IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING
 (Words and Music by Rick Springfield)

I look around me
And I see what I wanted and what I settled for
I've got the heart of a Joan of Arc
But the soul of a gigolo
I've been good at snatching defeat
From the jaws of victory
Anytime I stopped to smell the roses
They drew blood from me

Do you know what I mean
You never ever get away clean
Ah, but it's alright
Yeah, touchdown, turn around
Flag on the play

It's always something
You know it is
It's always something
It's always something, everyday
It's always something

When I was a kid
The teachers and the priests said
"Why you let him run around like that?"
My father said, "If the boy wants to play the guitar
I say we let him."
Through the hard years he was my rock
When I just could not win
So it goes ya know my father died
Just before my leaky ship came in

Do you know what I mean
You never ever get away clean
Ah, but it's alright - yeah
Down one, homerun
Your dog steals the ball

It's always something
You know it is
It's always something
It's always something, everyday
It's always something
It's always something

I step up to the table in the middle of my life
And I, I take my cards and I check them twice
I've got a killer hand I'm ready to stake my claim
The cops raid the game

It's always something
It's always something
It's always something, everyday
It's always something

It's always something
You know it is
It's always something
It's always something, everyday
It's always something

(total playing time 3:33)

Rick Says:
About a moment in my life that taught me how life is a balance, Yin Yang type thing. Just as Jessie's Girl finally started to catch fire in 1981, my dad died. - Melodicrock.com
Rick also says:
what can I say about that - it's kind of self-explanatory. It's based again around a lot of stuff, my dad, spiritual things, about his - how he died ... when things finally started to happen back in '81. And you know some thing is never perfect ... it never will be - it's kinda the story of the song. - eiozine.com

Song Facts - This can be found on Karma and Anthology (written in rock) 

According to US

This song carries a lot of meaning for me. Whenever I hear it, I associate it with several things -and they are all good. This song was released right at the time I had gone to Tucson, AZ for the second year in a row to attend the celebrity charity event/fan club gathering that Rick was hosting. All the wonderfulness that was that weekend comes back to me because this song was constantly being played everywhere we (the fans) went. It was so exciting to see and hear Rick talk about a new album being released with the press and other celebrities in attendance. You could hear the pride in his voice, you could feel the excitement from the fans in the air. Ok, maybe the excitement was from actually having Rick there -but I'd like to think it had an extra kick due to Karma's release, and this song being the first single.

The Saturday after I returned from that crazy weekend, my brother was married on April 24, 1999. The significance of the date was not lost on me, but I still haven't filled my brother in on that one. Basically because his wedding was pushed back a week because I was going to be in Tucson, and he griped for a good two months that he had suffered his whole life with his sister's "Rick Springfield thing" and that it still was affecting him. Anyway, in the car on the way to his wedding I heard IAS on the radio for the first time. The first new music from Rick on the radio in 10 years! I blasted the volume, rolled the windows down and woo-hooed and sang my heart out into the chapel parking lot. My husband and kids were just not as thrilled. :-) I did turn to my husband and say that I would remember that moment forever because it was Matthew's wedding day.

I love everything about this song. The way the music kicks in with the drums coming in first, it makes you tap your toes or move your head if you're sitting. I find that if I'm standing or walking, I'll get a little spring in my step when this one starts up. That breath, oh that marvelous sigh at the beginning - it's enough to give ya goosebumps. I too, was always confused by the "heart of Joan of Arc but the soul of a gigolo" line and I still don't see what that's got to do with the Michael Jackson move he makes when he does this live, but it gets a reaction out of the crowd and I know that ultimately that's what Rick is going for. Rick's little tweak on the Wide World of Sports slogan "snatching victory from the jaws of defeat" changing it to "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" is quite catchy the way he sings "victory". The next part after the chorus where Rick goes into singing about his Dad is very touching, and when Rick is tired; singing this part almost always chokes him up. I don't think he knew when he was writing it that the phrase "If the boy wants to play the guitar I say we let him" would turn into the anthem it is for RS fans today. This is the song that I'm caught dancing to by myself in my living room. This song always makes me feel good whenever I listen to it. It will always make me smile. 

I cannot remember specifically if I used the phrase "It's Always Something" prior to me knowing this song. Maybe I did or I didn't, but I do know that I certainly use it a lot now. I am also quite aware of when other people use it, even strangers overheard in a store or something - and it makes me think of Rick. It's a shame it didn't get much airplay on the radio stations, and I really wished some product would have picked this one up to use in their advertising slogans. I can so see this song selling up some kind of insurance or some kind of protective equipment, can't you? - Michelle

When I bought Karma, I brought it home and listened to it and this was the one (and only at the time) song that I thought "I really want to go back and listen to this again. Definitely the song I liked the best on the first listen. I went back and listened to it and then didn't listen to Karma again for almost a year. 
The first line is probably something that Rick has written that has pegged my life more than anything. I definitely look around me and think "what the hell have I done?". I so identify with the sentiment of it. And sometimes all it takes is that one line for you find the song absolutely brilliant, and that does if for me. Of course this song has so much more to it than the first line, but this is one of those cases where this song has me at "hello", so to speak.
The heart of a Joan of Arc and the Soul of a gigolo - I actually think that describes Rick better than anything anyone else could come up with. He has a great heart, but can be a very naughty boy.
"Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" - so funny - it implies not only that he has a way of failing, but that he's the one that causes the failure. It's not only that things don't work out, it's his own stupid ass fault, sometimes. One time during a concert, he changed the next line a little to say"anytime I stop to smell the roses - the blew up on me", then of course he did a rose explosion - very effective. I only heard him do it once, but it really stuck in my mind.

I really don't get the "leaky ship", though. I think Rick has had a pretty good career, but I do know he's always wanted more (well, I don't really *know* that, but it seems that way), and it probably wasn't quite what he was hoping for. I think it just goes to show that we often don't see our own situations the way others see it. I mean, how many times have you had people tell you "you're so lucky", when you feel anything but lucky......

And of course, once again, he pays tribute to his father. It's not the whole song, but a very important verse, that reminds us of what a force Rick's Dad was in his life, and how much his death still affects him.

Unlike some others, though, I don't see this song as a positive, stuff happens, we must go on song. I see it more as a "damn it, nothing every goes the way I want it to" song. More of a "the glass is half empty" kind of thing. I just don't look at his career and think "itsalwaysomething", I think more like "isn't it great that...."
However, I love the song and I identify with it a lot.