Nazareth: Hair of the Dog Meaning

Hair of the Dog Lyrics

Heart breaker, soul shaker.
I've been told about you.
Steamroller, midnight stroller.
What they've been saying must be true.

Bridge:

Red hot mama,
Velvet charmer.
Time's come to pay your dues

Chorus:

Now you're messing with a
A...

1. anonymous

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   Jan 19th report

   I think that this is a concept album. It starts out with the bitch better don't be messing with him or she is a messing with a son of a bitch. Then the bitch goes on to making him miserable and he don't want to go on like this any longer. Then he is saying that love hurts because all she does is mess with him. Then she's a changing all the time making him live a life of sin. He just don't know how to be rid of her. So then she turns it on but makes him beg for it. Rose in the heather means he dumped that bitch for some other one named Heather. Then she starts out good but turns intoxicated all the time on him. Finally feeling betrayed too much he is telling her not to be such a Judas and straightin' up and treat him right. There ya go. All in a nut shell!!!
2. anonymous

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   May 6th 2014 report

   Hair of the dog is a play on words. A male heir (hair) of the dog would be a son of a bitch.
3. astorian

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   Oct 27th 2012 report

   The lyrics themselves aren't hard to understand- they're typical tough guy heavy metal lyrics, about a guy telling a girl, "You're used to manipulating men, and having them wrapped around your little finger... but I'm a tough S.O.B., and you can't play any of your usual games with me."
   
   What many people don't understand is the title. Why would a song in which the singer keeps repeating, "Son of a bitch" be titled "Hair of the dog?"
   
   Because the record company told Nazareth that, while they were allowed to SAY "Son of a bitch" in the song, they were NOT allowed to use that as the song title, much less the album title.
   
   SO, the guys in the bands came up with a clever idea. A bitch is a female dog, right? And a man's son is his heir, right? So, "Heir of the Dog" is a clean, safe way of saying "Son of a bitch!"
   
   That sounded just like "hair of the dog," which is an popular old expression for drinking more whiskey as a cure for hangovers. That's where the odd title came from.

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