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Big Sugar — All Hell For A Basement
Album: Brothers & Sisters Are You Ready
Avg rating:
6.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 897









Released: 2001
Length: 3:53
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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I'm a workin' man
But I ain't worked for a while
Like some old tin can
From the bottom of the pile
From the bottom of the pile

(Chorus)
I have lost my way
But I hear a tale
About a heaven in Alberta
Where they've got all hell for a basement

My words are like a rope
That's wrapped around my throat
Wash my mouth with soap
For words unfit to quote

Chorus x2

And now I'm free to go
But time cannot remove
The only life I know
Now only time will prove
Yes only time will prove

If I have lost my way
Cuz I hear a tale
About a heaven in Alberta
Where they've got all hell for a basement

Yeah I have lost my way
But I hear a tale
About a heaven in Alberta
Where they've got all hell for a basement
Comments (108)add comment
no offense against cakes, but the website should be https://www.bigsugar.com/ and not https://www.bigsugarbakeshop.c...  
Posted 7 months ago by michael.job    [ Reply ]
Love me some Big Sugar Canadiana. 
Posted 1 year ago by adam8021x    [ Reply ]
Excellent!! I never heard of them before. Thank You RP!   
Posted 2 years ago by eileenomurphy    [ Reply ]
I just noticed that I am listed on the "Past members list"!   LOL!
Posted 2 years ago by eileenomurphy    [ Reply ]
 EarthMama wrote:

Damn, that's some heavy guitar. Niiiiice.



You oughtta see 'em live. That Gordie, holy mackerel, that fellow can PLAY.
Posted 2 years ago by frisbeepilot    [ Reply ]
 amprich wrote:
Don't know what the hell this song is about, but I like it!
 
It's about the Hat:  "Historically, Medicine Hat has been known for its large natural gas fields, being immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as having "all hell for a basement".  Because of these reserves, the city is known as "The Gas City".



Posted 4 years ago by macadavy    [ Reply ]
One of the loudest bands I have ever heard. Gordie can wail
Posted 5 years ago by ToddyWoddy    [ Reply ]
 More_Cowbell wrote:
Do they have basements in Canada?

 
What else do you think we build our igloos on.
Posted 9 years ago by Eric_Denison    [ Reply ]
 joelbb wrote:
Sorry, Lads, but Heaven is in BC.

 
Definitely. Weather is much better too.
Posted 9 years ago by Eric_Denison    [ Reply ]
Saw these guys in Wild Bills in Banff January '04.

Great show!!
Posted 10 years ago by Caino    [ Reply ]
 joelbb wrote:
Sorry, Lads, but Heaven is in BC.

 
Agreed.  And it is not just beautiful mountains and gorgeous NW Pacific coast but people.  

BC is collection of sub-cultures that more often than not mutually despise each other.  Righteous second comers continue to grind their boot heels into aboriginals.  Violence levels are high.

BC is very much like many 3rd world countries but no passport is required for Canadians.  
Posted 10 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
 oldsaxon wrote:

I used to think that till I moved to Wales. This place is downright magical.

 
Interesting. Other than the brown trout fishing, I know little.  Please expand.
Posted 10 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
 wolverine wrote:

Glad to hear BIG SUGAR on the regular channel. {#Dancingbanana_2}
I've uploaded another great song of theirs on the LRC, "RED ROVER" and I hope that Bill and Rebecca will also give it the green light and bring it on over. It's got a kick-ass base line!{#Bananajam}



 
I would also suggest Diggin a Hole, Better Get Used to It, and Sleep in Late. 
Posted 10 years ago by tulfan    [ Reply ]
Great. I am very surprised but thrilled to hear this here!
Posted 10 years ago by tulfan    [ Reply ]
 joelbb wrote:
Sorry, Lads, but Heaven is in BC.

 
I used to think that till I moved to Wales. This place is downright magical.
Posted 10 years ago by oldsaxon    [ Reply ]
Don't know what the hell this song is about, but I like it!
Posted 10 years ago by amprich    [ Reply ]
Damn, that's some heavy guitar. Niiiiice.
Posted 10 years ago by EarthMama    [ Reply ]
boys from my hometown
Posted 11 years ago by walkerpub    [ Reply ]
Neil Young was recently in Alberta driving his 1959 Lincoln Continental electric cellulosic fuel battery hybrid Lincvolt up to the Fort McMurray tar sands and flying in a helicopter shooting a documentary. 
I wonder if he might have hooked up with these guys. That guitar riff is right up Young's highway. And so is the song itself. You are like a hurricane. 
 
Posted 11 years ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
9 -> 10

Excellent 
Posted 11 years ago by coding_to_music    [ Reply ]
Wow! Where did this come from? I'm loving it!! 
Posted 11 years ago by Elroweho    [ Reply ]
 helgigermany wrote:
Bon Jovi like!?


 
There's a definite late 70s-early 80s AOR heavy metal lumbering feel.  But definitely in a good way. 
Posted 11 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 joelbb wrote:
Sorry, Lads, but Heaven is in BC.
 
Agreed.

 marc1980 wrote:
This song means to me
Open air festival on a warm summer evening
Free flowing Canadian beer
Dancing screaming women
Memories that last a lifetime.

  
Awesome.
Posted 11 years ago by StoneyG    [ Reply ]
The reason why it is called "All hell for a basement" is because when Rudyard Kipling was in the Medicine Hat area, he was shown how there were places where the natural gas is seeping through the ground and you can light it with a match... and he commented, you have "all hell for a basement". This story can be read at the city hall in Medicine Hat, Gordie's home town. And correctly, when the fishing industry was killed off by big companies and countries, many of the guys from out east on the coast of Canada came out west to get work in the oil patch. There is an Alberta joke that goes like this: What's the biggest city in Newfoundland? Answer: Fort McMurray. :)
Posted 11 years ago by KirkisThinking    [ Reply ]
Sorry, Lads, but Heaven is in BC.
Posted 12 years ago by joelbb    [ Reply ]
 kingart wrote:
A contagious tune. Nice guitar break. Good whiskey tipping song!
 
What he said.....
Posted 12 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
A contagious tune. Nice guitar break. Good whiskey tipping song!
Posted 12 years ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
 michaelgmitchell wrote:

Do they have Geography books in the Excited States?
 
{#Lol}
Posted 12 years ago by fingerpin    [ Reply ]
What can I say {#Puke}
Posted 12 years ago by Xstar    [ Reply ]

Glad to hear BIG SUGAR on the regular channel. {#Dancingbanana_2}
I've uploaded another great song of theirs on the LRC, "RED ROVER" and I hope that Bill and Rebecca will also give it the green light and bring it on over. It's got a kick-ass base line!{#Bananajam}


Posted 12 years ago by wolverine    [ Reply ]
This tune was MIA on iTunes. Not fair. Ass kicking song that I want on the pod. 
Posted 12 years ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
Nice.

Loved Big Sugar.

Love Grady. 
Posted 13 years ago by Propayne    [ Reply ]
 More_Cowbell wrote:
Do they have basements in Canada?
 
Mostly.  Crawl spaces on the west coast.

Posted 13 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
 More_Cowbell wrote:
Do they have basements in Canada?
 
Do they have Geography books in the Excited States?
Posted 13 years ago by michaelgmitchell    [ Reply ]
This song means to me
Open air festival on a warm summer evening
Free flowing Canadian beer
Dancing screaming women
Memories that last a lifetime.

Posted 13 years ago by marc1980    [ Reply ]
More Big Sugar? I am a HUGE fan. I have seen them several times in small venues live and they are LOUD! 

Better Get Used to It, Girl Watcher, Kickin' Stones, Round and Round, 100 Cigarettes — all great tracks from an album named HEAT

Diggin' A Hole, Tommy Johnson, Rolling Pin, Opem Up Baby— awesome tracks from the album HEMIVISION

So much to explore with this band. Sometimes a big band swing sound with a little reggae/funk fusion.....

So disappointed they are no longer a group but you can hear Gordie Johnson carry on under the name of GRADY..... 
Posted 13 years ago by KaiT    [ Reply ]
Do they have basements in Canada?
Posted 13 years ago by More_Cowbell    [ Reply ]
never heard of them before but are they channelling neil young or what? greetings from a surprisingly warm Dublin Ireland {#Cowboy}
Posted 13 years ago by 72foxes    [ Reply ]
never heard this before... i like it!
Posted 13 years ago by scrubbrush    [ Reply ]
I hear this song and can imagine Alberta boys and girls drinkin', smokin' and dancin' on tables.
Posted 13 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
I love Big Sugar.

Lots of good music from that band. They've got a nice Zep vibe. 
Posted 13 years ago by Propayne    [ Reply ]
 hellokelly wrote:
I love this song...and it's so familiar to me, yet not. Why do I feel like I know it? Where might I have heard it?

And what's it all about anyway?
 

It's about Newfies (especially young men from Newfoundland) trying to find a decent job and moving out to Alberta (other side of the country) to work as rig pigs in the oil sands...
Posted 13 years ago by hagz21    [ Reply ]
 Lonestar wrote:


Sadly Molson bought Creemore a few years back — try Steamwhistle, Big Rock, or Mill Street instead.
 

Yes, Molson bought Creemore, but they immediately created a VP job to ensure that other management didn't mess with the brewing process. I love Creemore's tag line: "One Hundred Years Behing the Times". Great beer! (Sorry for the tangent)
Posted 13 years ago by agkagk    [ Reply ]
 huebdoo wrote:
I always thought these guys were from TO, Medicine Hat?

Mind you Alberta as red-neck as it is has produced some seriously amazing artists

KD Lang
Jane Arden
Terry Clark
Teagan & Sarah
Big Sugar (more just Gordie Johnson)
Nickleback (Im kinda sick of them though)

Not bad considering the two musical styles there are country and western - Anyone who has been to Stampede will confirm this
 

Another post added Joni Mitchell.
Now add the lesser known but no less awesome Gaye Delorme
Posted 13 years ago by agkagk    [ Reply ]
 More_Cowbell wrote:

 
Party on Wayne.

Posted 13 years ago by brianbf1986    [ Reply ]
Loving it.
Posted 13 years ago by brianbf1986    [ Reply ]
8 —> 9
Posted 13 years ago by coding_to_music    [ Reply ]

Posted 13 years ago by More_Cowbell    [ Reply ]
Sounds Neil Young influenced.
Posted 13 years ago by audiophelia    [ Reply ]
 coding_to_music wrote:
quite the guitar playing
 
Heavy Bass, man !

Posted 13 years ago by coding_to_music    [ Reply ]
TASTY!!!! {#Dancingbanana_2}
Posted 13 years ago by WayUpNorth    [ Reply ]
Dig it.

More Big Sugar please... 
Posted 13 years ago by Propayne    [ Reply ]
quite the guitar playing
Posted 13 years ago by coding_to_music    [ Reply ]
Bon Jovi like!?

Posted 13 years ago by helgigermany    [ Reply ]
I love this song...and it's so familiar to me, yet not. Why do I feel like I know it? Where might I have heard it?

And what's it all about anyway?
Posted 14 years ago by hellokelly    [ Reply ]
This song makes me think of young Canadian men, half-naked, very, very drunk and belting out the words to the national anthem (but forgetting a few).
Posted 14 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
I can stand some more music like this,oh yes !
Posted 14 years ago by HazzeSwede    [ Reply ]
Gee, I thought I had clicked on to a local AM radio station for a moment.
Posted 14 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
I commented about this on the Son Volt Song "Medicine Hat" (I think - if not that one, then World Party's "Message In A Box.")  I'd only heard two songs by Big Sugar, and both were featured on "La Femme Nikita" (and I didn't really care for either of them.)  This one, however, is just rather awesome.  Shows how one never knows from a single song what a band is capable of producing.

Love this song. {#Sunny}
Posted 14 years ago by Cynaera    [ Reply ]
So few comments on this oft played tune.  Oh sweet home Alberta! 
Posted 14 years ago by rdo    [ Reply ]
Cool song. First time I've heard this.

Posted 14 years ago by Danimal174    [ Reply ]
 ascheel wrote:
...Thanks for playing more CANCON :D
 

As if anybody on these threads from outside Canada would understand CANCON!?!!  -lol-

CANCON = Canadian Content

 

 


Posted 14 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
I really like the guitar riff.
Posted 14 years ago by rpfan101    [ Reply ]
 miahfost wrote:
How is the rest of this record? Because this song rocks!
 
Wow!! I cannot believe RP is playing Big Sugar!

This is from their last album, it is good but IMHO Hemi-Vision is their best.

There is a "best of" available, but it has a lot of live numbers.

Big Sugar are Canadian and there singer/guitarist/main song writer, Gordie Johnson is now down in Texas heading a band called Grady.
Posted 14 years ago by Propayne    [ Reply ]
What a rich sounds. +1 every time I hear it.
Posted 14 years ago by FlatCat    [ Reply ]
This song is really awsome
Posted 14 years ago by alfbennett    [ Reply ]
How is the rest of this record? Because this song rocks!
Posted 14 years ago by miahfost    [ Reply ]
The band broke up in 2004, after, according to the band's website, Johnson became frustrated with Canadian radio programmers who claimed his single "All Hell for a Basement" was "too Canadian" (as the song makes reference to the province of Alberta).
wiki
Posted 14 years ago by a_genuine_find    [ Reply ]
Medicine Hat segue:

Big Sugar - All Hell For A Basement
Son Volt - Medicine Hat
Posted 14 years ago by ScottFromWyoming    [ Reply ]
 Heathen wrote:
All Hell for a Basement is a great song and its about the town I live in. Medicine Hat has been described (by Rudyard Kipling no less) as having "All Hell for a Basement". This refers to the fact that Medicine Hat is built on a huge gas field.... so if someone ever lit a match :D Oh... and the singer of Big Sugar is from Medicine Hat, his parents still live here. Good to hear this on Radio Paradise
 
Medicine Hat? I thought he was talking about Fort McMurray....{#Lol}
Posted 14 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
 MM_Prague wrote:

Here's another one for the list: Joni Mitchell (Fort MacLeod)

 
ANNNNDDD Evangeline Lilly!! Snarf!

Posted 15 years ago by tnt_thomas    [ Reply ]
Big Sugar on RP. Right on! A great Canadian band that seemed to loose something in the translation to the rest of the world.Big Sugar are great!
Posted 15 years ago by maroubra    [ Reply ]
huebdoo wrote:
I always thought these guys were from TO, Medicine Hat? Mind you Alberta as red-neck as it is has produced some seriously amazing artists KD Lang
Jane Arden
Terry Clark
Teagan & Sarah
Big Sugar (more just Gordie Johnson)
Nickleback (Im kinda sick of them though) Not bad considering the two musical styles there are country and western - Anyone who has been to Stampede will confirm this

Here's another one for the list: Joni Mitchell (Fort MacLeod)

Posted 15 years ago by MM_Prague    [ Reply ]
Sounds Canadian....
Posted 15 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
i liked it.

i have lost my way.
all hell for a basement. like it.
Posted 16 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
Thank you, IceNine! I KNEW they had a song years ago that I absolutely loved but I could not think of the title...Ride Like Hell is fantastic!
Posted 16 years ago by Exene    [ Reply ]
Sounds a little like Dire Straits to me.
Posted 16 years ago by jaredi    [ Reply ]
huebdoo wrote:
I always thought these guys were from TO, Medicine Hat? Mind you Alberta as red-neck as it is has produced some seriously amazing artists KD Lang Jane Arden Terry Clark Teagan & Sarah Big Sugar (more just Gordie Johnson) Nickleback (Im kinda sick of them though) Not bad considering the two musical styles there are country and western - Anyone who has been to Stampede will confirm this
No kiddin'! Speaking of cowboys (down Kady!) what about the granddaddy of them all: Ian Tyson of 'Four Strong Winds' fame, born in Victoria, BC but raised in Alberta and resident there now. (click here)
Posted 16 years ago by macadavy    [ Reply ]
I always thought these guys were from TO, Medicine Hat? Mind you Alberta as red-neck as it is has produced some seriously amazing artists KD Lang Jane Arden Terry Clark Teagan & Sarah Big Sugar (more just Gordie Johnson) Nickleback (Im kinda sick of them though) Not bad considering the two musical styles there are country and western - Anyone who has been to Stampede will confirm this
Posted 16 years ago by huebdoo    [ Reply ]
alanthecowboy wrote:
Sorry, but Canadian isn't so Canadian anymore. How's about a Creemore?
Sadly Molson bought Creemore a few years back -- try Steamwhistle, Big Rock, or Mill Street instead.
Posted 16 years ago by Lonestar    [ Reply ]
Is that Axel Rose's little brother singing?
Posted 16 years ago by joshfm    [ Reply ]
Gordie used to live in Medicine Hat AB! Great tune!!! "Just Giv'r..." Alberta's own: Remember you can't get her pregnant on the PIL! (Ode to FUBAR ...a must see drinking movie!)
Posted 16 years ago by Smutty    [ Reply ]
alanthecowboy wrote:
Sorry, but Canadian isn't so Canadian anymore. How's about a Creemore?
Have some real good instead....
Posted 17 years ago by prickelpit96    [ Reply ]
Ahhh, that's more like it!
Posted 17 years ago by kazuma    [ Reply ]
karljonasson wrote:
Yeah, Gordie play way, way too loud. It's great.
For anyone who's heard Big Sugar in concert, it might be hard to believe, but I think he's actually louder in his new band Grady. I was at one of their recent concerts at a bar in Toronto; from the first strum of his guitar he made my guts shake and my ears vibrate in such a way I thought they would explode. Before the concert started, the people sitting in front of the stage were warned that if they couldn't handle the volume that they should move further back, or else they might damage their ears.
Posted 17 years ago by IceNine    [ Reply ]
coccyx wrote:
Wow - 3 1/2 years since this was played on RP, it seems. How does something like this get unearthed after all that time?
I wonder that about a lot of songs. It's as if they sit on a top shelf for a long time, then Bill looks up there and says, "Well, where have you been?" And then he plays it a lot for a month or two.
Posted 17 years ago by Kristi    [ Reply ]
Brimmy wrote:
Wish they were still together...Bud? At least drink a Canadian.
Sorry, but Canadian isn't so Canadian anymore. How's about a Creemore?
Posted 17 years ago by alanthecowboy    [ Reply ]
peyotecoyote wrote:
Interesting story to this work... Big Sugar explores the dark history and modern power of the world's reigning sugar cartels. Using dramatic reenactments, it reveals how sugar was at the heart of slavery in the West Indies in the 18th century, while showing how present-day consumers are slaves to a sugar-based diet. A lost chapter of Canadian history is discovered, illustrating how 18th century sugar lobbyists in England used blackmail and bribes to determine the fate of Canada. Watch the documentary(click here)
Thanks for that.
Posted 17 years ago by g1lgam3sh    [ Reply ]
Adding my two cents, good song, good band, too bad they broke up.
Posted 17 years ago by Marina1    [ Reply ]
yclept wrote:
play something better by Canada's once self proclaimed "loudest band"
"Self-proclaimed" implies that this might not actually be true... but believe me, it's no exaggeration. At one of their concerts I stood at the edge of the stage with my head turned slightly to the right, with my left ear towards Gordie Johnson's Marshall stacks (there were three, I think) and I went deaf in that ear for three days. I've been to a lot of concerts and that's never happened to me before or since. Would love to hear "Ride Like Hell" on RP.
Posted 17 years ago by IceNine    [ Reply ]
Wish they were still together...Bud? At least drink a Canadian.
Posted 17 years ago by Brimmy    [ Reply ]
If you like this, download "Diggin a Hole" by these guys.
Posted 17 years ago by keller1    [ Reply ]
This song makes me feel like I should be drinking a
Posted 17 years ago by musikalia    [ Reply ]
Interesting story to this work... Big Sugar explores the dark history and modern power of the world's reigning sugar cartels. Using dramatic reenactments, it reveals how sugar was at the heart of slavery in the West Indies in the 18th century, while showing how present-day consumers are slaves to a sugar-based diet. A lost chapter of Canadian history is discovered, illustrating how 18th century sugar lobbyists in England used blackmail and bribes to determine the fate of Canada. Watch the documentary(click here)
Posted 17 years ago by peyotecoyote    [ Reply ]
Heathen wrote:
Medicine Hat has been described (by Rudyard Kipling no less) as having "All Hell for a Basement". This refers to the fact that Medicine Hat is built on a huge gas field. . . . so if someone ever lit a match :D
Kipling and RP just keep on giving.
Posted 17 years ago by bokey    [ Reply ]
I thought this was a band from the 70's at first. But there some what new and I like!
Posted 17 years ago by parrothead    [ Reply ]
Wow - 3 1/2 years since this was played on RP, it seems. How does something like this get unearthed after all that time?
Posted 17 years ago by coccyx    [ Reply ]
Heathen wrote:
All Hell for a Basement is a great song and its about the town I live in. Medicine Hat has been described (by Rudyard Kipling no less) as having "All Hell for a Basement". This refers to the fact that Medicine Hat is built on a huge gas field.... so if someone ever lit a match :D Oh... and the singer of Big Sugar is from Medicine Hat, his parents still live here. Good to hear this on Radio Paradise
Thanks for that - I always wondered what the hell they were talking about.
Posted 17 years ago by coccyx    [ Reply ]
Hmm, I rather liked this. A lot like the Baseboard Heaters.
Posted 17 years ago by plaid    [ Reply ]
Have most of their CDs..but of all BIg Sugar's songs, this is the one I dislike the most!! play something better by Canada's once self proclaimed "loudest band"
Posted 17 years ago by yclept    [ Reply ]
Sounds like a Big Country riff/song... a bit grungier
Posted 21 years ago by R_P    [ Reply ]
I actually like it.
Posted 21 years ago by MattN    [ Reply ]
You people in this district seem to have all Hell for a basement. Rudyard Kipling, commentary on Medicine Hat, Alberta late 1907
Posted 21 years ago by Heathen    [ Reply ]
ZZZzzz... Sorry, did someone say something about hell? Wake me when the song\'s over. ZZZzzz...
Posted 21 years ago by Roverfish    [ Reply ]
Woo Alberta
Posted 21 years ago by kyle    [ Reply ]
All Hell for a Basement is a great song and its about the town I live in. Medicine Hat has been described (by Rudyard Kipling no less) as having \"All Hell for a Basement\". This refers to the fact that Medicine Hat is built on a huge gas field.... so if someone ever lit a match :D Oh... and the singer of Big Sugar is from Medicine Hat, his parents still live here. Good to hear this on Radio Paradise
Posted 21 years ago by Heathen    [ Reply ]
Wooo Hooo I love these guys.... So good live and loud! oh so loud! (pimp) Thanks for playing more CANCON :D
Posted 21 years ago by ascheel    [ Reply ]