Ain't It Fun (Dead Boys song)

"Ain't It Fun" is a song written by Peter Laughner and Gene O'Connor (known as Cheetah Chrome) and performed by their protopunk band Rocket from the Tombs. The song was first released by O'Connor's later group, Dead Boys, on their 1978 second studio album We Have Come for Your Children.[1] Laughner died a year before.

"Ain't It Fun"
Song by Dead Boys
from the album We Have Come for Your Children
ReleasedJune 1978
GenrePunk rock
Length4:33
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)Peter Laughner
Gene O'Connor
Producer(s)Felix Pappalardi

Lyrics

"Ain't It Fun" is notable for being one of the first commercially-released recordings of song lyrics containing the profanity cunt, which is said once in the song's third verse. The word's presence was not picked up on by the media at the time, with the same being the case following the release of Guns N' Roses' 1993 cover, which reached the top 10 in several countries' singles charts despite being uncensored.

Guns N' Roses version
"Ain't It Fun"
Single by Guns N' Roses
from the album "The Spaghetti Incident?"
B-side"Down on the Farm"
ReleasedNovember 8, 1993 (1993-11-08)[2]
Length5:06
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Guns N' Roses singles chronology
"Civil War"
(1993)		 "Ain't It Fun"
(1993)		 "Estranged"
(1994)

The song was covered by American rock band Guns N' Roses for their 1993 cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?". It was also released as a single and included on the Guns N' Roses Greatest Hits compilation in 2004. Michael Monroe from Hanoi Rocks featured on vocals. GNR guitarist Slash observed that Monroe "was just excited about having it come out, because it was a cool song, and it was sort of a memorial for Stiv Bators".[3]

Charts
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 26
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[5] 17
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[6] 15
Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 34
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 14
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 22
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 36
Norway (VG-lista)[12] 3
Portugal (AFP)[13] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 15
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 9
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[17] 8

Other covers

When Rocket from the Tombs reunited in 2003, they recorded the song and released it on their debut album, Rocket Redux. Rollins Band also covered the song for their album A Nicer Shade of Red. The Lords of Altamont covered the song on their 2011 album Midnight to 666.

Notes
  1. Tricia Weight "Who says Dead Boys tell no tales? Cheetah Chrome talks punk history Archived January 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine" (interview of Cheetah Chrome)
  2. "Single Releases". Music Week. November 6, 1993. p. 23.
  3. Q: 70. March 1994. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  5. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 49. December 4, 1993. p. 11.
  6. Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003. ISBN 951-1-21053-X
  7. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Guns N' Roses". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 51, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  10. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  11. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  12. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun". VG-lista. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  13. "Top 10 Sales in Europe". Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. December 18, 1993. p. 30.
  14. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  15. "Guns N' Roses – Ain't it Fun". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  16. "Guns N' Roses: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  17. "Guns N' Roses Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2017.

Sources
  • Cheetah Chrome and Legs McNeil, (2010). Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy's Tale: From the Front Lines of Punk Rock (Voyageur Press; First edition). ISBN 978-0-7603-3773-8.
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