In an interview with Evelyn Morris for LISTEN which focused on Shellac’s relationship with gender issues and feminism, Steve Albini specifically addressed an number of his songs, including “Billiard Player Song”:
This is a song of nostalgia, memory and loss. The male character is reflecting on his...
[Verse]
He cursed like a billiard player
His racks his stick upon the ground, he
Waddles blind like an old man should be
Shakes a lot like an old man should
Off and on he's been here
Probably twenty years
Off and on he's been here
Guess he'll never go home
[Chorus]
I guess it's the comfortable chair
And company, you can't buy company
It's a frame of mind
It's people who've been through what you've been through
And a cigar
A good cigar now and again
[Verse]
Had his heart broken
By a little girl, she was small
Had his heart broken
By a little girl, she was small
Had his heart broken
You would never expect a thing
When he was a young man
It was like an event
[Chorus]
He promised her anything
He never had to deliver
He promised her everything
Ask yourself if you could do better
He promised her everything
She caught on
[Bridge]
A lot of people say she's crazy
But I know, I know a lot of people
And I think, I think she's alright!
[Verse]
He cursed like a billiard player
His racks his stick upon the ground
And she would ask him
She was young and she didn't know
Why things were like this
And not another way
[Chorus]
He lied to her
He lied to her
With a perfectly straight face
She believed him
Billiard Player Song was written by Shellac & Steve Albini & Todd Trainer & Bob Weston.
Billiard Player Song was produced by Shellac & Steve Albini & Todd Trainer & Bob Weston.
Shellac released Billiard Player Song on Sun Oct 10 1993.