Seventeen a nature's queen, know what I mean?
Twenty-one, a long one
You can see the numbers run
Now you look so peaceful, lyin' there asleep
With the wings of God above you
Before the spirits meet

Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom
Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom

Shadow earth is closin' in above the lamps in your street
Lucifer goes walkin' down for you to meet
Minutes pass so slowly by the hands on your clock
Heaven's door, just no way in
You can knock

Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom
Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom

With all darkness closin' in
Will the light reveal your soul?
Just one sweet kiss on your clay cold lips
Long, long sleep you'll never know
Where do we go, where do we go
Where do we go from here?

Seventeen a nature's queen, know what I mean?
Twenty-one, a long one
You can see the numbers run
Now you look so peaceful, lyin' there asleep
With the wings of God above you
Before the spirits meet

Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom
Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom


Lyrics submitted by Golgotha, edited by KillKiss, daddyouranos, MattCais

Rock Bottom Lyrics as written by Phillip John Mogg Michael Schenker

Lyrics © DELLA BLUE MUSIC LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Rock Bottom song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

12 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    This is just what I am getting from these lyrics:

    Theres a beautiful 17 year old girl, (nature's queen) and she is married to a 21 year old man (21 the lonely one). Now I'm not too sure about the numbers part, but when they sing, "Now you look so peaceful, lyin' there asleep" that sounds like she has died and is laying in her casket at a funeral, which would explain why her husband is lonely. And "With the wings of god above you before the spirits meet" might show that she is going to heaven. The next part about the shadows closing in is all about how her husband is dealing with his wife's death. Lucifer is the name of the devil, so maybe the husband wants to kill himself, but he doesn't want to go to hell, because he won't get to see his wife. The part about the days passing slowly is showing how time trudges on when you lose someone that you love. And when they're talking about heaven's door, it means that he is trying to take his own life to be with her (when you knock = suicide). The next little bit looks like the man is dying, and it is undecided where his soul is going (will the light reveal your soul?). Then he kisses her while he is dying, and she will never know because she is dead (one sweet kiss on your clay cold lips, in your sleep you'll never know). At the very end when they sing "where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here?" It is talking about where our souls will go when our time is up in this world.

    This is an amazing song with great lyrics, and some parts sound like they're talking about Romeo and Juliet, so that could be it too. Although Romeo is supposed to be 15, and Juliet 13, and in the song, the lovers are 21 and 17. But when the song is talking about the "one sweet kiss on your clay cold lips" it sounds quite like Romeo and Juliet, because Romeo kissed Juliet one last time before dying.

    sackerlandon November 28, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    awesome song people should really listen to bands like this

    skater-maton September 25, 2006   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I have a completely different interpretation of this song than the others I'm seeing. I think the "17, nature's queen" and "21, the lone one" are the same person, that being a girl who was once very popular and a few years ago and finds she's now alone and in a hard world, and she can't deal with it. So, she commits suicide. Then, someone else, a man, comes along and sees her dead body and pretty face, and thinks it's a terrible shame--he might have wanted to know her--and he wonders if her act has condemned her in what might be her afterlife.

    gchadder3on November 20, 2022   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "Where do we go from here... " This is about life after death and if 'sin' is real... is sin something we should worry about.

    astropixon August 23, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    In six years, only two people before me have commented? My goodness - it appears more people are caught up in the atrocious noise we call music today than I thought.

    This song is way, way ahead of its time. I remember the first time I heard it, I mistakened it for "New Wave of British Heavy Metal". I had the early 1980's in mind. I was shocked to learn "Rock Bottom" was released a full decade earlier - in 1973.

    Only two bands at that time were making music even reminiscent to the sound of NWOBHM - Scheneker's UFO, and Sammy Hagar's band - Montrose. Thanks to Michael Scheneker, UFO blew people away by what a human being could do with a guitar, and even today, people are still jamming out to this guitar solo.

    Yankeesfan630on August 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Listen to the song around 0:45, it sounds like the lead singer is saying: I gotta fuck you XD

    randomstofilon July 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    On the clay cold lips part he sounds like Ozzy-a little

    captlafl69on December 08, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    What I get from these lyrics?

    In my opinion the song speaks of an overdose and for youth gone astray. A young princess with a most noble soul is going to die. She can't reach the heaven she wished with the drugs - heaven does not open this way - but God's wings are still above her. Her lips are cold though. Her lover is desperate. "Where do we go from here?"

    It's night and it's cold, and she may not pass the night if she isn't already dead. Will the daylight "reveal her soul?" The young boy promises that he will stay beside her. "I won't sleep". He has so much things he wants to tell her which she won't be able to listen. "You'll never know".

    This is the "rock bottom" of a youth who tried to "get high" and wished for a blessing.

    This is my interpretation. I believe that UFO have managed to express in that song the sensitivity of their era and to include the wounds of a whole generation. The chorus of "Rock Bottom" is not a song. It is a cry of agony and a prayer.

    KillKisson May 19, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Omg. This is just a groupie song about being on the road. One night a 17, next a 21, see the numbers roll. A kiss on your cold clay lips refers to the moment a woman has an orgasm and her lips get cold because the blood is concentrated somewhere else. Easy as this. UFO is known for this kind of touring behavior and lyrics. I love the song.

    KSWon July 20, 2021   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think, this song is about of beautiful, innocent life at 17 and then at 21 counting and aging and meeting the diabolic things of life and then Stairway to heaven.

    hans peteron November 29, 2022   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.