No More Mr. Nice Guy

Album: Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
Charted: 10 25
Play Video
  • I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing
    'Til they got a hold of me.
    I opened doors for little old ladies,
    I helped the blind to see.
    I got no friends 'cause they read the papers.
    They can't be seen with me and I'm gettin' real shot down
    And I'm feeling mean.

    [Chorus]
    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    No more Mister Clean,
    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    They say he's sick, he's obscene.

    I got no friends 'cause they read the papers.
    They can't be seen with me and I'm feelin' real shot down
    And I'm gettin' mean.

    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    No more Mister Clean,
    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    They say he's sick, he's obscene.

    My dog bit me on the leg today.
    My cat clawed my eyes.
    Ma's been thrown out of the social circle,
    And dad has to hide.
    I went to church incognito.
    When everybody rose, the Reverend Smith,
    He recognized me,
    And punched me in the nose, he said.

    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    No more Mister Clean,
    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    He said you're sick, you're obscene.

    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    No more Mister Clean,
    No more Mister Nice Guy,
    He said you're sick, you're obscene. Writer/s: Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 30

  • Harryhow is My dog bit me on the leg today
    My cat clawed my eyes relevant to the rest of the song it feels out of place
  • George Pope from Vancouver BcIs it possible the Reverend Smith was saying, "No more, Mr. Nice Guy" with "Mr. Nice Guy" being sarcastic, referring to Alice's going into the church after all the music style he'd been doing? As in he doesn't want a guy pretending to be Mr. Nice Guy by just showing up to church, as if nothing went on before?
  • Peter Jay from San Diego I love all the wild hypothesis’ on this stuff... so, I went to the rival high school of his high school, Cortez... his cross country coach and english teach was the same as mine except he was my track coach freshman year... the gentleman’s name... Emmett SMITH. He was influential to Vince when he was in hs... anyway, I know this as fact as I have directly had conversations with both Emmett and Alice (vince)... i ran around in the PHX music scene in the 80’s with Surgical Steel and members of Judas Priest so I had an insiders POV on a lot of this kinda thing... Side note: because Emmett was teaching at my hs ( Apollo) in the 80’s ( after leaving Cortez ). Alice wanted to throw a Concert in honor of Emmett on the Apollo football field but The principal put the kabash on that... would have been fun! I didn’t look over this entire thread so I have no idea whether there’s part of this already explained... but this is how it happened folks.
  • Macjuju from Cadiff, Nsw, AustraliaPlease see below a few things Id like to address from the previous comments;
    1. Dan is correct;
    Alice sings "The Reverend Smith he, he recognised me"
    2. Reverend Smithy was not a nickname the band gave drummer Neal Smith.
    In the early days Neal refered to himself as Neal S. Myth or Suede Smith. Later he was referred to jokingly as The Platinum God after a poem aboout him of that title appeared in Circus magazine.
    3. Alice was introduced to cocaine by Bernie Taupin while they worked on 'From The Inside'. It didnt take him long to discover the joys of free-basing. He quotes the date he finally had "beaten his demons" as September 28 1983.
    4. Alice was introduced to golf by lighting / set designer Joe Gannon in 1973 while he was still drinking very heavily.
    Best wishes to all. mac
  • Neil from UkFFS Dan from Cœur d’Alene - listen to the song! Of course he sings Reverend Smithy!!
  • Dan from Bc CanadaI've been a fan of Alice since '72. Watch the documentary "Super Duper Alice Cooper". Alice was NOT drug free... he was a freebase coke addict from 1975 to about 1984. He had it one day, and says he flushed a rock the size of a baseball down the toilet and quit on the spot (Good move Alice :)) Gotta hand it to a guy who can quit booze and coke, and still make great tunes. He is currently recording a new album with his original band (less Glen Buxton RIP).
  • Burke from St. Paul, MnAlice said No More Mr. Nice Guy was designed to sound like Roger Daltrey and The Who.
  • Ciara from Ses, Beninhis makeup is awesome
  • Ciara from Ses, Beninan alchoholic is better than a drug addict i would rather be hooked on alchohol than drugs hes doing fine cuz he didnt do drugs i mean look at ozzy osbourne he did every drug known to man and he cant speak right
  • Ciara from Ses, Beninalice cooper is just a stage personsa and it dosent reflect his life he said in an interview he doesnt have to put nudity curse words or santinism in his music like all the other bands do
  • Rick from Belfast, MeThis song and others from Alice Cooper made the 1970's what it is today......the songs from the decade of the 70's have stood the test of time!
  • Haydn from Stockport, United KingdomKen, Alice was a raving alcoholic, comsuming bottles of jack a day!His golf came later when he eventually cleaned up his act.
  • Dan from Coeur D'alene, IdVince, its not "Rev. Smithy." It is "Rev. Smith. He recognized me."
  • Harold from San Bernadino, CaThis one's an all-time fave by Alice Cooper, hands down!
  • Daevid from Glendale, CaAlice in his prime. what a great song! that particular era [Zepp, Stones, Aerosmith, Steely Dan..etc.]always brings back good memories for me.
  • Ricky from Ohsweken, -I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Pat Boone cover version of this song (until NOW that is LOL).
  • Alan from Syracuse, NyBand was good but I think Dennis Dunaway is one of the most underrated bass players. His playing was incredibly powerful and dynamic, and groovin.
  • Mark from Grafton, United StatesI agree with Andrew from Toronto - "Love It To Death" and "Killer" are the original groups best albums (their 3rd and 4th, respectively).
  • Vince from Rome , NyReverend Smithy mentioned in the song was a nickname that the band gave their drummer Neal Smith.
  • Zac from Sydney, Australiagreat song awesome riff. love the megadeth/mustaine version where dave goes "me? a nice guy? YEAH RIGHT!" at the start
  • Ozzi from Brookhaven, PaWas he realy drug-free, i didnt kno that, wow thats somethin.
  • Ken from Louisville, KyCooper's personal life was nothing like his stage persona. He lived, drug-free, in a suburban home and his biggest pasion, besides music, was playing golf!
  • Dave from Scottsdale, AzAlice Cooper grew up in Phoenix. When he was in high school- Cortez High- he ran track. He passed out after a race and landed on his nose- hence it's crooked state. The track coach- Emmit Smith (not the footbal player) told all the lettering athletes they each had to do a skit at the Lettermen banquet. The lyrics "the Rev. Smith, he recognized me, he punched me in the nose" was referring to Coach Smith, a Mormon Bishop. He and several of his fellow athletes decided to do a take-off on the Beatles and named it after a different insect- The Earwigs. Much of Phoenix in the early 60s was surrounded by citrus groves. These were sub-divided and turned into housing projects ("15 full-grown citrus trees in each yard!"). Earwigs are centipede-like insects with pinchers on their tales that favored orange groves. After homes were plopped down there, you always had them in your houses. The show went off so well, that they remained as a group later changing their name to the Spiders ("Return of the Spiders" on their second album). Alice is now a pillar of the community in Paradise Valley.
  • Fyodor from Denver, CoGuitarist Michael Bruce co-wrote this and used it for the title of his retrospective book about the band. In the book he says that Alice Cooper was the name of the band long before the whole band decided to let lead singer Vince Furnier take the name as well -- "and created a monster"!
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesFantastic song! Megadeth's cover version in 1990 was not bad either
  • Joel from Columbia, ScThis song was featured on the Dazed & Confused soundtrack. I agree with you, Shana, that this is a cool song.
  • Josh from Thornhill, Canadarealting to what you said kevin, the part in family guy was actually knockoff of the scene in the movie dazed and confused where they are spanking the kid because of his initiation to high school. the kid who is spanking him is played by a young ben affleck and is quite amusing to watch.
  • Kevin from Sandy, Utthis song was on a 2005 episode of 'Family Guy' the songs chorus is played over and over while chris recieves spankings from seniors for him being a freshman. (side note: the mayor, adam west, also administers spankings to chris)
  • Andrew from TorontoGreat song but getting more parody in their music which would become a staple in the later albums.I prefer the dark heavy doomy Alice tunes such as-Halo of Flies,Killer,Ballad of Dwight Frie and Sick Things but I love all the early Alice Cooper Band records.
  • Shana from Detroit Rock City, CanadaFreakin awesome song!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Glen Ballard

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.