Ball and Chain (Social Distortion song)

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“Ball and Chain”
Single by Social Distortion from the album Social Distortion
Released	March 27, 1990
Recorded	1989
Genre	Alternative Rock
Length	5:44
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Mike Ness
Producer	Dave Jerden
Social Distortion singles chronology
"Story of My Life" (1990) "Ball and Chain" (1990) "Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)" (1990)

Ball and Chain is a hit song by punk band, Social Distortion. It was released in 1990 and featured on their self-titled album, as well as Live at the Roxy (1998).

The song details someone examining their unsatisfied life filled with bad luck and frequent drinking, realizing that "there's got to be another way." The song is in a ballad format, almost country-sounding.

More than a decade after its release, "Ball and Chain" remains a concert staple.

[edit] Meaning and composition

In the liner notes for the album Live at the Roxy (1998), Mike Ness calls the song a "folk prayer," and describes the applicability of the song to common life experiences beyond drug and alcohol addiction.

The chorus reads:

Take away, take away

Take away this ball and chain

I'm lonely and I'm tired

And I can't take any more pain

[edit] Trivia

• The song was played on an episode of My Name Is Earl and Scrubs and the major motion picture Jarhead (2005)
• The song was covered frequently in concert by the late '90s Atlanta indie band Alastor led by Elizabeth Elkins, who went on to form The Swear.
• Frontman Mike Ness recorded a "Honky Tonk" version of this song on his solo album Under the Influences in 1999.
• The song was also transcribed in the January 2005 issue of Guitar World.