Lived In Bars

Album: The Greatest (2006)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Chan Marshall aka Cat Power's mother left her when she was six months, only to return when she was three, having been brought up by her grandmother in the meantime. After divorcing the singer's father, Marshall's mom spent a lot of time in bars, dragging her two children along. Marshall recalled to Q magazine October 2012 the background to this autobiographical song: "My sister and I would go to this place called Aunt Charlie's every day, til about two in the morning, sitting on men's laps getting quarters and nickels while my mother played pool. Then we'd sit in the bushes because our eyes would hurt so bad from all the cigarette smoke… Then we'd throw those berries at guys we didn't like."
  • The song is from The Greatest, Marshall's seventh studio album. The record won the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize, an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. Marshall was the first woman to win the honor.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Wedding Bell Blues

Wedding Bell BluesSong Writing

When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.