Lucky Ball & Chain

This is actually my favorite tmbg song. Partly because I don't know too much of them,but mainly because this is the one where they actualy make sense, without needing to read their site.

He speaks about his girlfriend (ball&chain), who left him because she couldn't stand his blabbering and weirdness. And he is angry with her for that, but mostly he hates himself, and thinking he doesn't deserve her.

I could shake my tiny fist and swear I wasn't wrong But what's the sense in arguing when you're all alone?

I just love those words :) Great song!

I always thought I was a divorce, referring his wife to "ball and chain" but it just hit me that he could be going to jail. How they used to wear those ball chained to their ankles. and she wont take him back when he gets out of jail

I could shake my tiny fist and say I wasn't wrong what's the sense of arguing when your all alone

like what's the use in fighting in the courts becuase he's lost everthing, so what does it matter if he goes to jail, seeing as he's lost him home anyways.

no, its has nothing to do with jail. it is about lossing his wife in divorece and now he is sitting in the bar drinking himself to death wondering where it all went wrong and blaming himself for it.

LOL jail?!

I think he was bragging till his wife got sick of him and continued to be a prideful ass till she finally left him. And now he sees how stupid he was to ignore the signs and i think the train metaphore means that he.... couldnt change her mind and bring her back i guess, because her mind was already set. Now he is alone, drinking himself silly, thinking about everything that happend, everything he did wrong.

i agree with the wife thing the jail is tight stretch. BUT i do think the ball and chain reffers to the wife because marriage is binding. so it is sort of sarcastic in a way to say "you lost a ball and chain" because it is attatched to you. I think it was a good way to put his ex because this whole song has a sarcastic tone.

Actually I sort of know the story behind this song. My friend's mom used to date John Flansburgh for a while, and apparently this song was written about her. Crazy, no?

The song references the Phil Spector-produced Darlene Love song "The Boy I'm Gonna Marry"'s lines:

He smiled at me and the music started playing 'Here Comes the Bride' when he walked through the door

Let's all pretend that Phil Spector died in 1970, or at worst right after that Ramones record.

I can't be the only one who thinks this, it's a song about a doll being outgrown "she threw away her baby doll" "she never called me baby-doll" "just five feet tall" (average for a 14-16 year old girl, usually when old dolls are getting thrown out) "when she'd sit and hold me in her arms"

now I don't know about you guys, but I can't see a 5ft tall woman holding anybody of normal height in their arms

but this is just me rattling on, keep believing it's about a divorce if you want

and before I hear "but he talks about drinking at a bar" it's TMBG, you should expect weird personification like that (see Birdhouse in your soul)

The first verse lyrically reminds me of this old Irish song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_by_the_Salley_Gardens