Songfacts®:

• This Phil Lynott composition begins:
  
  He stuck that knife right into her gut
  I wanna tell you she was lucky with what she got
  But what she got was not enough
  She played around
  
  A crime of passion is one thing, but here, Lynott seems to be suggesting the young lady deserved it, and that she knew she deserved it, which smacks of a lack of empathy if not outright misogyny.
  
  Having said that, "Don't Play Around" was released as the B-side of "Killer On The Loose," and is consistent if nothing else. It has to be said too that in general Lynott's bark was worse than his bite, and the only person on whom he ever inflicted serious physical damage was himself. He died aged 36 from complications brought on by his addiction to heroin.
  
  "Don't Play Around" is also typically strong melodically, whatever the lyrics. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England