Ball And Chain
Read Ball And Chain lyrics by Janis Joplin on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.
The page facts to cite before the commentary
Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.
Ball And Chain
The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.
Sitting down by my window,
Oh, looking at the rain
Sitting down by my window now,
All around I felt it,
All I could see was the rain.
Something grabbed a hold of me, honey
Felt to me honey like, Lord, a ball and chain.
Yeah! Hey! You know what I mean,
But it's way too heavy for you,
You can't hold it tomorrow!
Say, whoa, whoa, honey, this can't be!
Just because I got to want your love
Please please please please, whoa please, please.
Whoa whoa, honey this can't be
Just because I got to need you daddy.
Please don't you let me down, no! please, yeah!
Here you gone today, but I wanted to love you,
I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die
Till the day, till the day,
Yeah! Hey! Hey! All right!
Say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be!
Not anything I ever wanted from you daddy
Tell me now, now, now, now, oh, tell me now, yeah
I say, whoa, whoa, honey this can't be!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no... yeah yeah, hey!
And I want someone that could tell me, tell me why
Just because I got to want your love
Honey, just because I got to need, need, need your love
I said I don't understand, honey, but I wanna chance to try
Try, try, try, try try try try
Honey when everybody in the world wants the same damn thing
When everybody in the world will need the same lonely thing
When I wanna work for your love, daddy.
When I wanna try for your love, daddy
I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, I can't get it together. I mean, if you got a cat for one day, man — I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a cat for 365 days, right — You ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man. Well I tell you that one day, man, better be your life, man. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. You gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man. If you got it today you don't want it tomorrow, man, 'cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, man. It's all the same fucking day, man!
So you gotta, when you wanna hold a sigh,
You gotta hold him like it's the last minute in your life, baby.
You gotta hold, whoa, whoa, hold whoa, hold him
'Cause someday some weight's gonna come on your shoulders, babe,
It's gonna feel too heavy, it's gonna weigh on you,
It's gonna feel just like a ball, ball, ball, oh daddy,
And a chain
What this page can answer fast
Who performs "Ball And Chain"?
Janis Joplin performs "Ball And Chain", and this lyric page sits inside the Janis Joplin catalog on LyroVerse.
Are there related songs to explore after "Ball And Chain"?
Yes. The related section below points to San Francisco Bay Blues and Summertime with a short reason for opening each page next.
Where can I find more songs by Janis Joplin?
Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Janis Joplin's lyric pages.
Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song
Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.
What people are saying
No listener comments on Ball And Chain yet.
A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.
Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.