Merry-Go-Round

Album: Too Fast For Love (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The inspiration for this song was a bizarre incident Crüe bass player Nikki Sixx witnessed when he was living in Seattle. He saw a guy with a mental condition being taken away by authorities when he refused to get off a merry-go-round.

    "He was about 22-23 years old and had about four kids and had all these pressures," Sixx explained. "He regressed to being a little kid. He was out there playing on the merry-go-round and he just lost it — too many pressures."
  • This is a track from Too Fast For Love, Mötley Crüe's debut album, which they released independently. Nikki Sixx was the primary songwriter in the band, and many songs on the album, including this one, he had in the works before Mötley Crüe even formed.

    The album got the attention of Elektra Records, which signed the band and gave the album a proper release. It went on to sell over a million copies in America when the band took off and fans sought out their back catalogue.
  • "Merry-Go-Round" was included on the soundtrack to the 2019 Mötley Crüe biopic, The Dirt.

Comments: 4

  • You from MfCome on and Dance is the best track ever recorded by them
  • Johan from SwedenI thought first that this was a cover of Led Zepplin.
  • David Gustavo Nunez-montoya from Lrd TxShawn from Green Bay, Wi
    I think a very good argument can be made that THIS short diddy is the best Crue song they ever recorded. Extremely artistic for them, it has a cycling chord line throughout that invokes the image of spinning around and around even without the lyrics. The lyrics themselves mean nothing or everything, like a truly great poem. And yet the base pick-up and chorus still has the grinding energy you expected from Crue in their early days.

    on da dot ese
  • Shawn from Green Bay, WiI think a very good argument can be made that THIS short diddy is the best Crue song they ever recorded. Extremely artistic for them, it has a cycling chord line throughout that invokes the image of spinning around and around even without the lyrics. The lyrics themselves mean nothing or everything, like a truly great poem. And yet the base pick-up and chorus still has the grinding energy you expected from Crue in their early days.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Zakk Wylde

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Eagles Lyrics Quiz

Eagles Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Lots of life lessons in these Eagles lyrics - can you match them to the correct song?

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.