Rocktober Hair Band Song #21: "Fallen Angel" by Poison

Sandwiched in between the anniversary of my birth and All Hallows' Eve is Devil's Night.  Celebrated in several parts of the U.S. and Canada, Devil's Night -- also known as Mischief Night, Goosey Night, Gate Night, Moving Night, or Cabbage Night, depending on where you're from -- is a hilarious tradition where children (and even some adults) commit pranks and petty criminal offenses, like vandalism, toilet papering, and arson.  "To the devil his due," they chant repeatedly in unison, dressed in black cloaks, as they cover neighbors' lawns with instant mashed potato powder.  When the morning comes, and the dew with it, there will be no more grass -- only mashed potatoes.  For the Morning Star has brought upon thee his wicked starch.

In Christian mythology, the "Devil" is the embodiment of evil -- a cloven-hoofed, horned, winged demon overlord who encourages sin and lives somewhere in southwest Texas.  But he wasn't always such a dick.  Originally, he was just Lucifer -- the Morning Star -- a pretty normal archangel just looking for a little play up in heaven.  He started to organize about a third of the angels, but God does not abide by the National Labor Relations Act, so Lucifer and his minions were banished from heaven, castigated to a life of eternal damnation and unrestricted orgies.  Once he was booted from heaven, Lucifer changed his name to Satan, grew a goatee, sprouted a tail, got some reconstructive surgery to add horns to his head, and eventually settled in Hell, where he quickly obtained a sunburn that has never gone away.  Since then, he has been attempting to seduce humanity -- a fallen angel with nothing to lose except the souls of all chaste mortals and maybe some loose change because he doesn't have any pockets anymore.

Fast forward to 1988.  Sunset Strip glam rockers Poison release "Fallen Angel."  It was the band's second single off of their second album, Open Up and Say . . . Ahh! -- an album considered by many to be first instance of improper use of the ellipsis to represent a pause, which has now permeated the American lexicon.  The song reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's fourth Top 40 hit.

As any conservative conspiracy theorist will tell you, lyrically, "Fallen Angel" is an allegory for the Devil's journey from small-time angel to ruler of the netherworld, cleverly disguised as a story about a small-town woman who comes to L.A. to find fame and fortune, only to realize that living out your dreams comes at a price:  your friends, your family, your pride, and your soul.  The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.  Nice try, Poison.  Happy Devil's Night.