Prisoner of Society

For the Georgian film, see Prisoner of Society (film).

"Prisoner of Society" is a song by Australian punk rock band the Living End. It was originally released in Australia on the 1997 EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society. The song was later released as a single, separate from the EP, in the United States in January 1999. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", "Prisoner of Society" was ranked number 32.^[1]

"Prisoner of Society"
Single by the Living End
from the album The Living End
Released	5 January 1999 (1999-01-05)
Length	3:54
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Chris Cheney
Producer(s)	Lindsay Gravina, the Living End
The Living End singles chronology
"Save the Day" (1998) "Prisoner of Society" (1999) "All Torn Down" (1999)

Background

The Living End had achieved mainstream success with the release of their third EP, Second Solution / Prisoner of Society, in September 1997. It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart and spent 69 weeks within the ARIA Top 100.^[2] "Prisoner of Society" also reached No. 15 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1997.^[3]

Lyrics

"It's basically my take of 'My Generation' or 'Summertime Blues'. The lyrics are, 'screw society, screw mum and dad, this is young people's music' and I wanted to put that as simply as I could. It was me grabbing that influence of the early 1950s and the rebellion of something like a Chuck Berry song into something that we did. Obviously we didn't think at the time that it would become the biggest selling single of the 1990s" - Chris Cheney ^[4]

Legacy

Double J named it in the top twenty Australian songs of the 1990s, saying it, "hits you in the guts, right from the first few bars. It's got the kind of chorus that makes you want to sing (scream) every. single. word. Especially the part about being a brat and talking back. And that breakdown 2 minutes in? Just a great excuse to jump around really."^[5]

In January 1999, "Prisoner of Society" was released as a radio single in the United States, where it peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[6] Eight months later, it was released in the United Kingdom as a stand-alone single but did not reach the top 100. In 2025, it placed 41 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Prisoner of Society"	Chris Cheney[8]	3:54
2.	"Mr Business Man"	Chris Cheney[9]	2:39
3.	"Sleep on It"	Chris Cheney[10]	2:39

Recorded and engineered by Lindsay Gravina at Sing Sing Studios (Melbourne). Mixed by Jerry Finn at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles).

Personnel

• Chris Cheney – guitar, vocals
• Scott Owen – upright bass, backing vocals
• Travis Demsey – drums, backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998–1999) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] "Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society" 4 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] "Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society" 28 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[6] 23

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position Australia (ARIA)[13] 6 Chart (1999) Position US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[14] 84

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15]	2× Platinum	140,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	5 January 1999	Alternative radio	Reprise	[16]
	11 January 1999	Active rock radio		[17]
United Kingdom	6 September 1999	CD cassette		[18]