Skid Row – 18 And Life

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 killing his friend with a gun that, due to alcohol, he most likely guessed was not loaded.

[Verse 1]
Ricky was a young boy, he had a heart of stone
Lived 9-to-5 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, oh-woah-oh, yes

[Verse 2]
Tequila in his heartbeat, his veins burned gasoline
It kept his motor runnin' 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
That child blew a child away

[Guitar Solo]

[Bridge]
Yeah, yeah, 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, yeah

[Outro]
Woah-oh, woah-oh, oh

The Charismatic Voice

The Charismatic Voice – Vocal Analysis of Skid Row’s “18 And Life”