“Ain’t that a Bitch” is an Aerosmith song released in their 1997 album, Nine Lives, however, 3 completely different songs existed with the same name during previous sessions, between 1991 and 1996, as the band explored the best way to make the song justice.
One of the alternatives songs written with the same name was conceived in 1992 and only made it to the earlier production stages, featuring an evident drum loop. The demo still needed production work, especially the pre-chorus seems not to work well, and Steven seemed to struggle with the higher notes of the chorus, and one of the chords in the progression felt out of place.
The demo starts with a jazz-influenced keyboard and a soulful guitar as Tyler scats a few lines, which feels similar in style to the 1997 smokey final song intro.
It’s five o’clock in the morning, last calls come and go,
Ain’t that a Bitch 1992 demo intro
The smokey club is empty, but my cigar it won’t be long,
So let me tell you about this one time in love sweet love came down and smack me right outside the head without a hitch, yeah, ain’t that a bitch…
The verses have a friendly melody that could work with further arrangements, but the pre-chorus feels disjointed and out of place at moments, making the arrival of the chorus feel slightly anticlimactic.
Steven high pitch screaming at the end of each chorus sound similar to the ones done before the chorus of 2012’s “Another Last Goodbye“, and some of the “Uu Uu” background vocal sections sound like the ones Tyler did on Pink’s song “Misery“, which was written by Richie Supa (and could be an insight on who helped them write this version). The lyrics talk about being lucky enough to fall in love. A few lines still needed work to improve the flow of some rhymes.
Joe and Steven recalled writing “Bitch” three times in a 1997 GW magazine interview. Tyler talks about his original vision for “Bitch” thinking about billboard lights, and Perry states that the original two versions of the song sucked:
Perry: Sometimes we start with a title, like “Ain’t that a Bitch”
GW, March 1997
Tyler: I sort of envisioned this big billboard that said “AEROSMITH” in huge letter. And I thought, “What would it say after that? What would be the most definitive thing to see? The fuckin’ funniest thing?” And it came to me: “Ain’t that a Bitch.” So we sat down and wrote it up.
Perry: And it sucked! I mean we wrote three different versions before it finally came out right. We wrote that one right at the end of the record. At the last moment. They were wheeling the amps out.
GW: So there are three different songs by you with title “Ain’t that a Bitch” in existence?
Tyler: Yeah. Good exercise, there. That kind of thing happens a lot. We had eight songs finished for this album that won’t be used. We had seven finished from Get a Grip that weren’t used. “Hole in my Soul” is a song I’ve been sitting on since Pump. At one point I thought, “this isn’t any good for Aerosmith. I’ll give it to Julio Iglesias”, I figured it could be something in French, you know? (croons) Joi de vie… mona mi… So you sit on an idea and keep trying to plug it in somewhere until it works.
Even when it has some interesting melodies and sections, it doesn’t feel like a true Aerosmith song, but the concept behind it was good and remained in place until the final song was released in 1997. Even this version holds potential if it had been properly produced with additional arrangements and real drums.
Hanging out, I’d be bussing with a friend named Jack,
Down and out, yeah, my knees were slipping through the cracks,
I was crawling on the floor, I was banging on heaven’s door,
Then you feel right from the sky, like a long tall Sally with a stone-cold on her back,
Turn off the light, hit the switch,
Out of the blues ain’t that a bitch,
Even a fool finds its nitch,
Girl I’ve got you, ain’t that a bitch,
I was out of touch, out on a limb,
Didn’t have no crutch, it was sink or swim,
I was out of love, yeah, I was out of time,
Till I found you baby, I was about to lose my mind…
Bottoms up, I was looking like a hand me down,
Sure enough, yeah, I was laughing when I hit the ground,
But life is bittersweet, you got me back up on my feet,
Now, there’s no more lonely nights, yeah, the way you do it, gets me through it all,
Turn off the light, hit the switch,
Out of the blues ain’t that a bitch,
You make a poor men think he is rich,
Now I’ve got you, ain’t that a bitch…
(solo)
I was out of touch, out on a limb,
Didn’t have no crutch, it was sink or swim,
I was out of love, I was out of time,
Till I found you baby, I was about to lose my mind…
Turn off the light, hit the switch,
Out of the blues ain’t that a bitch,
Even a fool finds its nitch,
Girl I’ve got you, ain’t that a bitch,
Turn off the light, hit the switch,
Out of the blues ain’t that a bitch,
You make a poor men think he is rich,
Now I’ve got you, ain’t that a bitch…
The Back-Burner: Aerosmith Outtakes & Demos 