S.O.S. (Too Bad)

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"S.O.S. (Too Bad)"
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Get Your Wings
B-side "Lord of the Thighs"
ReleasedFebruary 20, 1975 (1975-02-20)
RecordedDecember 17, 1973 January 14, 1974
Studio Record Plant, New York City
Genre
Length2:51
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Steven Tyler
Producer(s) Jack Douglas
Aerosmith singles chronology
"Train Kept A-Rollin'"
(1974)
"S.O.S. (Too Bad)"
(1975)
"Sweet Emotion"
(1975)

"S.O.S. (Too Bad)" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as their third single from their second album Get Your Wings .

Contents

Background

Written by Steven Tyler, it is a hard rocking song focusing on sex and sleaze, with a chorus of "I'm a bad, lonely school boy, and I'm a rat, and it's too bad, can't get me none of that." The song starts off with a fast drum beat and basic guitar riff, then slows down, and builds up once again, with Steven Tyler's rapid-fire, fierce lyrics accompanying. The song's lyrical content and musical styles are in the vein of "blooze", a grittier hard rock version of blues music, often with lyrics focused on sex, drugs, and urban life.

"S.O.S. (Too Bad") has been described as a proto-punk song, with numerous elements presaging the punk rock explosion, including dark lyrical themes. [1]

The song has remained a fan favorite and has been a staple in the setlists on Aerosmith's most recent tours, the Rockin' the Joint Tour and the Route of All Evil Tour.

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References

  1. 1 2 Aerosmith. p. 86. Retrieved 5 July 2022.