Checkmate honey, beat ya at your own damn game
No dice honey, I'm livin' on the astral plane
Feet's on the ground,
And your head's goin' down the drain
Oh, heads I win, tails you lose,
To the never mind
Where to draw the line

An indian summer, carrie was all over the floor
She was a wet net winner,
And rarely ever left the store
She'd sing and dance all night,
And wrong all the right out of me
Oh, pass me the vile and cross your fingers,
It don't take time know where to draw the line

Hi ho silver, we were singin' all your cowboy songs
Oh, you told Carrie,
And promised her you wouldn't be long
Heads I win, tails you lose,
Lord it's such a crime
No dice honey, you're the salt,
You're the queen of the brine
Checkmate honey, you're the only one who's got to choose
Where to draw the line

Checkmate, don't be late
Take another pull
That's right, impossible
When you got to be yourself
You're the boss, the toss
The price, the dice
Grab yourself a slice
Know where to draw the line


Lyrics submitted by oofus

Draw The Line Lyrics as written by Steven Tyler Joe Perry

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Draw The Line song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is one of those overlooked filler songs that actually rocks. The more you listen the more there is to love. My brain gets stuck on "Wrong all the right out of me" I think it's an awesome concept. Great song, why not more posts??

    regular_freakon September 23, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    It's like a lot of Aerosmith songs... the lyrics consist of descriptive phrases, strung together in a cool sounding way. But they're essentially random, describing random situations, that aren't related in a way that particularly makes sense - a series of cool images, cobbled together into a rhyme scheme. That aside, the song is a great rocker, probably one of their 3 or 4 best tracks. It drips with attitude, and drives like crazy. It's dead simple, and works because of the power of the slide riff and the force of the lead vocal Their live version of it can be pretty transcendant, especially the Joe Perry slide playing. If anyone thinks it's easy to write one of these, try coming up with a riff this bulletproof. As a lyricist though, Steven Tyler is kind of a paradox. Some of his lines are so cool, brainy and phonetically powerful. But mostly, a great line is followed by a lazy one, and they never seem to add up to any kind of description of anything specific. Surrealistic coolness, it's great if you don't mind there being no point. What you hear first here, is all you get. if that's enough for you, it works like crazy. This track is on my top ten greatest rock songs of all time list. The performance is just so good. If the words don't really mean anything .....Who cares?

    • Jah Whitebread
    Jahwhitebreadon March 25, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    okayyy...but whats it about ?? yeahh amazing song. and i saw them do it live. i was speechless, for the entire concert. but i mean whats it about? dont get the lyrics at all. i wanna say sex though.

    "A Indian summer, Carrie was all over the floor She was a wet net winner, and rarely ever left the store"

    carrie was all over the floor ? haha omg.

    nicolelovesrhcpon September 27, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    it's about sex and drugs. "living on the astral plane" is a reference to your mind being in a different state of reality.

    "feets on the ground and your head's going down the drain" = obvious drug reference. "pass me the vile", "draw the line", both drug references. Drawing lines of cocaine. And, the cover of the album is a line drawing of the group. Double entendres everywhere.

    "heads I win, tails you lose" is synonymous with "checkmate". You have a girl in a no-win situation, she must choose where to "draw the line" - sexually and drugs.

    dcfunkon November 04, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    great song about cocaine this was the height of the drug taking it was all down hill after this album until permement vacation all sobered up

    radioheadsteron August 26, 2022   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really got to like this song and recognize it as a classic Aerosmith song. To me this song is either about a situation that you can't stop or control or a situation where you can't be stopped.

    u2elevationon May 22, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I've admire the riff ever since i heard it, i love it, i playe it everytime i'm testing a ne guitar. And the song is real fun too.

    yioshon July 04, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ..question... where it says "No dice honey, I'm livin' on a astral plane ", doesn't the song go "..."i'm leaving on an ass to blame"?

    yioshon July 04, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    nope it says im livin' on a astral plan and your other suggestion doesnt make sense. however awesome riff and awesome song cant believe so little have commented on it!

    Robzoooon July 14, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's a classic.

    young_jableson December 18, 2007   Link

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