I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Beth, I hear you callin'
But I can't come home right now
Me and the boys are playin'
And we just can't find the sound
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them callin'
Oh, Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do
You say you feel so empty
That our house just ain't a home
And I'm always somewhere else
And you're always there alone
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them callin'
Oh, Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do
Beth, I know you're lonely
And I hope you'll be alright
'Cause me and the boys will be playin'
All night
But I can't come home right now
Me and the boys are playin'
And we just can't find the sound
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them callin'
Oh, Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do
You say you feel so empty
That our house just ain't a home
And I'm always somewhere else
And you're always there alone
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them callin'
Oh, Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do
Beth, I know you're lonely
And I hope you'll be alright
'Cause me and the boys will be playin'
All night
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
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I think he's lying about being with the band at practice and trying to find the right sound to cover his the time during an affair? I think I hear them calling (the other woman pleading for him to stay all night) Oh Beth what can I do. (torn because he loves Beth but wants to be with other one. I think his general intent is to go home after having sex with her, but as is typical, she wants him to stay all night. He's wrestling with it and decides he'd better call home before Beth goes to the Studio/practice garage and discovers that the band isn't recording/rehearsing.
You say you feel so empty (her gut feeling) That our house just ain't our home (loveless marraige) I'm always somewhere else (makes excuses) And you're always there alone (she feels unloved)
Just a few more hours (buying time) And I'll be right home to you (His case of cheater's paranoia trying to reassure her that there's nothing going on, even if she hasn't come out and accused him of anything) NOTE:(touring would mean he'd be home in days or weeks - not hours. He's not far from home) I think I hear them calling (the other woman) Oh Beth what can I do (Asking both her and himself the question: wants to keep both going but ultimately has to decide to give in to the other lover's pressure or find something that he can say to get him off the hook after sex). Beth what can I do (It's almost as if he asks the question again in despair [muttering to self] after he's already hung up with her. He knows it's a hopeless situation)
Beth I know you're lonely And I hope you'll be alright 'Cause me and the boys will be playing all night
(In the end, he surrenders to his passion and stays with the lover as he truly bids Beth well and hopes that she will be alright. He has a love for Beth but it is not a passionate love - only residual, now platonic and somewhat emotionally dispassionate feelings. He does feel bad and deosn't want to hurt her, but doesn't love her .
This interpretation makes the most sense to me. In an imaginary music video I see most of the song occurring with images of a studio and the band in the background, busying over a piece of music (representing what he's telling her). He hangs up (a differently colored phone) before the last verse, and for the last lines he's shown using the phone in a dimly lit kitchen. In the background instead can be seen light coming from a bedroom door.<br /> <br /> The reason I favor this over the surface words is that change at the end. He knows he won't be home soon and doesn't want to tell her that. If it were just the band he wouldn't feel the same level of guilt that is making him try to hide the timing.
@james10002 This is what occurred to me as well. Beth’s playing second fiddle to someone or something. Alternatively, “me and the boys will be playing all night” put me in mind of groupies.
When Peter Criss sings this in concert, it's absolutely amazing.
gleams My name is Beth... hehe... this is an awesome song...
mine too!
about his torn feelings between touring with kiss or staying at home with his family
My favorite song ever...of course it could be because my name is Beth....
It's nice because it's really unlike what the rest of KISS's work is like. It's also really sweet. I like it.
Peter Criss (X-KISS drummer) wrote this song befor ehe was even in KISS. He wrote it to his wife at the time, and when he was in KISS the song was changed and modified a little, by peter and KISS' manager, and then it was recorded and put on the 1976 album 'Destroyer' , Peter origionally recorded this song with his Pre-KISS band 'Chelsea' and it was entitled 'Beck', presumed to mean 'Becky'
@GodessOfThunder Kiss' drummer Peter Criss sings the song, which was co-written by Criss and guitarist Stan Penridge. The song was written before Criss had joined the band, while he and Penridge were members of Chelsea. A bootleg exists of the song from 1971, but the song was sung "Beck, what can I do?" "Beck" was the nickname of fellow Chelsea member MIKE BRAND'S wife, Becky, who would call often during practices to ask Mike when he was coming home. In an article for Rolling Stone, Paul Stanley questioned Criss' role in co-writing the song, saying, "Peter had nothing to do with it." [2] Both Bob Ezrin and Gene Simmons have been credited[according to whom?] for changing the song's title to "Beth" when recorded by Kiss.[<br />
Before ya'll go after me about not having the "correct" interpretation (some of you say there is no deeper meaning, just emotion), I want to say this is how I felt when I first heard this song and it's my personal interpretation of the song.
The speaker of Beth is a soldier fighting in the war and talking to his wife back home. "I can't come home right now / Me and the boys are playin'" The "boys" being the other soldiers and "playin'" being the fighting against the enemy.
While this was not the intention of the song and some lyrics don't support this, I still feel this way after every listen. Anyone agree?
such a great song with some deep, deep meanings. one of my personal favorites from KISS.
such a great song with a lot of emotion. one of my personal favorites from KISS.***
damn im too tired, this song doesnt have a lot of meanings because theres nothing to translate, the meaning of this song is in the lyrics as it is, so its just very emotional.