MISERY LOVES COMPANY^©

[Mike Ness:]
I used to roam all night long
I lurked the streets late at night
I ain't never comin' home
But loneliness
Is part of the game
And misery loves company, yeah, yeah

[Bruce Springsteen:]
I used to think that I was a king
Fancy cars, fancy clothes and diamond rings
Yeah but happiness it's a funny thing
And misery just loves company, yeah

[Mike Ness:]
Don't even try to understand
What goes on inside this man
As a boy I used to dream
'Cause sometimes life ain't what it seems, huh!
Huh!

[Mike Ness:]
We used to dance under moonlight
But then the tears began to fall
And baby that ain't right
'Cause losing you
Was part of the game
And misery loves company
'Caus fucking up
Was part of the game
And misery loves company, yeah
Yeah!

Page last updated: 14 Nov 2009

Intro

MISERY LOVES COMPANY is a song written by Social Distortion's frontman Mike Ness. He released it in 1999 on his solo debut album Cheating At Solitaire. The song is a duet between Ness and Bruce Springsteen who also plays guitar on the track.

Recording and Release

Springsteen has long been a major fan of Southern California punk/rave band Social Distortion, and he touted their album Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell as his favorite record of the year in a Rolling Stone interview in 1992.

Mike Ness recorded Cheating At Solitaire, a side-project and his first solo album, in 1998. Springsteen took part in a session on 29 Dec 1998 at Ocean Studios in Los Angeles, providing support vocals and lead guitar on MISERY LOVES COMPANY. The track was released on Cheating At Solitaire which was produced by Mike Ness and James Saez and released on 13 Apr 1999 on the Time bomb label. The album peaked at position #80 on the Billboard 200 chart on 01 May 1999. MISERY LOVES COMPANY was also officially released in 1999 on a promo CD EP titled Four Songs From Cheating At Solitaire (cat# TBCD-7539).

Live History

As part of his 2008 tour, Mike Ness and his solo band played two nights at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, on 16 and 17 May. Bruce Springsteen attended the second night, and after watching the show from the soundboard, joined the band onstage for a four-song encore starting with MISERY LOVES COMPANY.

This is the only known Springsteen live performance of the song, but he and Ness would share the stage once more; on their 16 Apr 2009 Working On A Dream Tour stop at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were joined onstage by Mike Ness for two songs.

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for transcribing these lyrics.