Wind-Up Toy (song)
Encyclopedia
"Wind-Up Toy" is the twelfth track on heavy metal
/shock rock
musician Alice Cooper
's nineteenth studio album "Hey Stoopid
". Though the song was never released as a single, the song is very popular among Cooper's fans, often favourite above all others by some. Guitar player Joe Satriani
makes a guest appearance on the track.
in more than 15 years. In the song, we learn that he is imprisoned in a lunatic hospital and that his only friends are the insects, rats and his toys on the floor. This tells us that he still has the mind of a small child. Obviously it upset Steven to become an adult. The song possibly suggests something happened that forced him to be like an adult, before he was ready for it. It might be that his parents rejected him;
Steven feels that he never had the chance to be a young boy and that he grew up too fast. Because of this, he acts like a child and probably thinks that he still is one:
It is also hinted that Steven still is haunted by the nightmare from Cooper's 1975 album "Welcome to My Nightmare
", and possibly also the Curator from the album:
After the song ends, a little girl's voice can faintly be heard calling "Steven!"
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
/shock rock
Shock rock
Shock rock is an umbrella term for artists who combine rock music with elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.-History:Screamin' Jay Hawkins was arguably the first shock rocker...
musician Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's nineteenth studio album "Hey Stoopid
Hey Stoopid
Hey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by heavy metal singer and shock rock-legend Alice Cooper. It was released on July 2, 1991 with guest appearances from Slash , Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars .After Cooper's smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper...
". Though the song was never released as a single, the song is very popular among Cooper's fans, often favourite above all others by some. Guitar player Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
makes a guest appearance on the track.
Relation to Steven
The track is the first confirmed appearance of fictional character/alter ego StevenSteven (Alice Cooper character)
Steven is a fictional character invented by the rock artist Alice Cooper. He appears on the albums Welcome To My Nightmare , Alice Cooper Goes to Hell , DaDa , Hey Stoopid , The Last Temptation , Dragontown , Along Came A Spider , and Welcome 2 My Nightmare .- Welcome to My Nightmare :Steven...
in more than 15 years. In the song, we learn that he is imprisoned in a lunatic hospital and that his only friends are the insects, rats and his toys on the floor. This tells us that he still has the mind of a small child. Obviously it upset Steven to become an adult. The song possibly suggests something happened that forced him to be like an adult, before he was ready for it. It might be that his parents rejected him;
- Daddy won't discuss me
- What a state I must be
- Mommy couldn't stand living with a wind-up toy
Steven feels that he never had the chance to be a young boy and that he grew up too fast. Because of this, he acts like a child and probably thinks that he still is one:
- Preacher crucifies me
- Warden wants to fry me
- I was never young
- Never just a little boy
It is also hinted that Steven still is haunted by the nightmare from Cooper's 1975 album "Welcome to My Nightmare
Welcome to My Nightmare
Welcome to My Nightmare is the eighth album by Alice Cooper, released in 1975. This was Alice Cooper's first solo album . The cover artwork was created by Drew Struzan for Pacific Eye & Ear. Rolling Stone would later rank it as one of the "Top 100 Album Covers Of All Time".Welcome to My Nightmare...
", and possibly also the Curator from the album:
- I'm lost in a nightmare
After the song ends, a little girl's voice can faintly be heard calling "Steven!"
Personnel
- Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
- Vocals - Mickey CurryMickey CurryMichael Timothy Curry is an American drummer. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, although he has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, The Cult, Steve Jones and...
- DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Stef Burns - GuitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Hugh McDonaldHugh McDonald (musician)Hugh "Huge" McDonald is a well known session musician and bassist. Before joining Bon Jovi he was the bass player for the David Bromberg Band, touring extensively worldwide and playing on many Bromberg albums...
- BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Joe SatrianiJoe SatrianiJoseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
- GuitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...