Protest 100: Aerosmith – ‘Nobody’s Fault’

Artist:          Aerosmith

Song:           Nobody’s Fault

Album:        Rocks

Producer:    Jack Douglas

Label:          Columbia

Year:           1976

Notes:
This one might seem like a stretch to some, but it’s one of my favorite Aerosmith songs and I heard it the way I heard it for decades before learning what actually inspired it. Written by guitarist Brad Whitford and vocalist Steven Tyler, ostensibly about earthquakes and flying, ‘Nobody’s Fault’ can be easily heard as offering a view of a world gone mad due to man’s neglect. That’s my interpretation and I’m sticking to it!

Excerpt from ‘Unreality’  —
“To do that we’ll need to head up the bridge and make sure nobody’s gonna be messing with the throttle.”

Lyrics:
Lord I must be dreamin’
What else could this be
Everybody’s screamin’
Running’ for the sea

Holy lands are sinkin’
Birds take to the sky
The prophets are all stinking drunk
I know the reason why

Eyes are full of desire
Mind is so ill at ease
Everything is on fire
Shit piled up to the knees

Out of rhyme or reason
Everyone’s to blame
Children of the season
Don’t be lame

Sorry, you’re so sorry
Don’t be sorry
Man has known
And now he’s blown it
Upside down and hell’s the only sound
We did an awful job
And now they say it’s nobody’s fault

Old St. Andres
Seven years ago
Shove it up their richters
Red lines stop and go
Noblemen of courage
Listen with their ears
Spoke but how discouragin’
When no one really hears

One of these day’s you’ll be sorry
Too many houses on the stilt
Three million years or just a story
Four on the floor up to the hilt

Out of rhyme or reason
Everyone’s to blame
Children of the season
Don’t be lame

Sorry, we’re so sorry
Don’t be sorry
Man has known
And now he’s blown it
Upside down and hell’s the only sound
We did an awful job
And now we’re just a little too late

Eyes are full of desire
Mind is so ill at ease
Everything is on fire
Shit piled up in debris

California showtime
Five o’clock’s the news
Everybody’s concubine
Was prone to take a snooze

Sorry, we’re so sorry
Don’t be sorry
Man has known
And now he’s blown it
Upside down and hell’s the only sound
We did an awful job
And now we’re just a little too late

—

‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.