‘18 and Life’ is a song by American heavy metal band Skid Row. It was released in June 1989 as the second single from their self-titled debut album. The power ballad is the band's biggest hit, reaching No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 13, 1989, when it sold 500,000 copies. The song also charted at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 6 in Canada, and No. 5 in Ireland.
The title of the song alludes to its subject, 18-year-old Ricky, receiving a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of another teen. The song paints Ricky's youth as his undoing. It was believed for a long time that guitarist Dave Sabo got the idea from a newspaper article about an 18-year-old named Ricky who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his friend with a gun, that due to alcohol, he most likely guessed was not loaded. However, in an interview with the Professor of Rock, Sabo states that the original inspiration was his brother Rick's life after coming home from Vietnam. The writing process eventually led the song to being about an accidental murder. The music video also alludes to this.
This was Skid Row's second single, following ‘Youth Gone Wild.’ It was a huge hit and helped the band's debut album sell over 5 million copies in America. A big reason why is Bon Jovi. Dave Sabo was part of Bon Jovi's original lineup and was childhood friends with Jon Bon Jovi. In 1984, Richie Sambora ended up taking his place in the band, which soon took off. Sabo formed Skid Row with Rachel Bolan in 1986; a year later they added the brash young Canadian singer Sebastian Bach, who was 20 years old when the Skid Row album was released in 1988. Jon Bon Jovi helped the band get a record deal; they shared the same manager, and Skid Row inked a publishing deal with the company owned by Jon and Richie, who now had a profit motive for seeing them succeed.
Bon Jovi championed the band and took them on tour as their opening act just days after the album was released in January 1989. That tour, the New Jersey Syndicate tour, was huge, and earned Skid Row an instant fanbase. It got bumpy for the band though; their second album, Slave To The Grind, wasn't released until 1991, and it was hitless, with a harder edge and less pop appeal (it did go to #1 and sell over 2 million). They never again came close to the success of their first album.
Label – Atlantic
Songwriters – Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo
Producer – Michael Wagener
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Ricky was a young boy, he had a heart of stone
Lived nine to five and he worked his fingers to the bone
Just barely out of school, came from the edge of town
Fought like a switchblade so no one could take him down, no
[Pre-Chorus]
He had no money, no
No good at home
Walked the streets a soldier and he fought the world alone
And now it's
[Chorus]
Eighteen and life, you got it
Eighteen and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life, you got it
Eighteen and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's eighteen and life to go
[Verse 2]
Tequila in his heartbeat, his veins burned gasoline
It kept his motor running but it never kept him clean
They say he loved adventure, "Ricky's the wild one"
He married trouble, had a courtship with a gun
[Pre-Chorus]
Bang-bang, shoot 'em up, the party never ends
You can't think of dying when the bottle's your best friend
And now it's
[Chorus]
Eighteen and life, you got it
Eighteen and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life, you got it
Eighteen and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's eighteen and life to go
Yeah, yeah
[Bridge]
"Accidents will happen," they all heard Ricky say
He fired his six-shot to the wind
And that child blew a child away, yeah, yeah
Hey, hey, yeah, yeah, yeah
[Chorus]
Eighteen and life, you got it
Eighteen and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's eighteen and life to go
Eighteen and life, you got it
Eighteen and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's eighteen and life to go
Yeah
[Outro]
Whoa, whoa, whoa