Released 1974 Genre Hard rock Label Swan Song, Island | Recorded November 1973 Length 4:50 | |
Writer(s) Simon Kirke, Paul Rodgers | ||
"Bad Company" is a song by the hard rock band Bad Company. It was released as the third single from their debut album Bad Company in 1974, although it did not chart (in America). Co-written by the group's lead singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, the song's meaning comes from a book on Victorian morals. The song uses the same chords and piano figure as Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock" from 1970.
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It is also a rare instance of the artist, album, and song names being the same. Other examples include "Black Sabbath", "Blue Murder", "Iron Maiden", "Motörhead", "Electric Wizard", "Pennywise", "Damn Yankees", "Bang Camaro", "Deicide", "Porno for Pyros", and "Run the Jewels".
In popular culture
This song is heard in The CW series Supernatural, Season 1 Episode 11, titled "Scarecrow".
It is also heard in "Home Away From Homer", episode 20 of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons where Ned Flanders moves to a new town and becomes a "rebel" by keeping an untrimmed mustache.
Tori Amos performed the song at a number of concerts in 1994 and 1996.
Bill Champlin did a cover of the song that was featured in season 2, episode 9 of The Young Riders (1990). The title of the episode is "Bad Company".
In the beginning of the 7th book of his Dark Tower series, The Dark Tower, Stephen King quotes the lines "I was born 6-gun in my hand, Behind a gun I'll make my final stand".
The song was featured in the 2001 film Scotland PA with other Bad Company songs.
On The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling, the song is frequently faded up to drown out callers who have proven to be poor company.
It also appears in the 1992 film Crossing the Bridge.
Garth Brooks covers the song on his box set Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences.
The South African trio of Mark Haze, Dozi and Ghapi (from season 7 of Idols South Africa) recorded a cover version on their album Rocking Buddies in 2013.
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Five Finger Death Punch cover
Five Finger Death Punch frequently performs a cover of this song live, and recorded the song for their second album War Is the Answer. The song has a significantly heavier tone to it, along with several lyrical edits ("I was born a shotgun in my hands", "the death punch sound is our claim to fame"). The song is used as entrance music by Washington Nationals closer Drew Storen, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta and San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner.