Love Song

Album: Sap (1992)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Love Song" is a hidden track on Sap, the second studio EP by Alice in Chains. It's unlike any other song the band did, encroaching on Captain Beefheart levels of strangeness and sounding like something you'd hear in an art film. Alice in Chains frontman Jerry Cantrell called it the "most bizarre" song they ever recorded.
  • There's little to be gained (other than fun) in analyzing the song's lyrics, as it's just a stream of weird images. There are teeth being cut out of mouths, the chasing and kissing of midgets, and the repeated mantra "Rae Dawn Chong," with Rae Dawn Chong the daughter of Tommy Chong, one half of the comedic, fully baked Cheech and Chong duo.

    Rae Dawn Chong is also an actress. She's known for Quest of Fire (1981), Beat Street (1984), The Color Purple (1985), and that icon of '80s action movie goofiness, Commando (1985). In 1991, which was the year Sap was recorded, she starred in a strange film titled The Borrower. It's a sci-fi flick about an alien serial killer trapped in a human body and sent to Earth to go on a murderous rampage. That movie is so strange that it might indeed be linked to "Love Song" and the band's decision to say Rae Dawn Chong's name over and over again in the lyrics, but we can't be sure. Chong also inspired the single "Rae Dawn" off of Vaudeville Villain (2003), the third studio album by MF Doom.
  • "Love Song" was the mutant brainchild of Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney. In recording, all the members shuffled around their instruments. Vocalist Layne Staley played drums, Cantrell played bass, bassist Mike Starr played guitar, and Kinney contributed megaphone and piano. The only usual roles retained were Staley and Cantrell splitting vocal duties.

Comments: 2

  • Chickie Mcnuggies from AquatiaNo but Ann Wilson was on am I inside and brother on the same album.
  • Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganLol. Wasn't Ann Wilson on this "song", too?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Michelle Branch

Michelle BranchSongwriter Interviews

Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.

Gary LeVox

Gary LeVoxSongwriter Interviews

On "Life Is A Highway," his burgeoning solo career, and the Rascal Flatts song he most connects with.

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"They're Playing My Song

The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.