Uncle Salty
by Aerosmith

Album: Toys In The Attic (1975)
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  • Uncle salty told me stories of a lonely
    Baby with a lonely kind of life to lead
    My mammy was lusted, daddy he was busted
    They left her to be trusted till the orphan bleeds
    But when she cried at night, no one came
    And when she cried at night, went insane

    Uncle salty told me when she was just a baby
    That she'd get by and maybe someday she'd see
    But soon she found her mother's love for all the others
    The pushers and the shovers was the life to lead
    But when she cried at night, no one came
    And when she cried at night, went insane

    Oh, it's a sunny day outside my window
    Oh, it's a sunny day outside my window
    Oh, oh yeah
    Oh, oh yeah, yeah, yeah

    Now she's doin' any for money and a penny
    A sailor with a penny or two or three
    Hers is the cunning for men who come a-runnin'
    They all come for fun and it seems to me
    That when she cried at night, no one came
    And when she cried at night, went insane

    (Oh, it's a sunny day outside my window) Writer/s: Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

  • Mikey from UtahOK, I've read Steven's quote about the song, but it doesn't fit the lyrics. At All.

    I've also seen one or two that reference the type of events that Susie from Riverside is saying. There is nothing in the song reminiscent of someone abusing children at an orphanage, but it is EXACTLY a story of someone struggling to avoid the path her addicted mother went through, eventually turning tricks for drug money. I'm confused as to why Steven, of all people, would say something completely different, that doesn't match the lyrics. I mean, as the saying goes, cocaine is a helluva drug, but still...
  • Dan Boyce from ThailandI don't believe for a moment that explanation above by Steven. I'm more inclined to believe what I read long ago that Tyler's uncle once worked at the Morton Salt factory in Chicago. As a child, Tyler referred to him as Uncle Salty (his name was Roger). Uncle Salty would tell young Steven tales of his (Roger's) mother's sister (Roger's aunt) who was abused as a child. However due to technology being what it is today, he may want to protect Aunt Salty from the questions and media.
  • Glenn Taylor from RichmondI always felt the lyrics were sad and when no one came, she killed herself from the anguish. It's a sunny day also meant she knew there was a good life out there for her, but couldn't leave. Uncle Salty was no doubt the evil pimp. The fact that he was a child molester on top of it kind of made him disgusting. I also picked up a port of call, dock workers, ship mate vibe. I don't know why, that's just what I always "felt" from the music. Upbeat but sad, disturbing.
  • Don from Willoughby, OhDo you notice how much Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman, sounds like Uncle Salty?
    Shania released it in March 1999 as the seventh single from Twain's album Come On Over. It was written by Mutt Lange and Twain.
  • Susie from Riverside, CaActually, I know what the song is about. It's about a chick (me) in the mid 70's. She was telling Steven one afternoon about her abusive childhood and how she came to be living in La Jolla with a drug dealer, who Steven was visiting at the time, after she had been a dancer in San Diego. She told Steven her story and he wrote it down that very day. "It's a Sunny Day outside My Window" is a direct quote by me about the fact we never went outside, despite the glorious California weather. It was written down during Aerosmith's first California tour where they played the Whiskey A Go Go as well as San Diego. It is one of Steven's very best songs.
  • Robert from Waltham, MaTheir producer along with outside collaborators wrote some great stuff for the band back then.
  • Barry from Greenville, NcThe juxtaposition of optimism ("it's a sunny day outside my window") with the painful loneliness and neglect of Baby ("when she cried at night no one came . . went insane") makes this quite an interesting song. Perhaps a precursor to "Janie's Got A Gun."
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