‘Poison’ is a song by American musician Alice Cooper. Written by Cooper, producer Desmond Child and guitarist John McCurry, the song was released as a single in July 1989 from Cooper's eighteenth album, Trash. It became one of Cooper's biggest hit singles in the United States, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The power ballad performed even better in the UK by peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart.
‘Poison’ marked a major comeback for Alice Cooper, becoming his first Top 10 hit in the US and UK for 12 and 16 years respectively, and remains one of his best -nown songs. It is ranked by Billboard as the "91st top song of 1989", while Ultimate Classic Rock ranked it as the "7th best Alice Cooper song", commenting "Poison sounds like a typical '80s pop-metal number at times, but Cooper’s intensity brings it to a whole other level." The song's main riff was written by guitarist John McCurry, who two years earlier had used it for the John Waite track "Encircled".
In this song, Cooper sings about a girl who is bad for him, but he can't resist her charms. There is an element of masochism in the song, as Alice sings, "I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name." The song tied "School's Out" for Cooper's highest chart placing in the US.
This was Cooper's first music video to get rotation on MTV. He broke new ground in 1975 when he turned the stage show for his Welcome To My Nightmare tour into a full movie, which laid the foundation for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video - both clips were narrated by Vincent Price. With ‘Poison,’ Cooper tapped into the MTV audience for the first time and became far more relevant to the younger generation.
Label – Epic
Songwriters – Alice Cooper, Desmond Child, John McCurry
Producer – Desmond Child
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro][Verse 1]
Your cruel device
Your blood like ice
One look could kill
My pain, your thrill
[Chorus]
I wanna love you, but I better not touch (don't touch)
I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you, but I want it too much (too much)
I wanna taste you, but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running through my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains
[Verse 2]
Your mouth, so hot
Your web, I'm caught
Your skin, so wet
Black lace on sweat
[Chorus]
I hear you calling and it's needles and pins (and pins)
I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name
Don't wanna touch you, but you're under my skin (deep in)
I wanna kiss you, but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running through my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains
Poison
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
One look (one look) could kill (could kill)
My pain, your thrill
[Chorus]
I want to love you, but I better not touch (don't touch)
I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you, but I want it too much (too much)
I wanna taste you, but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running through my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains
Poison (poison)
I want to love you, but I better not touch (don't touch)
I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you, but I want it too much (too much)
I wanna taste you, but your lips are venomous poison
[Outro]
Yeah!
Well, I don't want to break these chains
Poison (poison) no
Running deep inside my veins
Burning deep (poison) inside my brain
Poison (poison)
I don't want (poison) to break these chains
Poison (poison)