The Wanton Bishops are a two-piece blues and garage rock revival band from … Read Full Bio ↴The Wanton Bishops are a two-piece blues and garage rock revival band from Beirut, Lebanon. The band is made up of Nader (vocals, harmonica, guitar, keyboards) and Eddy (guitar, backing vocals, banjo), who are joined on stage and in the studio by a hired drummer and a bassist.

Nader met Eddy in a blues bar in Beirut a couple of years ago. Well, technically, they met outside the bar on the sidewalk in the middle of a fistfight. Luckily, they weren’t punching each other, and their friendship developed over cheap tequila. They eventually decided to form a band together.

Eddy is influenced by stuff like the Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys, while Nader is more of a Muddy Waters, RL Burnside and Seasick Steve kind of man. They both agree on The Black Keys and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Finding common ground between stompy swamp blues and rock riffs, between acoustic and electric sounds, between garage rock and the blues, that’s where the Wanton Bishops have found their voice, and that’s where they’re at their best. Actually, where they’re really at their best is live. But that’s not something you should be reading, that’s something you should experience for yourself.

Between Nader’s guttural voice and his wailing harmonica, and Eddy’s rhythmic riffs, between the stomping, and the strings snapping on abused guitars, you’ll understand that there’s something there in the rawness of it all.

The Wanton Bishops released their debut album “Sleep With The Lights On” in December 2012, and in the year since they handed out bootleg EPs in a dive bar in Beirut, they’ve toured in Turkey, France, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as supported Guns N’ Roses and Lana Del Rey in Lebanon.

Sleep With The Lights on is available on iTunes, Spotify, and a whole bunch of other places online.

Bad Liver and a Broken Heart
The Wanton Bishops Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oooooh Love
Nights and days don't feel the same
Now that you've you've been gone
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Oooooh Love
I can't breath and I can't eat
Snakes in my bed
I can't get no sleep

Hey Hey Hey Hey
Bad liver and a broken heart
Bad Liver and a broken heart
Bad liver and a broken heart
love Oooh love
Many man ended up like me
In drunken sin and misery
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Oooooh Love
I gaze at the stars, I howl at the moon
I sing my blues that's out of tune
Hey Hey Hey
Bad liver and a broken heart
Bad Liver and a broken heart
Bad liver and a broken heart
Oh oh bring my baby baby back to me
Bad liver and a broken heart
Oh bring my baby baby back to me
Bad liver and a broken heart

When I love I can or I cannot see
Bad liver and a broken heart

Overall Meaning

The Wanton Bishops' song "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" is a heartfelt blues-inspired ballad about the pain of heartbreak and the self-destructive behaviors that follow. The opening lines, "Nights and days don't feel the same / Now that you've you've been gone," set the tone for the rest of the song, in which the singer describes his inability to function without his lost love. The repetition of the phrase "Hey hey hey" adds a sense of urgency to the lyrics, as if the singer is begging for help.

The chorus, "Bad liver and a broken heart / love Oooh love," speaks to the singer's coping mechanisms in the wake of heartbreak. He turns to alcohol to numb his pain, but this only leads to a "bad liver" and further health problems. The line "Many man ended up like me / In drunken sin and misery" reinforces the idea that this is a common pattern of behavior for people dealing with heartbreak.

The third verse expresses the singer's frustration with his inability to move past his pain. He howls at the moon and sings his blues out of tune, illustrating his feelings of desperation and hopelessness. The repeated plea, "bring my baby baby back to me," shows that despite his destructive behaviors, the singer still longs for his lost love to return.

Overall, "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" is a powerful and honest depiction of the pain of heartbreak and the ways in which people cope with it.

Line by Line Meaning

Oooooh Love
Love is the central theme of the song and the singer expresses his deep emotions for it.

Nights and days don't feel the same
Since Love has left, the singer's life has turned upside down and he no longer feels the same.

Now that you've you've been gone
The singer is addressing the absence of Love in his life.

Hey Hey Hey Hey
This line is simply a repetition to emphasize the importance of the preceding lines.

I can't breath and I can't eat
The artist is so consumed by the void that Love has left in his life, that basic activities like eating and breathing have become difficult.

Snakes in my bed
The singer is using this metaphor to illustrate the discomfort and fear that he now faces every night.

I can't get no sleep
The singer is unable to sleep without Love in his life.

Bad liver and a broken heart
The artist is using this phrase to describe his current state of being, which is consumed by feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

Many man ended up like me
The artist believes that he is not alone in experiencing the loss and pain of Love.

In drunken sin and misery
The artist describes the ways in which people try to cope with the loss of Love, which often leads to destructive behavior.

I gaze at the stars, I howl at the moon
The singer describes his attempts to soothe himself and find comfort in the natural world, but to no avail.

I sing my blues that's out of tune
Even when the artist tries to express his pain and sadness through music, it is not enough to heal his broken heart.

Oh oh bring my baby baby back to me
The singer is pleading for Love to return to his life.

When I love I can or I cannot see
The singer acknowledges that Love can blind him or make him see things more clearly, but regardless, he still wants it back.

Contributed by Vivian P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS