About the song
Background
- Songwriting Collaboration: “Hard to Handle” was written by Otis Redding along with Al Bell and Allen Jones.
- Released Shortly After Death: The song was included in Redding’s posthumous album The Immortal Otis Redding, released in 1968 following his tragic death in a plane crash in 1967.
- Black Crowes Cover: The Black Crowes’ popular 1990 cover helped introduce this soul classic to a broader, rock-oriented audience.
Lyrics
Here’s a crucial verse and its possible interpretations:
“I’m like a one-eyed cat peepin’ in a seafood store I can look at you but you better not let me get the door I’m hard to handle, now baby, I’m a bandit But if you throw it all at me, you know I understand it”
- Humorous Imagery: The one-eyed cat analogy is vividly playful and highlights a sense of mischievousness and desire.
- Untamable Spirit: Redding portrays himself as someone full of energy, difficult to contain, but ultimately receptive to love (“if you throw it all at me”).
Themes
- Uncontrollable Desire: The song speaks to an overwhelming, almost obsessive, passion bordering on restlessness.
- Playful Boasting: There’s an element of playful confidence and swagger. Redding is acknowledging his wild side while highlighting his need for a love strong enough to handle it.
- Vulnerability Beneath the Bravado: Despite the brash confidence, there’s also a hint of vulnerability and longing for a connection that can “tame” this restless spirit.
Legacy
“Hard to Handle” is a classic of soul music with its raw energy and timeless theme of passionate desire. Both Redding’s original and the Black Crowes’ cover are beloved by fans.
Video
Lyrics
Baby, here I am, I’m a man on the sceneI can give you what you want, but you got to go home with meI’ve got some good old loving and I got some in storeWhen I get through throwing it on you, you got to come back for more
Boys and things will come by the dozenBut that ain’t nothing but drug store lovingPretty little thing, let me light your candleCause mama, I’m sure hard to handle, now, yessir’am
Action speaks louder than word, and I’m a man with a great experienceI know you got you another man, but I can love you better than himTake my hand, don’t be afraid, I wanna prove every word I sayI’m advertising love for free, so won’t you place your ad with me?
Boys will come a dime by the dozenBut that ain’t nothing but ten cent lovePretty little thing, let me light your candleCause mama I’m sure hard to handle, now, yessir’am
Baby, here I am, I’m a man on the sceneI can give you what you want, but she come go home with meI’ve got some good old loving and I got it there in storeWhen I get through throwing it on you, you got to come back for more
Boys will come a dime by the dozenBut that ain’t nothing but drug store lovePretty little thing, let me light your candleCause mama, I’m sure hard to handle, now, yessir’am
Give it to me, I got to have itGive it some, good old lovingSo much to go through for nothingI got’s a big ol’ man mamaBut I’m too hard to handle now