Lit Up

Album: Buckcherry (1999)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd penned this song about the first time he did cocaine, with the lyrics and tempo describing the high he felt from the drug, which he called "magical and amazing." He says that because he's skinny, he wasn't a big drinker since he couldn't hold his liquor. Discovering cocaine, however, was a breakthrough for him.

    In our interview with Josh, he explained: "I knew a couple of dealers in high school and had a lot of fun with that until it wasn't fun anymore."
  • This was Buckcherry's debut single. The band formed in the mid-1990s thanks to a mutual infatuation with AC/DC. They are named after a cross-dresser who called himself Buckcherry (a play on "Chuck Berry") and used to come to their shows. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • Josh Todd penned the song sober having given up cocaine in the mid-1990s. He told Classic Rock Revisited: "Drugs and alcohol worked for me for a lot of years. For a lot of years it was fun, exciting and it was a blast. It was the last two years of it where it was ruining me in every way, shape and form. I had to really make a decision if I wanted to live or die. I quit using right after my first daughter was born."

Comments: 7

  • Mick from Sydney, AustraliaThe main riff is a ripoff of Shock Me by Ace Frehley
  • Halmummy from Lexington KyOk Jim, We are not the last and the world is not at end. Anyone want to add any insight to “packing lines is a sin”?
  • Jim from Long Beach, CaThis is the last of the great Rock N Roll songs ever. They just don't write songs like this in the 2000's and they never will. The end of a era.Enjoy...
  • D from Waterloo, Iathis song freaking rocks. kicks ass hard core baby!
  • Josh from Detroit, MiThe transvestite story was just a joke the band came up with. Keith Nelson came up with the name since "Chuck Berry is basically where this all started".
  • Nick from Tampa, FlInteresting to note there are 2 guitars on the track , one plays power chords in standard tuining and the other plays in Open A tuining, giving the song its unique heavy sound.
  • Eric from Milltown, InBuckcherry is the sleaziest band around, and it rocks. This song kicks @$$
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.