Ball and Chain

(Willie Mae Thornton)

Yeah! Alright!

Sittin' down by my window,
Honey, lookin' out at the rain.
Lord, Lord, Lord, sittin' down by my window,
Baby, lookin' out at the rain.
Somethin' came along, grabbed a hold of me,
And it felt just like a ball and chain.
Honey, that's exactly what it felt like,
Honey, just dragging me down.

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon', tell me why,
Why does every single little tiny thing I hold on goes wrong ?
Yeah it all goes wrong, yeah.
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why,
Why does every thing, every thing.
Hey, here you gone today, I wanted to love you,
Honey, I just wanted to hold you, I said, for so long,
Yeah! Alright! Hey!

Love's got a hold on me, baby,
Feels just like a ball and chain.
Now, love's just draggin' me down, baby, yeah,
Feels like a ball and chain.
I hope there's someone out there who could tell me
Why the man I love wanna leave me in so much pain.
Yeah, maybe, maybe you could help me, come on, help me!

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon', tell me why,
Now tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me why, yeah.
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, when I ask you,
When I need to know why, c'mon tell me why, hey hey hey,
Here you've gone today,
I wanted to love you and hold you
Till the day I die.
I said whoa, whoa, whoa!!

And I say oh, whoa, whoa, no honey
It ain't fair, daddy it ain't fair what you do,
I see what you're doin' to me and you know it ain't fair.
And I say oh, whoa whoa now baby
It ain't fair, now, now, now, what you do
I said hon' it ain't fair what, hon' it ain't fair what you do.
Oh, here you gone today and all I ever wanted to do
Was to love you
Honey an' I think there can be nothing wrong with that,
Only it ain't wrong, no, no, no, no, no.

Sittin' down by my window,
Lookin' at the rain.
Lord, Lord, Lord, sittin' down by my window,
Lookin' at the rain, see the rain.
Somethin' came along, grabbed a hold of me,
And it felt like a ball and chain.
Oh this can't be in vain
And I'm gonna tell you one just more time, yeah, yeah!

And I say oh, whoa whoa, now baby
This can't be, no this can't be in vain,
And I say no no no no no no no no, whoa!
And I say whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Now now now now now now now now now no no not in vain
Hey, hope there is someone that could tell me
Hon', tell me why,
Hon', tell me why love is like
Just like a ball
Just like a ball
Baaaaaaalllll
Oh daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy
And a chain.
Yeah!

Goodnight and thank you for coming and have a happy happy Easter Sunday.

Discs

  1. 18 Essential songs (1995)
  2. 1967-12-31 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (1967-12-31)
  3. 1968-05-03+04 Shrine Expo Center, Los Angeles (1968-05-03+04)
  4. 1968-07-28 Newport Festival, Newport, RI (1968-07-28)
  5. 1968-11-01 Electric Factory, Philadelphia (1968-11-01)
  6. 1968-11-11 Ridge Arena, Braintree, MA (1968-11-11)
  7. 1969-02-12 Fillmore East, New York (1969-02-12)
  8. 1969-04-11 Amsterdam (2006 FM) (1969-04-11)
  9. 1969-04-12 Frankfurt (1969-04-12)
  10. 1969-04-12 Frankfurt (DVD-rip) (1969-04-12)
  11. 1969-04-21 Royal Albert Hall, London (1969-04-21)
  12. 1969-07-05 Atlanta Pop Festival (1969-07-05)
  13. 1969-11-30 West Palm Beach (1969-11-30)
  14. 1970-04-04 Fillmore West, San Francisco (1970-04-04)
  15. 3CD Box Set (1993)
  16. Absolute Janis (1997)

    One, two!

    Sitting down by my window, baby, ha ha!
    Whoa, mama, honey, looking on at the rain.
    You know what I mean when it's all around you ?
    Oh, sitting down by my window,
    All 'round looking at the rain,
    I felt it's got to be the rain.
    Somethin' grabbed a hold of me, daddy,
    Felt to me, honey like, like a ball and chain, yeah!
    You know what I mean, babe,
    I say it's way too heavy now.

    I say, whoa, whoa, honey, tell me why
    Does everything I always want to hold on to
    Always wanna go let me down babe — whoa!!
    Yeah, tell me whoa, whoa, whoa, honey, tell me why does everything
    I always pick to hold on to seems to hurt me now ?
    Whoa, woo woo woo, whoa!!!
    Here you gone today,
    I wanted to love you,
    I wanted to hold you till the day I die
    That 's all I ever wanted, babe,
    I just wanted to hold on to you, now.

    I say, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey, it ain't fair
    Now daddy, it ain't fair, now it ain't fair what you're gonna do,
    No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you know it ain't fair.
    I say, whoa, whoa, honey, it ain't fair!!!!
    No, no, no, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, no, no, it ain't fair.
    Here you gone today, all I ever wanted to do,
    Now baby, baby, baby, I just wanted to love ya,
    Honey, I wasn't going to hurt ya,
    I said I wasn't gonna hurt you darlin'.
    No, no, no, no, no.

    S-s-s-s-ittin' down, sitting down, whoa,
    Baby by my window, whoa, honey, felt the rain.
    Something grabbed a hold of me, baby
    Felt to me ... whoa ... Yeah!, Hey! all right!
    I said whoa, whoa, whoa, honey, this can't be, no this can't,
    Honey this can't be in vain
    This can't be in vain all that you said to me baby.
    No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, hey!
    I say whoa whoa whoa, honey this can't be, whoa!!!
    This can't be in vain, baby, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
    No, not in vain, yeah!
    I bet you can't tell me, tell me why
    Sometimes I got to know why, said why
    Come on, tell me why —
    Can you do it ?
    Tell me why
    Love
    Honey, love
    It hurts me
    Like a ball, daddy, and a chain.
    All right!

  17. Anthology (1982)

    Why, thank you! I don't smoke. I just don't sleep, man, that's the trouble. I gotta sleep sometime. There's too much happening, why sleep, man ? I might miss a party.

    Ball and Chain! Ball and Chain! Ball and Chain.

    Stay short tonight man, shorten it, shorten it, shorten it.

    Three, four!


    Yeah!!!

    S-sitting down by my window,
    Oh, looking at the rain.
    S-sitting down by my window now now,
    All around I felt it,
    All I could see was the rain.
    Something grabbed a hold of me, honey,
    Felt to me honey like, Lord, a ball and chain.
    Yeah! Hey! You know what I mean,
    But it's way too heavy for you,
    You can't hold it tomorrow.

    Say, whoa, whoa, honey, it can't be
    Just because I got to want your love
    Please please please please, whoa please, please.
    Whoa, honey it can't be
    Just because I got to need you daddy.
    Please don't you let me down, no, please, Lord!
    Here you gone today, but I wanted to love you,
    I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die,
    Till the day, till the day,
    Yeah! Hey! Hey! All right!

    Say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be
    Not anything I ever wanted from you daddy
    Tell me now, now, now, now, oh, tell me now, yeah.
    I say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be
    No, no, no, no, no, no, no ... yeah yeah, hey!
    And I want someone that could tell me, tell me why
    Just because I got to want your love
    Honey, just because I got to need, need, need your love
    I said I don't understand, honey, but I wanna chance to try
    Try, try, try, try try try try
    Honey when everybody in the world wants the same damn thing
    When everybody in the world will need the same lonely thing
    When I wanna work for your love, daddy.
    When I wanna try for your love, daddy.

    I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, I can't get it together. I mean, if you got a cat for one day, man — I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a cat for 365 days, right — You ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man. Well I tell you that one day, man, better be your life, man. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. You gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man. If you got it today you don't want it tomorrow, man, 'cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, man. It's all the same fucking day, man.

    So you gotta, when you wanna hold a sigh,
    You gotta hold him like it's the last minute in your life, baby.
    You gotta hold, whoa, whoa, hold him
    'Cause someday some weight's gonna come on your shoulders, babe,
    It's gonna feel too heavy, it's gonna weigh on you,
    It's gonna feel just like a ball, ball, ball, oh daddy,
    And a chain.

  18. At Amsterdam (1969-04-11 [1996])
  19. At Winterland '68 (1968-04-12/13 [1998])
  20. At Woodstock (1969-08-17 [1993])
  21. Blow All My Blues Away (1962/70)
  22. Cheap Thrills (1968)
  23. Cheaper Thrills (1966-07-28 [1984])
  24. Cry Baby (The Ultimate Collection) (2009)
  25. Fillmore East, 1969-02-12 (1969-02-12)
  26. First Stop (1970-06-28)
  27. Greatest Hits (1973)
  28. In Concert (1972)

    Why, thank you! I don't smoke. I just don't sleep, man, that's the trouble. I gotta sleep sometime. There's too much happening, why sleep, man ? I might miss a party.

    Ball and Chain! Ball and Chain! Ball and Chain.

    Stay short tonight man, shorten it, shorten it, shorten it.

    Three, four!


    Yeah!!!

    S-sitting down by my window,
    Oh, looking at the rain.
    S-sitting down by my window now now,
    All around I felt it,
    All I could see was the rain.
    Something grabbed a hold of me, honey,
    Felt to me honey like, Lord, a ball and chain.
    Yeah! Hey! You know what I mean,
    But it's way too heavy for you,
    You can't hold it tomorrow.

    Say, whoa, whoa, honey, it can't be
    Just because I got to want your love
    Please please please please, whoa please, please.
    Whoa, honey it can't be
    Just because I got to need you daddy.
    Please don't you let me down, no, please, Lord!
    Here you gone today, but I wanted to love you,
    I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die,
    Till the day, till the day,
    Yeah! Hey! Hey! All right!

    Say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be
    Not anything I ever wanted from you daddy
    Tell me now, now, now, now, oh, tell me now, yeah.
    I say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be
    No, no, no, no, no, no, no ... yeah yeah, hey!
    And I want someone that could tell me, tell me why
    Just because I got to want your love
    Honey, just because I got to need, need, need your love
    I said I don't understand, honey, but I wanna chance to try
    Try, try, try, try try try try
    Honey when everybody in the world wants the same damn thing
    When everybody in the world will need the same lonely thing
    When I wanna work for your love, daddy.
    When I wanna try for your love, daddy.

    I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, I can't get it together. I mean, if you got a cat for one day, man — I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a cat for 365 days, right — You ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man. Well I tell you that one day, man, better be your life, man. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. You gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man. If you got it today you don't want it tomorrow, man, 'cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, man. It's all the same fucking day, man.

    So you gotta, when you wanna hold a sigh,
    You gotta hold him like it's the last minute in your life, baby.
    You gotta hold, whoa, whoa, hold him
    'Cause someday some weight's gonna come on your shoulders, babe,
    It's gonna feel too heavy, it's gonna weigh on you,
    It's gonna feel just like a ball, ball, ball, oh daddy,
    And a chain.

  29. Light Is Faster Than Sound (1966-07-28)
  30. Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 (1968-06-23 [2012])
  31. Live At the Festival Express 1970 (1970-06-28)
  32. Live Fast Die Young (CD) (1967)
  33. Live Fast Die Young (LP) (1967)
  34. Live in San Francisco (1966/67)
  35. Live in San Francisco 1966 (1966/67 [2002])
  36. Love, Janis - soundtrack (2001)
  37. Pearl (Legacy Edition) (2004)
  38. Rindge Tech Arena, Cambridge 7-68 (1968-07)
  39. Summertime (1969-04-01 [1996])
  40. The Lost Tapes (1966/67 [2008])
  41. Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) (1967/70)
  42. Try 'Just A Little Bit Harder' (1967/70 [1993])
  43. Unforgettable (1994)
  44. Various Artists - Monterey Pop Festival (1967-06-17)
  45. Various Artists - Woodstock - 25th Anniversary Collection (1969-08-17)
  46. Various Artists - Woodstock Diary (1969-08-17)
  47. Woodstock Complete 2010 (1969-08-17 [2010])