Album: Learning to Crawl
Year: 1982
SPOILER ALERT: There was no Pretenders III.
And in fact, it’s kind of amazing that there was any new Pretenders music ever again after the events of June, 1982. First, Chrissie Hynde discovered she was pregnant by Ray Davies, then Pete Farndon was kicked out of the band for heroin abuse, and James Honeyman-Scott died of a cocaine overdose. Boom. Boom. Boom.
For a lesser human being, that would have been enough to pack it up, call it a day, and go into hiding for a good long time. But the thing is, Hynde had what she knew was a killer song brewing, a song that she’d at least “messed around” (as she put it in her book Reckless) with Honeyman-Scott and Chambers, and was itching to record, just as soon as they found a bass player.
But, instead, boom.
Nevertheless, she persisted, and that song was recorded in July, 1982 with former Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner filling in for Honeyman-Scott and then-Big Country bassist Tony Butler filling in for Farndon. And when it was released just as summer crashed into autumn — and only a month before KFSR went on the air — “Back on the Chain Gang” improbably became the biggest U.S. hit single Pretenders ever had.
Originally inspired by her relationship w/ Davies, Hynde reworked the words into a requiem for Honeyman-Scott, mixing equal parts sadness at his death; happiness that he ever crossed her path and determination to soldier on through whatever came next.
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
What hijacked my world that night
To a place in the past
We’ve been cast out of? Oh oh oh oh
Now we’re back in the fightWe’re back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
It’s impossible, of course, to listen to “Back on the Chain Gang” (or any of her songs for the rest of the decade, at least) without wondering how Honeyman-Scott would have goosed and driven it, but let’s all agree that Billy Bremner fucking kills throughout. I mean, just that opening hook would have been good enough, but check out his runs during the chorus underneath the Sam Cooke-referencing “ooh” and “ahh” backing vocals.
Just absolutely sublime, perfectly matching the tone of the words.
A circumstance beyond our control, oh oh oh oh
The phone, the TV and the News of the World
Got in the house like a pigeon from hell, oh oh oh oh
Threw sand in our eyes and descended like fliesPut us back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
And of course, Chrissie Hynde’s amazing voice matches the tone of the words she wrote as well: just those “Oh, oh, oh, ohs” are practically worth the price of admission, as is her sliding around on “Newwwwwwws of the wurrrrold”.
And have I mentioned the bridge? Not a lot of songs on the first two records had bridges — shit, many of then barely had choruses — but “Back on the Chain Gang” had an extended bridge that upped the ante considerably, as well as added extra momentum to the song thanks to the modulation at the end of it.
The powers that be
That force us to live like we do
Bring me to my knees
When I see what they’ve done to you
But I’ll die as I stand here today
Knowing that deep in my heart
They’ll fall to ruin one day
For making us part
This sets up a last verse that is still fucking sad-making all these years later. Or maybe even sadder, as there is now so much more past with so much more tragedy than there was back in 1982.
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
Those were the happiest days of my life
Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh
In the wretched life of a lonely heartNow we’re back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
I don’t recall if I heard “Back on the Chain Gang” on the radio, or the single that was at KFSR or if I saw the video on MTV first or if I just ran out and bought it because it was the new Pretenders single and I was dead curious. All I know is that I loved it from the start, and all of the saturation airplay, massive chart success and the video in heavy rotation didn’t dissuade me.
And obviously, I wasn’t the only one: something about “Back in the Chain Gang” struck the mass audience, as well, and it peaked on the Billboard Top 100 at #5 — too fucking low, as far as I’m concerned — and remains one of those songs I’m glad to hear under any circumstances.
“Back on the Chain Gang”
“Back on the Chain Gang” official video (mono)
“Back on the Chain Gang” performed at Live Aid, 1985
“Back on the Chain Gang” live in London, 2009
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