Chad Kroeger Reveals Source of Alternate Nickelback Song Title That Ended Up With Steel Panther
Most fans are familiar with the racy Nickelback song "Something in Your Mouth," but during a recent appearance on the Audacy's 98 Rock station as part of Sacramento's The Bailey Show, Chad Kroeger reveals it could have had an even dirtier title, one that he eventually shared with Steel Panther.
“My sense of humor is very much like some of the songs, like when I start a song off with, ‘I like your pants around your feet’ [From ‘Figured You Out’] or the hook line is ‘You look so much cuter with something in your mouth’ [from ‘Something in Your Mouth’]. Now, in my defense for that one, Mutt [Lange] said to me … his idea for the song originally was ‘It won’t suck itself.’ I swear to God,” revealed Kroeger.
But fearing that was a little too risque, Kroeger laughed it off but remembered the line several years later when a collaboration opportunity came about.
“I thought the comedic element of that was just so off the chart that when I was with the guys from Steel Panther, they said, ‘Let’s write a song,’ and I immediately went [with that], cause that’s their schtick, right? Right away, this pops into my head, this unused line that I’m never gonna use cause I just thought it was too far, but for them, it’s on par. So I’m like, ‘How about ‘It Won’t Suck Itself,’ and they’re like ‘Perfect.’ So we actually wrote a song … and it’s actually really good.”
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The song ended up being a collaboration with Kroeger and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, with "It Won't Suck Itself" appearing on Steel Panther's 2011 Balls Out album.
But, as Steel Panther are known for their over the top suggestive lyrics, Kroeger reveals they actually had some fun flipping the content. “What we did was, instead of it being so on the nose, we tried to make it sound like you’d either been bitten by snake or bitten by a scorpion and somehow there’s poison in there somewhere and you need someone else to help you get the poison out, so you say, ‘It won’t suck itself,’” he recalls.
"It Won't Suck Itself" has become a fan favorite for Steel Panther, while Nickelback already forged a hit run with "Something in Your Mouth," which topped the Mainstream Rock chart in 2009.
You can get tickets to see Nickelback here, while Steel Panther tickets are available here.