every little thing goes wrong, They know that they can count on you, But you don't call on them when you need a little help, You work it out alone,
Your friends rely on you for help, but you deal with your problems alone, without seeking support

While I'm wishing on the stars, you're collecting little scars, Late at night what did I do wrong that you deserve to bleed?
While I'm dreaming about the future, you're hurting yourself, and I'm struggling to understand what drove you to self-harm

Tell me just what should I do? 'Cause now I know your secret, I won't tell your friends at work, I won't tell your favorite niece, I won't tell your mom and dad, I won't tell anyone why you wear sweaters when it's hot
Now that I know your secret, I won't betray your trust and reveal your struggles to anyone

How will you explain the scars to your kids? Will you lie to each new person in your life?
How will you answer your kids' questions about your scars, and will you be honest with new people you meet?

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DENNIS STEVEN JAGARD, GLEN ALEXANDER MURRAY, STEVEN THOMAS CARNAN, TONY PALERMO

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS