Trouble Waiting to Happen
Encyclopedia
"Trouble Waiting to Happen" is a humorous song from the Warren Zevon
album Sentimental Hygiene
. As the title would suggest, the song's theme is about the narrator describing various troubles that are facing him. These include the third and fourth world wars and being slandered in the Rolling Stone
(With Zevon commenting on what he had supposedly done as sounding "like a lot of fun"). The line may be a reference to the fact that after disappointing sales of his The Envoy
album, Asylum Records
dropped Zevon, but never told him about what they had done. He found out in the end by reading the gossip column of the Rolling Stone. The song ends with a warning that trouble is waiting to happen to us all, and a repeated chorus of the songs title.
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
album Sentimental Hygiene
Sentimental Hygiene
Sentimental Hygiene is an album by rock singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 1987. The release of Sentimental Hygiene marked the first studio album for Zevon in five years...
. As the title would suggest, the song's theme is about the narrator describing various troubles that are facing him. These include the third and fourth world wars and being slandered in the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(With Zevon commenting on what he had supposedly done as sounding "like a lot of fun"). The line may be a reference to the fact that after disappointing sales of his The Envoy
The Envoy
The Envoy is an album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 1982 by Asylum . It is considered to be the least well-known of his major-label studio recordings because it was not released on compact disc until 2006...
album, Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
dropped Zevon, but never told him about what they had done. He found out in the end by reading the gossip column of the Rolling Stone. The song ends with a warning that trouble is waiting to happen to us all, and a repeated chorus of the songs title.