“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was always my favorite song from the Warrant album
Cherry Pie.
It was supposed to be the lead single from the album but that was before “Cherry Pie” was written. The label told them they needed a different song something catchy so in about 15 minutes lead singer Jani Lane wrote “Cherry Pie,” which was simply 3 minutes of sexual references strung together. And it was a huge hit. Though it was not the sound that Warrant wanted to be known for.
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a track which foreshadowed the kind of imaginative song writing which would later be more fully revealed on the
Dog Eat Dog
record. Although named after the classic novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the song tells the story of a witness to the involvement of local police in a double murder and appears at first to have nothing to do with slavery, racism, or the south. Many fans have speculated that the lyrics could relate to the murders of civil rights activists at the hands of racist police officers that occurred in the U.S. during the 1960s.
Unfortunately, because “Cherry Pie” was such a huge hit the band kinda became a punchline and the serious nature and storytelling in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was overlooked. The band could have seen a different level of success and respect had the label not stepped in and requested a different lead single.
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” still charted fairly well, #78 on the Hot 100, and #19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Warrant “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” 1991
